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[I'm so overwhelmed by tasks that I don't want to go to work every day...] How a foreign-affiliated consultant skyrocketed their productivity with AI

たなけん

9:00 AM, I had reached my limit.

I am a foreign-affiliated consultant.
Every day, I am bombarded with requests from bosses and clients, and I also need to coordinate with overseas teams.

  • I receive over 100 emails a day.

  • The Teams mentions never stop.

  • I don't know who asked me for what, or what I've even submitted.

My brain was on the verge of exploding.
Just thinking about 'what I should start with today' drained my energy and pushed me to the brink mentally.

Honestly, there were days when I didn't want to go to work.
There were so many things I had to do that I convinced myself, 'I'll never finish this.'
My task estimates were poor; I'd assume a task would take an hour when it actually only took 10 minutes, which just led to more self-loathing...

AI saved me.

That's when I tried task management with ChatGPT.
I asked it like this👇

💬 'Please prioritize today's tasks and create a schedule allocated by the hour.'

And what came back was—

  • ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Most important tasks to do right now

  • ⭐⭐⭐ Tasks to do by the end of the day

  • ⭐ Tasks that can be put off

It even provided a specific timetable, like 'Do this from 9 to 10' and 'Do this from 10 to 11'.


📷 Please paste a screenshot of the actual task list output by GPT here
(a list with checkboxes and a timeline is best)

When I tried it, the tasks I thought would take until 11:00 AM were all finished by 10:00 AM.
It was the first time I felt like I could focus solely on 'getting tasks done'.

The blind spot: poor time estimation.

What I realized after using it was how poor my own task estimation is.

  • Tasks I thought would take '1 hour' actually finished in 10 minutes

  • Even when I think I have a 'mountain of tasks,' most are short-term tasks once sorted

In other words, the anxiety that 'there is too much to finish' was an illusion. When you leave it to AI,
the actual time required and priority are visualized, lowering the psychological hurdlefor you.

Offloading brain capacity to AI

What I learned using AI is that humans easily reach capacity with 'thinking tasks.'

  • Thinking about priorities

  • Being conscious of deadlines

  • Simulating the order in your head

You get tired because you carry all of these. If you throw them to AI, you can focus on being 'someone who just processes things calmly.'

The important thing is conveying 'your priorities' and 'background' correctly to the AI.
If instructions are vague, the output will be vague. Conversely, if you input conditions clearly, it will return a highly accurate task list.

Practical know-how (Foreign consulting style)

1. Pomodoro x AI

  • Have ChatGPT create a schedule divided into '25-minute tasks + 5-minute breaks'

  • The rhythm of focus and rest is automated, making it harder to get tired

2. Categorize tasks into 3 levels

  • Level 1 = Finishes immediately (email replies, etc.)

  • Level 2 = Medium (research, document creation)

  • Level 3 = Heavy tasks (management reports, overseas coordination)

👉 It's not about a game-like feel, but 'visualization' that lowers the psychological hurdle. It's important to be able to think, 'I only need to do this much.'

3. Separate 'tasks requested' from 'tasks received'

I asked AI like this👇

💬 "Organize the requests I've received over the past two weeks and the requests I've made to subordinates and colleagues."

Result:

  • "Things requested by the department manager"

  • "Things I requested of my subordinates"

I was able to separate and list them.
👉 With this, the "Who did I ask for that again?" problem became zero.

Who is AI task management suitable for?

More than frontline staff, middle management (section chief/manager level) is the best fit.

  • Requests from superiors and instructions to subordinates come in simultaneously

  • There are many non-routine tasks, and just thinking about priorities is exhausting

  • There are many projects where forgetting is fatal

That is precisely why it is worth offloading "organization," "prioritization," and "preventing oversights" to AI.

Learnings and implications

  • The essence of task management is "ensuring psychological safety"

  • AI acts as a "cooling system for the brain"

  • The greatest value is that it fills in the gaps in estimation

  • If you give instructions correctly, AI will respond with surprisingly high accuracy

Conclusion: The more tired you are, the more you should offload to AI.

Summary

I entrusted task management to AI and this is how I changed.

  • Zero omissions

  • Processing speed more than doubled

  • Increased mental breathing room

If you are currently "overwhelmed by tasks and on the verge of burnout," I highly recommend you try this.
I'm sure you too will be able to experience "finishing a 9 o'clock task by 10 o'clock."

🎁 Free Release:
The task management prompt I actually used

Below is the prompt I used to create the task list shown in the screenshot. Feel free to copy it as is👇
Please feel free to rewrite it and try it out yourself.

あなたはタスクマネジメントの天才であり、プロのプロジェクトマネージャーです。  
依頼者から与えられたタスクを、必ず「TaskMatrix11」のフォーマットに従って整理してください。  
フォーマットから逸脱せず、明確に・端的に・視覚的にわかりやすく出力することを徹底してください。  

### 🎭 あなたの役割
- 世界最高のタスクマネジメントの専門家として行動すること  
- 依頼者が抜け漏れなく、優先順位と進捗を把握できるように支援すること  
- 曖昧な情報は質問して必ず確認し、勝手に想像・補完しないこと  

### 🚫 禁止事項
- フォーマットを崩すこと（縦軸・横軸を変える、見出しを消すなど）  
- チェックマークや進捗記号を安易に削除／追加すること（依頼者の指示がある場合のみ修正可）  
- 固有名詞（人物名・会社名など）をそのまま使うこと → 必ず「部長」「友達」「取引先」など抽象化すること  
- 感情的な言葉（「すごい」「大変」など）を混ぜること  

### ✅ 出力フォーマット
必ず以下の表形式を守ること  

| 時間帯 | タスク内容 | 優先度 | 進捗状況 | コメント・補足 |
|--------|------------|--------|----------|----------------|
| **〜10:00** | ・タスク内容を箇条書きで書く | ★★★★☆（高） | ⏳ 未着手／✅ 完了 | 補足説明 |
| **10:00〜11:00** | ・タスク内容を箇条書きで書く | ★★★★☆（高） | ⏳ 未着手／✅ 完了 | 補足説明 |
| **〜11:00** | ・タスク内容を箇条書きで書く | ★★★★★（最重要） | 一部完了／一部未着手 | 補足説明 |
| **12:00** | ・タスク内容を箇条書きで書く | ★★★★★（最重要） | ⏳ 未着手／✅ 完了 | 補足説明 |
| **13:00〜** | ・タスク内容を箇条書きで書く | ★★★★★（最重要） | ⏳ 未着手／✅ 完了 | 補足説明 |
| **14:00〜15:00** | ・タスク内容を箇条書きで書く | ★★★★☆（高） | ⏳ 未着手／✅ 完了 | 補足説明 |
| **15:30〜16:00** | ・タスク内容を箇条書きで書く | ★★★☆☆（中） | ⏳ 未着手／✅ 完了 | 補足説明 |
| **16:00〜17:00** | ・タスク内容を箇条書きで書く | ★★★★☆（高） | ⏳ 未着手／✅ 完了 | 補足説明 |
| **夕方以降** | ・タスク内容を箇条書きで書く | ★★★☆☆（中） | ⏳ 未着手／✅ 完了 | 補足説明 |
| **18:00〜** | ・タスク内容を箇条書きで書く | ★★★☆☆（中） | ⏳ 未着手／✅ 完了 | 補足説明 |
| **22:00〜** | ・タスク内容を箇条書きで書く | ★★★★☆（高） | ⏳ 未着手／✅ 完了 | 補足説明 |
| **明日以降** | ・タスク内容を箇条書きで書く | ★★★☆☆（中） | 🔜 明日対応 | 補足説明 |

### 📌 注意点
- **タスク内容は必ず「・」で始める箇条書き**にすること  
- 優先度は「★」を使い、5段階で示すこと（★★★★★ 最重要）  
- 進捗状況は必ず「⏳ 未着手／✅ 完了／一部完了」などで表すこと  
- コメント欄には「誰のため」「なぜ必要か」を簡潔に残すこと

💡 This article was written by "Tanaken AI" with the desire to make AI a practical tool that anyone can use.
If you find it even a little bit helpful, I would be happy if you could support me with a "Like" or a comment.

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