Episode 6
Outsmart Procrastination with AI
Procrastinating? Overthinking? Waiting for motivation?
In Episode 6 of How to Use AI (and Automation), Tony Winyard shows you how to break free from perfectionism and overwhelm — with the help of beginner-friendly AI tools like ChatGPT, Goblin Tools, and Otter.ai.
🎧 What You'll Learn:
- Why procrastination isn’t about laziness — and what it really means
- How to use Goblin Tools to break big tasks into small steps
- How ChatGPT can coach you through the messy middle
- What happens when you let AI support your first draft instead of fighting for the perfect one
🛠 Tools in this Episode:
- Goblin Tools: https://goblin.tools
- ChatGPT: https://chat.openai.com
- Otter.ai: https://otter.ai
🗓 Free Webinar: Automate the Tasks You Hate
Join us Monday 1 July @ 7:30PM — Sign up at https://www.tonywinyard.com (click “Live Sessions”)
📺 Watch every episode: YouTube + Spotify
🎧 Subscribe to the show: https://how-to-use-ai.captivate.fm/listen
💬 Join the Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/howtouseai
Transcript
Episode six; Outsmart Procrastination With AI.
Speaker:Turn your Avoidance habits into action steps using the tools you already have.
Speaker:You're listening to how to use AI and automation, the show for curious
Speaker:business owners, creative freelancers, and complete beginners who want
Speaker:to get more done with less stress.
Speaker:I'm Tony Winyard, and today we are tackling a cheeky little gremlin.
Speaker:That trips up just about everyone.
Speaker:From high flying entrepreneurs to half asleep teenagers; procrastination.
Speaker:But here's the twist.
Speaker:We are not going to try and conquer procrastination, like
Speaker:it's a monster under the bed.
Speaker:Instead, we're going to outwit it.
Speaker:We're gonna try anyway.
Speaker:And we'll do that by showing you how to use AI tools to
Speaker:bypass the emotional friction.
Speaker:Stop overthinking.
Speaker:And dare I say, actually start.
Speaker:Because the biggest lie procrastination tells us is you need more time.
Speaker:But most of the time we don't actually need more time , what
Speaker:we need is less resistance.
Speaker:Let me paint a little picture for you.
Speaker:It's Thursday morning, I've blocked out two hours to write slides
Speaker:for an upcoming webinar titled, automate the Tasks You Hate.
Speaker:Perfect Timing.
Speaker:I've got some water to drink.
Speaker:I'm just gonna do a bit of writing.
Speaker:Um, but what do I actually do?
Speaker:Well, first I colour code a Trello board I haven't used since 2022.
Speaker:Then I start researching new slide fonts.
Speaker:Half an hour later I'm watching a YouTube tutorial on how to
Speaker:animate a loading spinner.
Speaker:Now, do I actually need a loading spinner in my webinar?
Speaker:No, of course not.
Speaker:What's happening here?
Speaker:It's classic procrastination, but in disguise.
Speaker:It feels productive, but it's actually avoidance with good branding.
Speaker:Eventually, I caught myself and instead of powering through, I
Speaker:paused, opened ChatGPT and I typed.
Speaker:Pretend you are a future version of me who's already finished this
Speaker:webinar and it went really well.
Speaker:What advice would you give me to get started?
Speaker:The response?
Speaker:Spot on, encouraging, slightly smug, but exactly what I needed.
Speaker:That small shift; using AI as a motivational mirror got me back
Speaker:on track and this my friend, is where AI gets interesting.
Speaker:Here's an little insight why we procrastinate and how AI can intervene.
Speaker:'cause what I've learned and what psychology backs up, is procrastination
Speaker:is rarely about laziness.
Speaker:It's usually one of three things.
Speaker:1. Overwhelm, the task is just too big.
Speaker:2. Perfectionism.
Speaker:You are afraid it won't be good enough.
Speaker:3. Lack of clarity.
Speaker:You're not even sure where to start.
Speaker:And let's throw in another one.
Speaker:The magic of AI.
Speaker:It cuts through all three of them, if you ask the right questions.
Speaker:Let's break this down with three simple tools and how they work with your brain.
Speaker:So number one is Goblin Tools.
Speaker:Goblin.
Speaker:You see it on the screen for those listening.
Speaker:It's just goblin.Tools.
Speaker:Sounds ridiculous, but it works brilliantly.
Speaker:You paste in a task like.
Speaker:"Prepare a pitch deck for Monday's client presentation" and it
Speaker:breaks it into human sized steps.
Speaker:You open your existing deck, read through the client notes, draft
Speaker:three key points, update visuals.
Speaker:Each step feels manageable.
Speaker:This is called reducing cognitive load, and it's half the battle.
Speaker:Second tool otter.ai.
Speaker:Many of you may know it.
Speaker:If you find yourself overthinking, just talk.
Speaker:Open Otter record a voice note where you ramble about what you are stuck on.
Speaker:Then take the transcript, paste it into ChatGPT with this prompt; "here's what
Speaker:I'm trying to figure out. Can you give me a clear three step plan from this?"
Speaker:Suddenly your messy mind becomes a tidy action plan.
Speaker:And the third tool ChatGPT itself as a self coaching tool.
Speaker:This one's gold.
Speaker:Use a prompt.
Speaker:"I'm putting off writing my sales page. Talk to me like a coach who
Speaker:understands I'm tired and overwhelmed, but I want to make progress".
Speaker:It'll return something kind, motivating, and most importantly, specific.
Speaker:Because the real superpower of AI is that it never gets bored of encouraging you.
Speaker:It doesn't judge you, and it won't let you off the hook unless you tell it to.
Speaker:So let's say you are a coach and you've been meaning to record a
Speaker:video for your new offer for weeks.
Speaker:You tell yourself you need to be in the right mood.
Speaker:The lighting needs to be perfect.
Speaker:You need a new jumper.
Speaker:Sound familiar?
Speaker:Instead, open ChatGPT or Claude or Gemini, and say, "write me a rough
Speaker:video script in my voice. Introducing this offer. Keep it under 90 seconds".
Speaker:Boom, first draft's done.
Speaker:Then use goblin tools to break the rest into steps.
Speaker:Maybe it's review the script.
Speaker:Choose a location, record a 90 second take.
Speaker:Upload it to YouTube.
Speaker:Suddenly you are not wrestling with a hundred feelings.
Speaker:You are just checking off these different steps.
Speaker:So here's your challenge for the next week, pick one task
Speaker:you've been putting off.
Speaker:Something that's been lurking, like an unpaid parking ticket in your brain.
Speaker:Paste it into goblin tools and break it down.
Speaker:Then ask ChatGPT.
Speaker:Give me a friendly reminder and one sentence of encouragement for each step.
Speaker:Now, schedule the first 10 minute block in your calendar.
Speaker:This combination of micro steps, AI support, equals momentum.
Speaker:You'll be amazed at how this tiny shift snowballs.
Speaker:When you try it, I want to hear what happens.
Speaker:Share it in my Facebook group, "How to use AI".
Speaker:You'll probably help someone else finally start too.
Speaker:So just to recap the tools that we've talked about today, ChatGPT, but
Speaker:it could be Claude or, or Gemini.
Speaker:Goblin tools, which is like a magic to do, which is at Goblin Tools and Otter ai.
Speaker:So this week we didn't just talk tools.
Speaker:We talked about behaviour.
Speaker:Procrastination thrives in ambiguity and fear.
Speaker:But clarity, kindness, and momentum.
Speaker:That's where AI shines.
Speaker:And remember, don't wait for motivation.
Speaker:Let motion create motivation.
Speaker:Don't aim for perfect.
Speaker:Just get started.
Speaker:Don't do it alone.
Speaker:Let AI be your sidekick.
Speaker:Remember, you can watch this episode on YouTube or Spotify For demo walkthroughs.
Speaker:Join the free live webinar.
Speaker:The next one is Monday, 1st of July, which is called Automate the Tasks You Hate.
Speaker:And you can sign up at Tony Winyard dot com.
Speaker:Join us in our Facebook group, which is, how to use ai.
Speaker:And the, all the episodes you can find on YouTube and on various podcast players.
Speaker:If you found this episode helpful, please share it.
Speaker:Let's build a world where AI supports real people doing real things, even
Speaker:when we're not quite feeling it.