How I Used Digital Tools & AI to Organize My Life (And Finally Got My Productivity Back on Track)

How I Used Digital Tools & AI to Organize My Life (And Finally Got My Productivity Back on Track)

How I Used Digital Tools & AI to Organize My Life (And Finally Got My Productivity Back on Track)

A few months ago, my life was a mess—sticky notes everywhere, 237 unread emails, double-booked plans, and a to-do list that never seemed to shrink.

Between juggling a demanding job, growing a business, keeping up with friends, and attempting to have hobbies (whatever that means), I constantly felt like I was falling behind.

I knew I needed a better system—but let’s be real, who has time to sit down and manually organize every part of their life?

So, I turned to digital tools and AI automation. I figured, if tech can optimize entire companies, surely it could help me get my life together.

What I didn’t expect? Just a few small changes completely transformed how I work, plan, and manage everything—without hours of effort.

Here’s exactly how I did it.


Step 1: Cleaning Up My Inbox (Because Email Chaos Was Killing Me)

Few things drain my energy faster than an overflowing inbox. Every new email notification? Another mini heart attack.

So, I decided to clear the clutter and set up automations to keep it that way.

📬 My 3-Step Inbox Decluttering Process:

Unsubscribe from the noise → I searched “unsubscribe” in my inbox and nuked every useless email list I had accidentally signed up for.
Use filters to automate organization → I created simple rules to sort emails before they ever hit my inbox.
Switch to Priority Inbox → This automatically surfaces important emails first, so nothing urgent gets buried.

🔥 Example Hacks:

  • I filtered “UPS Pre-Arrival: Your Driver is Arriving Soon!” → straight to archive (because no, I don’t need a play-by-play of my Amazon package).
  • I set up a rule for “from:(noreply@hitask.com)” to skip the inbox—because those are low-priority work alerts that don’t need to clutter my main feed.

The result? Inbox Zero (without checking emails 100 times a day).


Step 2: Fixing My Task Management (AKA: Stopping the Sticky Note Madness)

Now that my inbox wasn’t a disaster, I needed a way to actually manage tasks across work, my business, and personal life—without getting overwhelmed.

I tested dozens of apps before settling on Google Tasks + Google Calendar + Automation.

📍 How I Set Up My Task System:

Dumped EVERYTHING into Google Tasks → No more scattered sticky notes. I put every to-do, deadline, and reminder in one place.
Grouped tasks with subtasks → Instead of one giant overwhelming list, I broke things down into projects.
Synced with Google Calendar → So due dates & reminders automatically appear in my schedule.
Linked tasks to emails → Need to follow up on an email? I attach it directly to a task so I never have to dig through my inbox again.

🔥 Bonus Hack: If you ever need to send an email later, use Gmail’s “Schedule Send” feature → Perfect for follow-ups, reminders, or sending work emails without actually working at 2 AM.


Step 3: Fixing My Google Drive (Because Finding Files Shouldn’t Be a Treasure Hunt)

Before I organized my files, my Google Drive looked like a digital junkyard.

I had hundreds of files named “Copy of Document (1)” and “Final_Version_REAL_Final”, making it impossible to find anything.

🗄️ How I Fixed My File Chaos:

Created 3 main folders:
📂 Work → Budgets, Reports, Client Notes, Sales Plans
📂 Business → Marketing, Content, Financials
📂 Personal → Travel Plans, Photos, Random Ideas

Added subfolders for instant organization → Example: Under “Things To Do,” I created subfolders for Restaurants, Music Events, Travel Destinations.
Renamed files clearly → Instead of “Copy of Costs (1),” I now use “Q1 2025 Product Costs.”

🔥 SEO Hack: If you create digital files for work or content, use keyword-rich file names → This helps search engines (and your brain) find them faster.

The result? I stopped wasting time searching for lost documents.


Step 4: Automating My Schedule with AI (So I Don’t Have to Plan My Days Manually)

I knew managing my time was my next weak spot. Manually planning my day felt like another full-time job.

So, I handed over the workload to AI scheduling tools.

⏳ How I Automated My Calendar with Motion AI + Google Calendar

Synced all my calendars (work, business, personal) into one place.
Dumped all tasks into Motion AI (with estimated durations and deadlines).
Let AI auto-schedule my day → balancing priorities & deadlines without burnout.

The result? Instead of manually figuring out my day, AI schedules tasks when I actually have time for them.


The Results: How These Tools Transformed My Productivity

After implementing these simple but powerful digital workflows, my life completely changed.

📌 What improved?
Inbox Zero → No more email overload.
Task Automation → No more missed deadlines.
Organized Files → Everything is easy to find.
Optimized Schedule → AI plans my day for me.

Less stress. More focus. No burnout.


How You Can Start Automating Your Life Today

If you’re tired of digital chaos—endless emails, scattered tasks, an unmanageable schedule—you don’t need to work harder. You need better systems.

🚀 Get Started in 3 Steps:

Declutter your inbox (unsubscribe, filter, and switch to Priority Inbox).
Organize tasks & files (use Google Tasks & structured folders).
Automate scheduling (try Motion AI, Reclaim, or Google Calendar).

These small changes will save you hours every week and help you focus on what actually matters.

💬 What’s your biggest digital organization struggle? Drop it in the comments—I’d love to hear!

 

 

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