AI Managed My Work Schedule for Two Weeks
and My Productivity Doubled
How can one materially improve productivity in just two weeks? In this article, the author describes how she allowed artificial intelligence to start managing her work schedule. What happened next surprised her: the author gained nearly two hours a day and doubled her weekly task completion rate.
I am a single mom with two kids under three years old. I work full-time as a forensic accountant and economic damages analyst. I also own several rental properties—most of which are under construction at any given time—and I serve as my own general contractor. That means I juggle everything from client calls and project deadlines to surprise plumbing inspections, flooring delays, and “why is there a bathtub in the front yard?” type of surprises.
I have always kept a detailed to-do list, used multiple calendars, and had a system (loosely defined) to keep things on track. But no matter how organized I tried to be, I always felt like I was reacting to my day rather than managing it. The biggest time-sink was not the work itself, it was figuring out when to do the work.
Two weeks ago, I tried something new. I let artificial intelligence (AI) start managing my schedule. What happened next surprised me: I gained nearly two hours a day and doubled my weekly task completion rate. And I did it all without hiring help, buying a new device, or overhauling my workflow. And this system costs less than a Netflix subscription. In this article, I will talk about how I did it.
My Favorite New AI Tools
The first piece of the puzzle is Todoist,[1] a task management app I have used for over a year and a half. I love it because it is simple, flexible, and cross-platform. I have built out a system with three main “projects”:
- Home (grocery lists, appointments, recurring chores)
- Business: rental real estate (organized by property)
- Gould & Pakter Associates, LLC (work; organized by client)
Each task I enter includes a title, short description, deadline, and priority level (one through four), which I categorize into one of those three projects (or a subsection thereof). Todoist lets me break down tasks into subtasks, sort by priority, and track my productivity over time. I use it on both my phone and laptop.
But here is the catch: it does not schedule anything. So, every day, I would still have to do the mental gymnastics of matching tasks to available time slots in my calendar. That time added up, especially when something unexpected or urgent came up.
AI Calendar Scheduling with Reclaim
Reclaim.ai[2] is a productivity app that is powered by AI. Setting up Reclaim.ai took about an afternoon. I connected all my calendars (personal iCloud, work Outlook, and personal Gmail) and gave it a rundown of how I prefer to work:
- My ideal working hours each day of the week;
- How long do I like to focus on a task (usually in one to two hour blocks, since I break big projects into bite-size pieces in Todoist);
- How much buffer time I want between meetings;
- How much travel time I need for in-person appointments;
- My general priority rules (e.g., tasks vs. meetings); and
- My tasks, which automatically come from my Todoist account.
Once the setup was complete, Reclaim.ai started pulling all my tasks into my calendar and assigning them time blocks based on priority and urgency. If a new meeting was added or something ran long, Reclaim.ai would automatically adjust the rest of my day to accommodate the change. If I fell behind or took something off my plate, the system would shift everything accordingly. It did all of this without any prompt, and it did a great job reading my mind.
Reclaim.ai even warns me when I am overloaded. A few days in, I got a notification that said something like, “You don’t have time to complete all of these tasks before their due dates. Consider rescheduling or re-prioritizing.” Brutal, but honest. And it can let me know of a potential workload issue up to eight weeks before it happens.
Now, instead of opening five different apps to piece together my day, I just check any of my calendars. They all reflect the same, real-time schedule—meetings, tasks, habits, reminders—no matter where I look.
Automating Meeting Notes and Follow-Ups
The final piece I added was Read.ai,[3] an AI notetaker that automatically joins Zoom or Teams calls, records the conversation, and sends me a summary with key points and follow-up tasks.
Before syncing all my calendars through Reclaim.ai, this kind of tool did not work well for me. Most notetakers only connect to one platform (Zoom or Teams, not both) or calendar (work or personal, not both). But now that all my meetings show up everywhere, Read.ai works everywhere.
Once a meeting ends, Read.ai sends a recap and flags any action items. It prepares a meeting transcript that includes an AI-generated summary and a list of next steps. Read.ai also connects to my e-mail and will summarize the conversations I have had each week and let me know if a follow-up e-mail slipped through the cracks. I drop those straight into Todoist, and within a few minutes, they show up in my calendar fully scheduled and prioritized thanks to Reclaim.ai.
I have also been exploring an alternative AI notetaker, Fathom.[4] This is very similar to Read.ai; it also records, transcribes, highlights, and summarizes Zoom, Teams, and Google Meet meetings automatically. The advantage of Fathom over Read.ai is that Fathom is “free forever,” but Fathom does not connect to my e-mail account to summarize conversations and remind me of forgotten follow-ups.
The Costs of these Three Programs
Had I known that the answer to taking the stress out of my daily e-mail, task, calendar, and meeting schedule would cost less than three iced matcha tea lattes a month, I would have done this months ago.
Todoist has a free version, but I use Todoist Pro. The Pro subscription lets me add task durations, reminders, filters, and deadlines. It also has an AI assistant, so I can ask Todoist’s AI to help me split a big task into manageable subtasks. The Pro subscription is $4 per month.
Reclaim.ai also has a free version, but it only lets you sync one calendar. You would also have to use Google Tasks instead of Todoist. I use Reclaim’s Starter plan, which allows for unlimited calendars, unlimited integrations (i.e., it can connect to Todoist), unlimited tasks, and unlimited habits (which are recurring tasks or routines). The Starter plan is $8 per month. If you purchase the yearly plan, you can receive a 20% discount.
Read.ai has a free plan, and that is actually what I have been using while testing it out.[5] The free plan allows for up to five meeting transcripts per month. When I am done testing Read.ai, and if I choose Read.ai over Fathom, their Pro plan allows for unlimited meeting transcripts for $19.75 per month. However, the yearly plan includes a 24% discount. Fathom is free forever, making this a cost-conscious alternative.
Altogether, the cost of these three programs is no greater than $31.75 per month, but if you take advantage of the annual discounts, they cost only $25.40 per month. And, if you choose to use Read.ai’s free plan or Fathom, then the monthly cost is only $12 (or, $10.40 per month after the Reclaim.ai discount for paying annually).
What Changed in Just Two Weeks
At the time I authored this article, I had been using this system for only two full weeks, but the results were clear and measurable.
- Productivity: According to Todoist, my task completion rate has doubled. I used to complete about 12 tasks per day, and now I am consistently seeing 25+ tasks completed per day.
- Time savings: According to Reclaim.ai, I am consistently saving 1.5 to 2 hours per day. This is likely from a combination of keeping me on track, so I do not get distracted by e-mails and calendar management, and the boost in motivation that comes from knowing what I need to do today and what can wait until tomorrow.
- Mental load: I no longer waste time figuring out what to do next; everything is scheduled.
- Focus: I have stopped jumping between tasks and projects without a clear plan.
- Flexibility: When something unexpected comes up (which it always does), my schedule adjusts automatically.
The biggest benefit I have noticed is that I have stopped overcommitting. Reclaim does not care how optimistic I am; if there is not enough time for me to finish something today, it tells me. That kind of clarity has made me more realistic about what I can take on. It has also helped me say “no” more comfortably because I can literally see that I do not have the hours.
No Discipline or Technological Skills Required
I did not become more organized overnight. I also did not suddenly become a computer programmer. What changed was that I stopped trying to manage every moving piece myself. I let AI take over the puzzle and I just follow the schedule.
There is a common assumption that staying on top of things is just about discipline or better habits. And sure, those things help, but sometimes, the real problem is decision fatigue. When you are constantly deciding what to do next—or when to do it—you drain energy before you have even started.
Final Thoughts
If you are working in a high-stakes, time-sensitive field like forensic accounting or economic damages analysis, there is a good chance your day is packed before you even log in. Add personal responsibilities, meetings, follow-ups, and administrative clutter, and it is easy to feel like you are just treading water.
Letting AI manage my schedule has not just made me more productive, it has made me feel more in control of my time. I still have the same responsibilities; I still have kids, construction projects, and project deadlines, but now, I do not waste energy deciding what to do next. I just open my calendar, and there it is. It is a small shift that has made a big difference. Now, if only I can get my boss to move out of his totally Microsoft Outlook systems!
[1] https://get.todoist.io/a74m601vg3om
[2] https://go.reclaim.ai/l9ntf9qxhtio
[3] https://www.read.ai/
[4] https://fathom.video/
[5] I have not had Read.ai join any client calls yet. I have been testing it only on personal Zoom calls and personal e-mails at the moment and intend to research its security and privacy policies further before using it in client calls and in work e-mails.
Miranda Kishel, MBA, CVA, CBEC, MAFF, MSTCA, a Manager at Gould & Pakter Associates, LLC, supports the completion of business valuations, business calculations, forensic accounting, economic damages, and asset tracing engagements, focusing on in-depth financial analysis including modeling, forecasting, research, and report preparation. Her previous experience lies in small business consulting, commercial lending, accounting, real estate development, and economic development.
Ms. Kishel may be contacted at (312) 229-1720 or by e-mail to kmiranda@litcpa.com.
