Use AI to Audit Your Actual Work (Not Your Ideal Work)
First week back.
Inbox is a disaster. Slack is on fire. Everyone wants something.
This is the week that reveals what you actually do versus what you think you do, and it’s the perfect moment for an AI work audit.
With tools like Claude, AI can surface the gap between your intended role and your real day-to-day work.
The first-week audit
Here's how I kick off the first week of January:
I take my first week of real work and track every ask that comes in. Every request. Every "quick question." Every meeting invite (I've got a bunch of projects and different tools connected. But you can also just throw screenshots at it).
Then I dump it all into Claude and ask:
"Based on this week, what does my job actually consist of? What percentage of my time goes to each type of work? What patterns do you see?"
The results are always uncomfortable.
What it reveals
You think you're strategic. You're actually firefighting.
You think you're focused. You're actually scattered across twelve things.
You think you're delegating. You're actually the bottleneck.
The gap between your job description and your actual job is usually massive.
AI sees it immediately because it has no emotional investment in your story about yourself.
The follow-up that matters
Once you see the reality, ask:
"If this pattern continues all year, what happens? What am I optimizing for that I don't actually want?"
Then:
"What's one structural change I could make in the next two weeks to shift this?"
Not a resolution. A system change.
Why the first week matters
Week one sets the tone for the year.
If you let it happen to you, the next 51 weeks will too.
But if you actually look at what you're doing as opposed to what you planned to do, you can course-correct before it becomes your entire year.
Try it this week
End of Friday, list everything you actually did this week. Not the important stuff. Everything.
Drop it in Claude. Ask what it sees.
You'll either validate that you're on track or realize you need to change something fast.
Either way, better to know now than in June.
Find your next edge,
Eli
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