The Best Time Is When You Have a Real Task to Do
Scheduled "AI practice time" with no specific task in mind is one of the least effective ways to learn the tool. The best time to use AI is at the exact moment you are about to do something it can help with.
Think of it less like a skill you practice in isolation (like a language app) and more like a habit you insert into existing work moments.
The Highest-Value Workflow Moments
When you are about to write something from scratch. Before you open a blank document, open an AI chat first. Describe what you need and use the output as your starting point. This works for emails, lesson descriptions, social posts, module introductions — anything where you routinely face a blank page.
When you are behind on content. If you have a piece of content that has been on your to-do list for more than two weeks, that is a perfect AI moment. The resistance you feel toward it is often just the activation energy of starting. AI collapses that energy instantly.
When you need to summarize or restructure information. After a workshop, a coaching call, or a long document you have been reading, AI is excellent at distillation. The moment you finish the call or document, open a chat and paste in your notes.
During your admin time, not your deep work time. If you have a 45-minute slot for email and administrative tasks, that is an ideal window to practice AI on low-stakes work. Do not interrupt high-focus creative or teaching work to experiment.
A Simple Starting Trigger
Pick one type of task you do at least twice a week — replying to a certain kind of email, writing a social post, summarizing a meeting — and commit to opening an AI chat every time you do that task for the next two weeks.
That repetition on a single recurring task will build the AI habit faster than any other approach. Specificity is the key: "every time I write a new welcome email" beats "I’ll try to use AI more this week."