Scattered to Streamlined Business Coaching

10/19/2026

With so many AI tools available, it can be hard to decide which ones deserve your time, energy and money.

In my upcoming workshop, I call my approach “pay for one, borrow the others”. Choose a main platform to learn well, then consider another when you have a specific reason to use it. By “borrow,” I mean use another tool as needed, through access you already have or a suitable free option.

For example, the primary platform I use for most of my business functions is ChatGPT and I pay for my monthly subscription there. But I use Gemini often when I’m in a Google product like Slides, Docs, or Sheets or need it to communicate between my Gmail and another Google app. I use Claude when I'm looking to build something like a database from multiple sources.

Lately, Muse has done a great analysis of my Facebook activity to help me with my marketing - while it also keeps an eye out for my perfect bookcase set on Marketplace.

Before adding another subscription, I'd want to know what job it would do and whether I'd use it often enough to justify the cost.

Which AI tool are you using most often right now?

10/17/2026

There's usually something I could get done if I open my laptop on a Saturday. An email to answer, an idea to work on, or a little preparation for Monday.

But it’s my favorite season of the year to be outside and it turns out to be a very “witchy” weekend in Saratoga Springs, with all kinds of fun activities to benefit a variety of animal charities. This will be memorable. 🧙‍♀️🎃 I doubt the computer time would be.

What are you making room for this weekend?

10/16/2026

Happy Boss's Day to my fellow business owners!

Running a business on your own means making decisions you might appreciate talking through with someone else.

One approach I use is an AI “board of directors,” with different roles looking at a question from different perspectives.

Claude and I put together my board through a whole lot of back and forth. It uses simulated perspectives based on the work of people I know and respect. They aren’t actually advising me, but considering a question through those different perspectives helps me think it through.

• Peter Drucker: Big-picture judgment
• Alan Weiss: Value-based pricing
• Michael Hyatt: Getting things done
• Seth Godin: Standing out
• Joanna Wiebe: Copy that converts
• Marshall Goldsmith: Leadership growth
• Tara Mohr: Owning your voice
• Cheryl Richardson: Life by design
• AD: My ideal client’s perspective: Would this be useful to her?

Want another perspective on offering a new service? Ask your board to consider it. Trying to decide where to spend your time or money? Have it question your assumptions. I still decide what fits my business, but the discussion can bring up something I hadn’t considered.

If you had your own Dream Board of Directors, who would be on it?

10/14/2026

Give AI your calendar, task list, and working preferences, and ask it to build a realistic plan for next week. It can flag overloaded days, protect time for important projects, and suggest what to postpone.

Try: “I work best in the morning and want to finish by four. Find two hours for this proposal and show me what needs to move.”

You can also ask it to create an Ideal Work Week, giving future plans a starting point that reflects how you want to work.

In this month’s blog, I walk through the process, including saving your preferences for next time.

What would you change about the way your workweek is organized?

10/12/2026

Registration is open for my free workshop, AI Without the Overwhelm: Practical Workflows and Guidance for the One-Person Business.

We'll meet on Wednesday, October 28 at noon Eastern, live on Zoom, for 60 minutes of teaching and practice followed by 30 minutes of Q&A.

I’ll walk you through practical examples in marketing, operations, and personal management. Then you’ll use the Mini AI Opportunity Audit to identify where AI could save time, reduce repetitive work, or help you follow through more consistently in your own business.

We’ll compare the possibilities and choose one task or process to start with. We’ll also discuss what information AI needs and where your judgment and review belong.

You don’t need technical expertise or a polished prompt. Bring something you’d like help with.

You’ll receive the Mini AI Opportunity Audit and the AI for Your Business Workshop Companion to use during the session and afterward.

I’d love to have you join me: https://scatteredtostreamlined.com/ai-without-the-overwhelm/

Discover practical uses for AI in the work you already do, with guidance on getting better results and knowing where to be careful.

10/09/2026

Last month, I spent a good few hours asking ChatGPT what to do with my terribly neglected plants. A busy, travelling August hadn't helped them and my black thumb wasn't helping much either.

At one point, I asked it to reproduce one of my photos and circle exactly where I should cut. I needed that much help. 😜

I kept sending pictures and asking questions as I worked. Eventually, I could see small improvements and the plants were looking better.

That conversation made it into this month's blog “What my sad plants taught me about using AI” here: https://scatteredtostreamlined.com/what-my-sad-plants-taught-me-about-using-ai/
That conversation made it into this month's blog. I also explain how the same back-and-forth can help you plan a realistic workweek: give AI the details, look at what it suggests, and tell it what needs to change.

You can read “What my sad plants taught me about using AI” here: https://scatteredtostreamlined.com/what-my-sad-plants-taught-me-about-using-ai/

10/06/2026

It’s National Coaches Day and we’ve got a household full of them! 😄

Today I'm celebrating this handsome devil, the coaches who've helped me, and everyone who puts so much care into helping others grow.

Has a coach (athletic or professional) helped you make a decision or do something you weren't sure you could do? I love hearing coaching success stories!

10/05/2026

I can be delighted that AI just saved me two hours and still be concerned about where all of this is heading.

For now, there are some things I'm quite firm about. I check the data and research it produces before I use it. Perplexity is my go to site when I need reliable, current and back up sources provided. I keep confidential and identifying information out.

And when you work with me, you get me. Our conversations and the decisions we work through together reflect my own extensive experience, knowledge, and coaching skills. They always stay personal.

What precautions do you take in your use of AI?

10/02/2026

“Oh, that’s right. I meant to do that!”

I've found a useful way to get a little help keeping track of everything coming through my ever-filling inbox.

Gemini in Gmail helps me pull together the emails and calendar events that need my attention. I get a checklist to work through daily, and once I've handled something, I check it off.

Almost every week, it brings a follow-up back to my attention that could easily have stayed buried in a long email thread. I appreciate having that extra set of eyes!

These screenshots show a segment of what it looks like. It's becoming one of those small additions to my workday that I'm glad I tried.

How do you keep track of follow-ups when your inbox gets busy?