AI for Personal Productivity
Chain-of-Thought Prompting: Does Asking AI to Think Step by Step Help?
Chain of thought prompting explained: why 'think step by step' lifted 2022 math scores, why 2025 tests found little gain, and 3 ways to use it now.
Tools & AI Editor
Theo Marchetti
Articles
AI for Personal Productivity
Few-Shot Prompting Explained: Show the AI What Good Looks Like
Few-shot prompting explained: zero-shot vs. few-shot, how to pick 2 to 5 examples, the mistakes that skew answers, and when newer models need none.
AI at Work & AI Literacy
Computer-Use Agents Explained: AI That Clicks, Types, and Browses for You
Computer use agents click and type for you. How they work, what 2 OSWorld benchmarks found, and the 4 actions that should wait for a person.
Automation & No-Code Workflows
Gmail Filters: A Step-by-Step Guide With 12 Useful Examples
How to create, test and edit Gmail filters on a computer, the search operators that make them precise, and 12 ready-made filters to copy.
Note-Taking & Knowledge Management
Notion vs. Obsidian: Which Fits How You Think?
Notion vs Obsidian: a shared cloud workspace or Markdown files on your device. 8 deciding points, from offline use to switching, checked October 2026.
Productivity Apps & Tools
Mechanical vs. Membrane Keyboards: Does It Matter for Productivity?
Mechanical vs membrane keyboard: speed studies are few and split, and a review of 15 office trials found little proof that equipment prevents arm pain.
Productivity Apps & Tools
Excel vs. Google Sheets: Which Should You Use for Everyday Work?
Excel vs Google Sheets, checked October 2026: price, sharing, offline use, the 20-million-cell limit, scripts, AI and a verdict for five situations.
AI at Work & AI Literacy
Workslop: When Low-Effort AI Output Creates More Work for Colleagues
Workslop is AI output that looks finished but isn't. What two US surveys found, why the MIT 95% figure is separate, and how to send it back politely.
Note-Taking & Knowledge Management
A Single Source of Truth: What It Means and How to Get There
A single source of truth gives each key fact one home and one owner. What it means, how it differs from a system of record, and 5 steps for a small team.
AI at Work & AI Literacy
How to Get Useful Results From Copilot in Excel
How to get useful results from Copilot in Excel: set up the data, then 5 everyday jobs, each with a worked prompt and a quick way to check the answer.
AI at Work & AI Literacy
AI Governance Explained: Who Decides What in Your Organization
AI governance decides who approves, checks and answers for AI at work. A map of 7 decisions, 3 ways to organize them, and what fits a small firm.
Note-Taking & Knowledge Management
Logseq Explained: Outliner-Style Notes and Who They Suit
Logseq explained: an outliner where every note is a block, its 2 versions since 2026 (Markdown files or a database), privacy, price and who it suits.
Digital Safety & Privacy
How to Spot a Phishing Email in Seconds
How to spot a phishing email with 6 quick checks, from the real sender address to lookalike links, and where to report scam emails in your country.
Automation & No-Code Workflows
XLOOKUP vs. VLOOKUP vs. INDEX-MATCH: Which Should You Use?
XLOOKUP, VLOOKUP and INDEX-MATCH compared on 6 points, from left lookups to old Excel versions, with a simple rule for which to use and fixes for #N/A.
Digital Safety & Privacy
Smishing and Scam Texts: The Messages to Delete
Many scam text messages follow 7 familiar scripts, from parcel fees to 'Hi Mum'. How to spot, block and report them, and what to do if you replied.
Digital Safety & Privacy
Children's Online Safety: An Age-by-Age Guide for Parents
Online safety for kids at 4 stages (under 5, 6 to 9, 10 to 12, teens), drawn from WHO, AAP, UNICEF and eSafety guidance, with warning signs and help.
Digital Safety & Privacy
Identity Theft: The First Steps Anywhere in the World
6 first steps after identity theft, from official guides in 5 countries: call your bank, report it, lock your credit file and keep a record.
Digital Safety & Privacy
Deepfakes Explained: How to Spot Fake Videos and Images
Deepfakes explained: what they are, where you meet them, and 4 checks that work better than staring at pixels, since the eye alone often fails.
Digital Safety & Privacy
Hacked Account? The Recovery Steps, in Order
Account hacked? Take back your email first, then follow 8 steps in order through to your bank, and learn to spot fake recovery services.
Digital Safety & Privacy
Do You Still Need Antivirus Software?
Built-in antivirus rivals paid suites in 2026 lab tests. What Windows, Mac, Android and iPhone include, and when paying for more adds value.
Digital Safety & Privacy
Do You Need a VPN? When It Helps and When It Doesn't
Do you need a VPN? 3 honest uses, what a VPN can't do, how to judge a provider by audits and business model, and why free VPN apps can be risky.
AI at Work & AI Literacy
AI, Machine Learning, and Generative AI: What's the Difference?
AI holds machine learning, which holds deep learning and generative AI. How the 5 terms nest, and why predictive and generative tools need different checks.
Digital Safety & Privacy
Scam Calls: How Caller ID Spoofing Works and What to Do
Caller ID spoofing lets scammers show any name or number, even your bank's. How it works, 3 common tricks, what STIR/SHAKEN proves and 6 steps to take.
Productivity Apps & Tools
Gmail vs. Outlook: Which Handles Heavy Email Better?
Gmail vs Outlook for heavy email, checked in September 2026: labels vs folders, search, sorting, offline, 15 GB storage and AI, with a verdict by situation.
Note-Taking & Knowledge Management
Personal Knowledge Management Explained: A Beginner's Guide
Personal knowledge management explained: where the term began in 1998, a 4-step loop, the main schools, and how little of it has been tested.
Digital Safety & Privacy
Passkeys Explained: What They Are and Whether to Switch
What is a passkey? A sign-in made of 2 matching keys, with no password for fake sites to steal. How it works, where it lives, which accounts to switch first.
Digital Safety & Privacy
Two-Step Verification: Which Kind to Use and Why
Two-step verification ranked: 5 kinds from passkeys down to email codes, how to set it up on your email first, and how to refuse prompt floods.
Digital Safety & Privacy
How to Secure Your Home Wi-Fi Router
How to secure home Wi-Fi in 7 steps: change the admin password, use WPA3 or WPA2, update firmware, turn off WPS, and replace a router that no longer gets fixes.
Digital Safety & Privacy
The Most Common Ways Accounts Get Hacked
Six ways accounts get hacked, ranked with official reports: phishing tops 2024 complaints to the US FBI, SIM swaps are rare. Plus one defence for each.
Digital Safety & Privacy
Digital Safety for Beginners: The Habits That Protect You Most
Digital safety for beginners: 6 habits drawn from agencies in the UK, US, Australia and EU, from guarding your email first to backups and scam checks.
Digital Safety & Privacy
Security Words Explained: Malware, Phishing, Encryption and More
Cybersecurity terms explained in plain English: 29 terms from malware and phishing to passkeys and zero-days, in five families with everyday examples.
Digital Safety & Privacy
How to Create Passwords You Can Remember and Attackers Can't Guess
How to create a strong password: join 3 or more random words, skip personal details and tricks, keep it until there is a reason to change it.
Digital Safety & Privacy
How to Back Up Your Phone and Computer So Nothing Is Lost
How to back up your phone and computer with the 3-2-1 rule: iCloud, Google, Time Machine and File History, plus chats, 2FA codes and a restore test.
AI for Personal Productivity
ChatGPT vs. Claude vs. Gemini: How to Choose an AI Assistant
ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini compared on 5 things that matter: writing, files, Google and Microsoft apps, privacy settings and countries.
Note-Taking & Knowledge Management
The Commonplace Book: What It Is and How to Start One
A commonplace book keeps quotes, facts and ideas with their source under subject headings. Where it came from, and 6 steps to start your own.
Productivity Apps & Tools
Best To-Do List Apps Compared: How to Choose
The best to-do list apps for 6 situations, checked on price, devices and sharing, plus a 3-step trial to run before you move your tasks in.
Productivity Apps & Tools
Best Time Tracking Apps Compared: Manual, Automatic, or Hybrid?
The best time tracking apps compared for 3 jobs (seeing where your week goes, billing clients, team reports) and the rules on tracking staff.
Note-Taking & Knowledge Management
The Cornell Note-Taking Method: How It Works and When to Use It
The Cornell note-taking method splits a page into 3 areas and adds 5 steps. Research backs its self-testing step far more than the layout itself.
Note-Taking & Knowledge Management
Best Note-Taking Apps Compared: How to Choose
The best note taking apps compared as 6 types, from phone notes to Markdown files: choose by how you capture, how you refind and how your notes can leave.
Automation & No-Code Workflows
Zapier vs. Make vs. n8n: How to Choose an Automation Platform
One 3-step workflow run 500 times a month uses 1,000 Zapier tasks, 1,500 Make credits or 500 n8n runs. Prices, hosting and failures compared.
Automation & No-Code Workflows
What Are APIs and Webhooks? A Plain-English Guide for Non-Developers
An API lets your tool ask an app for data; a webhook has the app tell you. One form entry, 2 routes to a spreadsheet, and how to guard your keys.
AI for Personal Productivity
How to Write a Good Prompt: A Guide for Non-Technical People
How to write a good prompt in 5 steps: what OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Microsoft agree on, and what tests found about wording, tips and expert personas.
AI for Personal Productivity
AI Chatbots for Emotional Support: Benefits, Risks, and When to See a Therapist
AI for emotional support: 48 trials found modest gains from chatbots built for mental health, but everyday chatbots are barely tested. When to get help.
AI at Work & AI Literacy
Shadow AI Explained: Why Employees Use Unapproved Tools and What to Do
Shadow AI is AI used for work without approval. In IBM's 2025 study, 1 in 5 breached firms reported a shadow AI breach. Why it happens and what beats a ban.
AI at Work & AI Literacy
Microsoft Copilot Explained: What It Does Inside Word, Excel, Outlook, and Teams
Microsoft Copilot in Word, Excel, Outlook and Teams as of September 2026: what each does, how it uses work data, and what 4 government trials found.
Productivity Apps & Tools
One Monitor, Two, or an Ultrawide? What Research Says About Screen Space
Ultrawide vs dual monitors: a review of 18 studies found people prefer two screens, but the evidence on speed is weaker and depends on the task.
Productivity Apps & Tools
Password Managers Explained: Why You Need One and How to Pick
Why a password manager beats memory, and how to pick one on 5 checks: encryption, track record, devices, passkeys, and sharing and recovery.
Productivity Apps & Tools
Best Calendar Apps Compared: How to Choose
The best calendar apps compared for 6 situations, from Google, Outlook and Apple to Proton, Fantastical and Cozi, and why alerts matter more than looks.
Note-Taking & Knowledge Management
The Zettelkasten Method Explained: A Beginner's Guide
The Zettelkasten method explained: the 4 parts of Niklas Luhmann's slip-box, what note apps changed, and what research does and does not support.
Note-Taking & Knowledge Management
How to Take Notes From Books So You Remember What You Read
How to take notes from a book: a 2022 review of 36 articles found highlighting did little for understanding. Recall each chapter from memory instead.
Note-Taking & Knowledge Management
Building a Second Brain: The Core Ideas Explained
Building a second brain rests on 4 steps: capture, organize, distill, express. Here is Tiago Forte's method and what memory research backs.
Automation & No-Code Workflows
Spreadsheet Automation for Beginners: Formulas, Macros, and Scripts
Formulas, macros and scripts explained, with 5 steps to automate a spreadsheet safely, and why close audits find errors in most working sheets.
Automation & No-Code Workflows
Robotic Process Automation Explained: What RPA Is and Where It Fits
What robotic process automation is, how attended and unattended bots differ, where RPA fits, and where the 30-50% failure figure comes from.
Automation & No-Code Workflows
Email Filters and Rules: How to Make Your Inbox Sort Itself
How Gmail filters and Outlook rules work, why a few routing rules beat deep folder trees, and 5 steps to set them up and test them safely.
AI for Personal Productivity
AI Hallucinations Explained: Why Chatbots Make Things Up
AI hallucinations explained: why chatbots guess instead of saying they don't know, what tests from 2023 to 2026 found, and 4 signs an answer may be made up.
AI for Personal Productivity
How to Use AI to Write Emails: Prompts for Requests, Updates, and Follow-Ups
AI for writing emails: 3 copy-ready prompts for requests, updates and follow-ups, what a large trial found it saves, and what to keep out of the chat.
AI for Personal Productivity
Is AI Making Us Think Less? What Research Says About Cognitive Offloading
AI and critical thinking: what a 319-worker survey, a school math trial and an MIT preprint found about cognitive offloading, and 4 habits to keep thinking.
AI at Work & AI Literacy
The EU AI Act Explained: A Plain-English Guide to Risk Tiers and Who Is Affected
The EU AI Act sorts AI into 4 risk tiers. What it bans, why hiring tools count as high-risk, who must comply, and the dates after the 2026 amendment.
AI at Work & AI Literacy
How to Write an AI Use Policy: A Step-by-Step Guide With Template
Write an AI use policy in 8 steps, with a plain template built on NIST, ISO/IEC 42001, the EU AI Act and data regulators' advice on chatbots at work.
AI at Work & AI Literacy
How to Build AI Into Your Team's Workflow, One Task at a Time
How to put AI in team workflows in 6 steps, and why, in a large trial, an AI tool for each person sped up solo work but not the work a team shares.
Productivity Apps & Tools
How to Choose Productivity Apps: A Framework That Starts With the Problem
How to choose productivity apps in 5 steps: name the problem, pick the smallest fix, test it on real work, judge it on set criteria, then review.
Automation & No-Code Workflows
Workflow Automation for Beginners: What It Is and Where to Start
What workflow automation is, which tasks suit it, and 5 steps to build a first automation that saves time without quietly creating new problems.
AI at Work & AI Literacy
What Is an AI Agent? A Plain-English Guide for Business Readers
An AI agent acts, it does not only answer. What independent tests found about finishing multi-step work, and 6 things to require before you let one act.
Note-Taking & Knowledge Management
Why Take Notes at All? What Note-Taking Does for Memory and Thinking
Why take notes? A 57-study meta-analysis found only a modest benefit from taking notes; a second found substantial effects from taking and reviewing them.
AI for Personal Productivity
AI Assistants for Beginners: What They Can and Can't Do for You
AI assistants for beginners: in a 758-consultant experiment, AI help improved work on 18 tasks but cut correct answers on another. What they do well and badly.
AI at Work & AI Literacy
AI Literacy Explained: What Every Employee Needs to Understand
How EU law, the OECD and the US Labor Department define AI literacy, the 5 things every employee should understand, and what the EU asks of employers.