Chapter 3. There are already assets on your computer

Key points

• Before starting something new, connect what you already have to AI
• Generative AI handles organised information more accurately and more quickly
• Organising is not "for the AI"; it is tidying the desk that you and the AI will share

What you have beats what is new

Talk of using AI makes people brace for learning a new tool or a new skill. The truth runs the other way.

Rather than starting something new, connect what you already have.

As Chapter 1 noted, your computer already holds an enormous number of files. Patient handouts, home exercise sheets, assessment forms, papers, slides, blog drafts — all of it is material for using AI.

Most people already have the material. What is missing is not material, but the preparation to handle it alongside AI.

Why organising comes first

Generative AI has one particular trait.

The more organised the information, the more accurately and quickly it handles it.

Conversely, if

• the desktop is chaotic
• filenames are inconsistent
• nobody knows where anything is

then neither you nor the AI can do much.

Think of this less as "tidying up for the AI" and more as

setting the desk so a person and an AI can work at it together

At a cluttered desk you cannot hand work to even the best assistant. Clear the desk first. That is the first step.

And be reassured: the AI can help with the organising itself.

A prompt to try

I am a physical therapist. My work spans four areas: clinical, teaching, research and publishing. I want to organise the files on my computer. For each area, propose a folder structure — how to subdivide it so things are easy to find. Please use concrete folder names that suit a therapist's work.

Note that no file has been handed over here. It is only a conversation about how to organise, so there is no privacy concern — a safe way in.

Chapter 3 summary

• Most people already hold the material for using AI
• AI handles organised information more easily
• Organising is tidying the desk you and the AI share — and the AI can help