The 'AI leverage' prompt exposes how much time you're actually losing each week when you think you're productive

Prepare to feel pretty uncomfortable, because the ‘AI leverage’ prompt exposes how much time you’re actually losing each week when you think you’re productive.

One writer decided to test the now-viral prompt to see whether AI could act more like a productivity coach than just a chatbot.

Instead of asking for answers, they asked the AI to audit their entire week and point out inefficiencies.

What came back revealed that a lot of what felt like productivity was actually just busy work in disguise.

The ‘AI leverage’ prompt exposes how much time you’ve lost

The tech idea behind the ‘AI leverage’ prompt is surprisingly simple but powerful.

Instead of using AI for one-off tasks, Amanda Caswell from Tom’s Guide decided to ask it to analyze how she spends her time, then identify what should be eliminated, automated, or delegated.

In the experiment, the AI quickly picked up on a major issue: constant context switching, like jumping between creative work and admin tasks, which might feel productive, but actually slows everything down.

One standout suggestion was to batch anything that doesn’t require original thinking.

That means grouping emails, scheduling, and other low-effort tasks into dedicated time blocks rather than letting them interrupt your day.

The result was fewer interruptions, faster execution, and a much clearer headspace for deep work.

Make your productivity time actually productive

What makes this prompt so effective is that it reframes how people use AI altogether.

Instead of treating it like a search engine, it becomes more like a strategist that questions your habits and routines, like a digital assistant.

The test also showed that small changes can have a big impact.

Delegating repetitive tasks like sorting emails or setting reminders to AI tools can quietly save hours over time.

But perhaps the biggest takeaway is this: productivity isn’t always about doing more.

Sometimes it’s about doing less, just more intentionally, and once you see where your time is really going, it’s very hard to unsee it.