The end of the year is my favorite time—not just for the holiday traditions with friends and family, but for the opportunity it brings to hit the reset button.

I am not saying to start from scratch per se, but I am advocating to start smarter and leverage this year’s advances in artificial intelligence.

I feel like this is the perfect season to declare email bankruptcy, tie up loose ends, and map out a clear path for the year ahead.

Every December, I carve out time to clean up lingering obligations, solidify my strategy for the new year, and dive into a good book about someone who inspires me. Last year it was The River of Doubt about Teddy Roosevelt, the year before it was Titan on John D. Rockefeller.

This year also I’m leveraging AI to wrap up 2024 and plan 2025. With that in mind let’s explore how you can do the same to turn chaos into clarity and set yourself up for a winning 2025.

AI-Powered Task Triage for Year-End Cleanup

As the year ends, the to-do list grows overwhelming, with tasks ranging from mundane admin work to high-impact strategic planning. Instead of staring at the chaos, let AI help you triage. Use tools like ChatGPT or task management platforms with AI integrations to prioritize, delegate, and even complete some of these tasks for you.

Here’s a practical approach:

Step 1: Task Dump

First, take 30 minutes to offload every pending task—big or small—into a digital list. Use tools like Notion, Asana, or even a plain text file.

Don't filter, just list. Think of this as mental decluttering.

Step 2: Categorization via AI

Feed this task list into an AI tool like ChatGPT or Todoist with AI capabilities. Prompt it to:

• Categorize tasks into "Urgent," "Important," "Delegatable," and "Low Priority."

• Highlight tasks that could be automated, like scheduling meetings or sending follow-up emails.

Example Prompt

Here is my task list: [Insert list]. Categorize these based on urgency and importance, and suggest tasks that can be automated or delegated.

Step 3: Automate and Delegate

For tasks marked as automatable, use AI tools to execute them. Examples:

• Drafting email responses with ChatGPT or Claude (I think it writes better more human-sounding responses).

• Automating data entry with tools like Taskade’s Data Entry Agent.

Delegate low-priority tasks using platforms like Fiverr or by assigning them to your team. Use ChatGPT to create clear, actionable task descriptions.

Step 4: Schedule Focus Time

AI can also analyze your calendar and suggest optimal time blocks for deep work, ensuring your most important tasks get undistracted attention. For instance, Microsoft Viva Insights, Drag for Email, or TimeHero can help create a focused schedule tailored to your year-end goals.

Step 5: Set AI Checkpoints

Use AI to set and monitor progress. You can use an app like Mentor to help you stay accountable, Stepseed on your phone, or Stellar AI to set goals for your entire company.

Bonus: While this has nothing to do with AI it ‘s an excellent and inspiring overview of how to set yourself up for success in 2025. Get fired up with this episode of My First Million with Jesse Itzler: How to plan an epic 2025 in 56 minutes. Jesse Itzler is an entrepreneur and author known for co-founding Marquis Jet and pioneering the private jet card model. He is also a co-owner of the Atlanta Hawks and a partner in Zico Coconut Water. He gained mainstream attention for his book "Living with a SEAL," a first-person account of a 31-day training regimen under the guidance of a U.S. Navy SEAL. He frequently speaks on mindset, endurance, and pushing beyond perceived limits.

Use AI to Wrap Up 2024 and Crush 2025

From Chaos to Clarity: How AI Can Redefine Your Year-End Strategy

As 2024 draws to a close, AI has become more than a novelty or trending topic on X.com. It’s the engine guiding big decisions, funneling funds, and testing nerves in C-suites. Some firms reaped results—improved efficiency, sharper insights, and bigger margins — see The AI Emergent Enterprise for my dive into Moderna.

Others learned hard lessons from rushed deployments and blind bets. For example, an X user discovered a flaw in the Chevrolet chatbot system and directed the bot to agree to all requests. Consequently, the chatbot agreed to sell a new Chevrolet Tahoe for one dollar, even treating it as a legally binding offer.

From desk-side AI assistants to eerily tailored customer experiences, AI wove itself into every business layer. Supply chains ran smoother, sales forecasts got smarter, and marketing campaigns hit precise targets. But the year wasn’t without turbulence—data ethics, model bias, and the looming “Are-we-building-Skynet?” question dominated conversations.

Set the Stage: Build on What Worked

Rolling into 2025, the winners are doubling down on what worked in 2024—and ruthlessly ditching the dead weight.

Here’s how to set yourself up for a blockbuster year:

🛠 Audit the Algorithms: Take a hard look at your current AI tools. Are they moving the needle? Measure ROI and cut the ones that aren’t delivering. Use those freed-up resources to scale what’s working.

I ditched using Perplexity.AI for You.com for AI-powered Search

📚 Upskill Your Team: 2024 flooded the market with AI tools, but tools without trained operators are useless. Invest in training—make sure your team can harness AI’s power effectively.

My advice is to learn how to deploy AI agents, I recommend MindStudio or Taskade.

🎯 Focus on Real Outcomes: Forget shiny trends and hype. Zero in on projects that drive tangible impact—reducing churn, boosting productivity, or cracking into untapped markets. Execution beats trend-chasing every time.

Tune up your prompts with more examples to get the results from ChatGPT or other chatbots more quickly.

2025: Think Big, Act Smart

If 2024 was about figuring out what’s possible, 2025 is about making it happen. Here’s where to focus:

🤖 Hyper-Automation: If it’s repetitive, automate it. From data entry to customer support, let AI handle the grind, so your team can focus on higher-value work.

I am spending the holidays working on using agents to help me automate many of my tasks, especially creating ideas for social media posts. My theme for 2025 is going to be, “Is there an agent that can do that for me?”

🧠 AI + Human Creativity: Generative AI is here to amplify creativity, not replace it. From crafting content to designing products, the best ideas will come from humans working alongside AI.

My best brainstorming tactic is to take an idea, headline, or social media post and then ask the chatbot of your choice to Iterate 10x, it will give you 10 ideas on a theme. You still need to choose and edit, but it’s a way to accelerate your process.

⚖️ AI Governance: With regulators tightening their grip, transparency and ethics are non-negotiable. Get ahead by implementing responsible AI practices now—you’ll thank yourself later.

I think my friends at Opaque Systems do a great job of covering these topics on their podcast, AI Confidential. Consider how you approach AI in your organization, and create an acceptable use policy for AI.

Final Shot: Stay Focused, Stay Bold

2025 will be fast-paced and high-stakes, but don’t lose sight of what matters. AI is a tool, not a silver bullet. Use it smartly, and it will be your secret weapon. Misuse it, and it’ll drain your time and resources faster than a leaky faucet.

So grab your favorite drink—coffee, whiskey, or something in between—and start planning for a stellar, AI-powered new year.

Hoop - From meeting to Slack to yet another meeting, let Hoop capture and prioritize your tasks. A global task list across all your tools, with AI at the core. I am currently testing this and have yet to make a verdict but it looks promising.

Finder - An AI-powered second brain for organizing files. One platform to organize, search, and utilize information scattered across apps, social bookmarks, notes, thoughts, and files. Recall anything, in seconds

Goal Setting with ChatGPT

As a follow-up to the AI-Powered Task Triage tip above, this prompt instructs will help you prioritize your tasks and clearly define your goals for 2025—both personal and professional.

It breaks down the goal-setting process into a structured format, beginning with two personal goals and two professional goals, each accompanied by a short description and three actionable steps for achieving them. In addition, it includes a goal related to streamlining and cleaning up daily tasks.

How To Use This Prompt

1. Copy the prompt: The first step is to copy the prompt provided above.

2. Follow the AI's guidance: ChatGPT will respond and guide you through the process of setting your goals. Follow the instructions provided by the AI.

3. Continue the conversation with the AI: You can continue the conversation with the AI by typing in the input field and pressing enter. The AI will continue to assist you based on your responses.

You are ChatGPT, a helpful AI. Assist me in setting my personal and professional goals for 2025. Guide me through the process of defining each goal and creating actionable steps to achieve them. We will start with two personal goals, then move on to two professional goals. For each goal, I need to provide a description and three action steps.