How AI Took the Stress Out of Meal Planning (And How It Can Simplify Your Work Too)

There, I said it. I hate meal planning. My wife and I do it every week, and it takes mental energy. There are always so many things to consider: who’s home when, what the kids have on this week, which kids’ birthday party we’re attending, and whether any work events will take me away from home.

When we’re in the zone, meal planning flows smoothly, 15 to 30 minutes, and bam, the week is sorted. The shopping list is ready, and we just grab what we need.

After a busy week or two and that energy is gone, the 15-30 minute ritual turns into hours of mental strain, or worse, we skip it and end up scrambling for random meals, sometimes eating toast three nights in a row!

I talk about AI so much that it was bound to happen eventually, but that week as my wife and I discussed what to plan for the week ahead, I had ChatGPT open on my laptop and it hit me... why could I just get 'it' to do it for me.

I opened a new chat window and simply wrote:

I need a dinner meal plan from Monday to Sunday next week. Consider the following: make Monday and Wednesday easy, as we’ll be home late. Include a steak and salad one night, but no more red meat after that. On Saturday, just plan something for the kids.

It gave us a meal plan that was nearly perfect. After a quick glance, my wife and I made a few adjustments, and just like that, it was done. It even offered to create a shopping list which again, gave us 99% of everything we needed.

So, why am I telling you about meal planning in a professional AI newsletter? The reason is simple: identifying the small, mentally exhausting tasks in your business is a great way to experiment with AI. You can remove the burden, streamline processes, or delegate the task entirely. The next time you feel overwhelmed, ask yourself: how could AI simplify or automate this?