The mental load of motherhood can be heavy, no matter what stage of parenting you are in.
There is constant planning, decision-making, and execution of the day-to-day as well as planning for the upcoming seasons. If only there were a special tool that could help moms simplify their lives.
Enter ChatGPT.
ChatGPT is a generative artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot that was released by the tech lab, OpenAI, back in November 2022 and it has been revolutionizing the world since. Microsoft co-founder, Bill Gates, recently wrote that “the development of AI is as fundamental as the creation of the (…), personal computer, the Internet, and the mobile phone. It will change the way people work, learn, travel, get health care, and communicate with each other. Entire industries will reorient around it.” It has already become ubiquitous in the corporate world as many companies realize how it can streamline business processes, saving time and money as employees can work more efficiently. While technology advances, we will continue to see AI’s impact in other areas.
As I read more about its capabilities, I started testing out it out for myself to see how it might make me more efficient as a mom.
An individual can communicate with the bot through typed prompts via chat. It understands basic language, so you can ask it questions in a conversational way. The simpler your prompt, the more generic your response will be. The more detail you are able to provide in your prompt, it will yield a more personalized and detailed response.
ChatGPT is generative which means it is able to synthesize information from various online sources and takes that information to produce original content in its response. The tool remembers previous prompts you have asked for and takes that information into account when answering new prompts.
Parents can rejoice because these efficiencies can be used for managing your household! Check out some ideas on using ChatGPT below.
Meal Planning
You can ask ChatGPT to create a weekly meal plan for your family, including recipes, and even a shopping list. The tool can specify its results to accommodate dietary restrictions or preferences. Try prompts like “Create a weekly meal plan for a family of (X number of people) who are (vegetarian, picky eaters, Keto, etc.).” If you don’t like certain ideas, you can ask the bot to provide alternatives (for example, add portable or make ahead breakfasts).
Tip: You can ask for the response in table form if that is easier for you to read.
If you like the plan it suggests, take a step further by responding back asking for recipes and a shopping list of the plan.
Party Planning
ChatGPT can be your go-to party planning assistant. My daughter recently asked for a rainbow-themed 3rd birthday party. I asked ChatGPT to “help me plan a rainbow-themed birthday party for a 3-year-old girl” and it gave me step-by-step ideas to pull a celebration together including themed decoration suggestions, unique activity and game ideas, food and drinks, party favors, and even suggestion for guests to dress in a color of the rainbow of their choice. You could dig a bit deeper into any of the suggestions by asking the bot to provide instructions or a shopping list to help you out. If your little one has come up with an obscure birthday party theme (a vacuum party was also mentioned in my house), ChatGPT can help bring the idea to life. I tested out asking about a vacuum-themed party and was impressed by the ideas it came up with!
Chore Charts
Want everyone in the house to start chipping in more, but aren’t sure where to start? Simply ask ChatGPT to “make a daily chore chart for a (X-year-old) child” and it will give you a chore chart broken down by morning, afternoon, and daily activities. You can tailor your prompt to specific tasks or rooms you want it to include or anything you want to specifically exclude. Or for example, if you are working on a major closet cleanout, you could ask ChatGPT to provide you with a daily to-do list to complete the task over the course of a weekend. The options are endless based on your needs.
Home Projects
Need to paint a room? Trying to build raised beds for a garden? ChatGPT can give you step-by-step instructions on how to complete a variety of home projects. When I asked what I needed to paint a room, the response included supplies needed, preparation steps, and tips for painting techniques. This would have taken much longer on standard Google searches cross-referencing various articles. ChatGPT helps break down large projects into much more manageable tasks.
Budgeting
While ChatGPT isn’t at the point yet of taking over human financial professionals, it does offer some tips to help with household budgeting based on your situation. By providing basic information like income, expenses, and what you are looking to do (house downpayment, savings for college, etc.), ChatGPT can help advise how to allocate your money to reach those goals. You could provide it with a prompt like ” I have (X dollars) in take-home pay each month, with (X dollars in expenses) for rent/mortgage, (X dollars) for childcare, (X dollars) for (other big expenses), etc. Make me a plan to help allocate money for retirement savings.” Since ChatGPT is generative, it will remember previous inputs, which allows you to ask nuanced follow-ups like “How will annual bonus pay of (X dollars) fit into this” or similar questions. Remember, this doesn’t take the place of true financial planning advice (yet), but can definitely be helpful in certain scenarios.
Have you tried ChatGPT? How has it made your life easier?
