Hi Reader,

Most documents don’t need more time.
They need a better way to read them.

A 40-page report.
A contract.
A proposal you need to evaluate.

The default approach is to start from the top and read everything.
That’s slow.
And often unnecessary.
Because most of the value in a document is concentrated in a few key parts:

• what it means
• what matters
• what requires action

A better approach

Instead of reading everything, use AI to extract exactly what you need.
Start with this:

1. Set your objective
​Before pasting the document, define what you need:

“I need to understand the key terms, risks, and decisions I need to make.”

2. Get a quick orientation
​Ask:

“What type of document is this, what is its purpose, and how is it structured?”

Now you have a map.

3. Extract what matters
​Be specific:

“Identify the key points, deadlines, costs, and obligations I should focus on.”

4. Ask for what’s missing or unclear
​This is where clarity improves:

“Highlight anything unusual, unclear, or that might require attention.”

5. Prepare before acting
​Instead of guessing, ask:

“What should I verify or ask before making a decision?”

You’re no longer reading line by line.
You’re extracting value.

Try this today
​Take any document and run:

“I need to understand this quickly.

Give me a clear summary, the key points that matter, anything unusual, and what I should verify before acting.”

You’ll go from pages to clarity in minutes.

This approach comes from the upcoming book Mastering AI for Productivity, where we focus on practical systems to save time and improve decision-making with AI.

More on that soon.

— Mastering AI Team
Make AI work for you