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I Let Claude Run My Week — Here’s What Happened

A working mom of 4 dips her toe into AI scheduling. The results surprised me.

By Rachael Martinson · May 2025 · 5 min read

Let me set the scene: four kids, a full-time career I love, a growing content side hustle I’m building in the margins, and a fitness routine I’m trying not to abandon. My weeks don’t have a lot of white space.

I’m not bad at managing my time. I’ve been doing this working-mom juggle for years. But lately I’ve been curious — could AI actually help me squeeze more out of the hours I already have? Not by working harder. By being smarter about where my energy goes.

So I decided to run an experiment. One week. Let Claude plan the whole thing. See what happens.

Think of this as me dipping my toe in. And honestly? The water’s pretty nice.

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The Problem With How Most of Us Plan

Here’s what my “planning” used to look like: stare at next week’s calendar on Sunday night, mentally note the obvious stuff (meetings, kid activities, appointments), and then tell myself I’d “figure out the rest as I go.”

Spoiler: “figuring it out as I go” usually means the important-but-not-urgent stuff — meal prep, workouts, the creative projects I care about — gets pushed to “next week.” Every week.

The issue isn’t laziness. It’s that planning takes mental energy, and by Sunday night I’ve already spent all of mine on the 400 micro-decisions that come with keeping a family alive.

What if I could outsource that mental load to something that doesn’t get tired?

What I wanted AI to do:

✅ Look at everything on my plate and tell me what’s realistic — and what’s not

✅ Help me protect the things that matter (family time, my workouts, my sanity)

✅ Batch similar tasks so I’m not bouncing between 15 different things

✅ Build in breathing room because life with four kids is unpredictable

✅ Give me a simple daily focus — not a 30-item to-do list

The Exact Prompt I Used (Steal This)

Here’s what I pasted into Claude. Copy it, fill in your life, and see what comes back. Five minutes, tops.

You are a world-class executive assistant AND a time management strategist who specializes in busy parents. I want to experiment with AI-powered weekly planning. Build me a realistic week — not an idealized fantasy, but something that accounts for real life being messy. ABOUT ME: – Who I am: [e.g., “working mom of 4, full-time career, building a side project in my spare time”] – My energy patterns: [e.g., “I’m sharpest in the morning, crash mid-afternoon, get a second wind in the evening”] – My biggest challenge: [e.g., “I overcommit, start strong on Mondays, and lose momentum by midweek”] MY WEEKLY COMMITMENTS: – Work: [e.g., “Full-time career, M-F”] – Kids/family: [e.g., “school logistics, activities, homework help, family dinners”] – Fitness: [e.g., “trying to work out 3-4x per week — mix of classes and home workouts”] – Side projects: [e.g., “content creation on weekends and occasional free pockets during the week”] – Non-negotiables: [e.g., “weekly date night with my husband, Sunday family time”] MY GOALS THIS WEEK: [List 5-7 specific things you want to accomplish, e.g.: – Get 3-4 workouts in – Meal prep on Sunday – Film content over the weekend – Respond to emails for side project – Be fully present with my kids at least 2 evenings — phone away] MY CONSTRAINTS: – What always gets dropped: [e.g., “my own projects — I put everyone else first”] – Time wasters I know about: [e.g., “scrolling, over-researching, saying yes to things I should decline”] – Hard boundaries: [e.g., “date night is untouchable, family time on weekends is protected”] DELIVER: 1. A day-by-day game plan for Monday through Sunday — with general time blocks (morning, midday, afternoon, evening) 2. A “Top 3 Focus” list for each day — the three things that matter most 3. Where I’m most likely to fall off track and a simple backup plan 4. Built-in buffer time for the unexpected 5. One honest callout — if I’m trying to pack in too much, tell me what to cut Keep it realistic. I’m not trying to become a productivity robot. I’m just trying to be a little more intentional with the time I have.

What I Learned From the Experiment

The Wins

The daily “Top 3 Focus” list was the biggest game changer. Instead of a monster to-do list that makes you feel behind before the day even starts, I had three things to aim for. When those were done, everything else was a bonus. By midweek I actually felt AHEAD, which genuinely never happens.

It also called me out on trying to pack too much into certain days. I didn’t love hearing it, but it was right. Having AI say “this isn’t realistic — move one of these to Thursday” was weirdly freeing.

The built-in buffer time saved me twice when kid stuff popped up unexpectedly. Instead of my whole week unraveling, I just flexed into the buffer and kept going.

What I’m Still Figuring Out

This was week one. I’m not going to pretend I’ve cracked the code. Some things felt a little ambitious and I had to tell Claude to adjust — which it did instantly. The beauty of AI planning is that it’s a conversation, not a rigid system. You can say “that didn’t work” and it adapts.

I’m also still experimenting with how to batch my content creation time more efficiently. That’s a work in progress. More on that soon.

How This Connects to Everything Else

Here’s the thing I’m realizing: AI isn’t just one tool for one thing. It’s starting to touch everything.

I used Claude to build my workout and nutrition plan (if you missed that, read it here):

Read: I Asked AI to Help Me Get My Abs Back →

Now I’m using it to plan my weeks. Next I want to experiment with using it to get more efficient at work — not to do less, but to be sharper with the time I’m already putting in. Better prep, smarter prioritization, less wasted energy on things that don’t move the needle.

I’ll keep sharing what’s working and what’s not as I go. That’s the whole point of this — I’m learning in public, one experiment at a time.

Coming Soon

How I’m using AI to work smarter (not longer) in my day job. Stay tuned.

Your Turn

You don’t have to go all-in. Just try it for one week. Copy the prompt, fill in your real life — be honest about what’s on your plate and where you struggle — and see what AI comes back with.

Worst case? You wasted 5 minutes. Best case? You feel like you got a few hours of your week back.

If you try it, DM me on Instagram. I want to know how it goes.

Want more AI experiments like this?

I’m sharing what works (and what doesn’t) as I figure this out — fitness, productivity, parenting, all of it. Real prompts, real results.

Follow Along on Instagram →

#AIMadeMeDoIt #ClaudeMadeMeDoIt #AIforMoms #ProductivityHack #WorkingMomLife #AIhacks #WeeklyPlanning