My Mondays, before and after gen AI: What the new anatomy of work
John MacDonald
Director, Productivity and Collaboration Practice, Google Workspace
Google Workspace Newsletter
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I used to hit the ground running each week by checking emails, either on a Sunday night or early Monday morning before a full day of meetings. Now, with generative AI, an hour of “digging myself out” has become 10 to 15 minutes of focused catch-up. Being able to tell Gemini to “summarize” that 35-email thread, or draft a response based on the document our team just reviewed, has been transformative for my Mondays — and every weekday after.
Goodbye to “that meeting could have been an email”
Gemini has also had a cascade effect on my meetings. Because so much of the prep can be done ahead of time, with relevant docs and more focused messaging over email and chat, meetings tend to be shorter and more meaningful — or they don’t happen at all! Chances are good with Gemini that if the meeting “could have been an email,” then it’s already in your inbox.And when we are in a meeting, we can focus on decision making and discussion, rather than writing documents together (has anyone ever loved debating word choices during a meeting?) or taking notes (thank you, Take notes for me!). And for those times that my schedule is double or triple booked? I’ll soon be able to have Gemini deliver a recap directly to my inbox.
Anatomy of a Monday
So how does all this change my Mondays? Here are some highlights through lunchtime:
It’s only lunch time and my day’s already been transformed. Here are a few takeaways from my calendar and Time Insights:
Before Gemini, I spent a lot more time on “checking in” and “getting updates.”
Now I spend more time on strategy, in-person connection, and focus time.
I have fewer — shorter — meetings because Gemini takes away the burden of pulling together the right information for every audience.
I can send out timely and visually engaging updates with Google Vids, even if the team can’t find time to get together.
When I’m double booked, I can choose the best use of my in-person time and get recaps of the meetings I can’t attend delivered to my inbox (coming soon).
Gemini helps me do more than save time — it’s also created some “blue sky” time in my calendar for big-picture thinking and meaningful connection. Our customers tell us that Gemini for Workspace is saving their employees an average of 105 minutes per week while also enhancing the quality of their work. All this means that the lunchtime budget planning meeting—and many other drains on my time— are now a thing of the past.
What could your Mondays look like with Gemini for Workspace?
