PRACTICAL AI: LEARNING BY DOING

A 90-Day, Week-by-Week AI Implementation Guide for Beginners

by Marcy Ullom with lost of help from AI

WHO THIS IS FOR

This guide is designed for professionals with little to no prior experience using AI tools. No technical background is required. The goal is confidence, competence, and practical results — not expertise.

PHILOSOPHY

You will not learn AI by reading about it. You will learn by using it in real work, week by week. Each week introduces a simple, practical use case that builds comfort and capability.

Time Commitment: • 2–3 hours per week of focused learning • 10–30 minutes per day of practical use

Outcome: By the end of 90 days, AI will be a normal part of your work and saving you 5–10 hours per week.

QUICK START: WEEK 0 (FOUNDATIONS)

Step 1: Complete Google AI Essentials

Where to find it: • Go to grow.google • Search for “Google AI Essentials”

What this course does: • Explains what AI can and cannot do • Teaches basic prompting (this is critical) • Uses workplace examples instead of technical theory

Time Required: 8–10 hours total Do not overthink this step. Complete it, take notes, and move on.

PHASE 1: FOUNDATION (WEEKS 1–4)

Week 1 – Getting Comfortable Talking to AI

Goal: Remove intimidation and build basic trust

What to do: • Open one AI tool (ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini) • Use it once per day for any low-risk task

Daily Practice Examples: • Ask AI to rewrite an email more clearly • Ask for a meeting agenda • Ask for a summary of a document

Skill you are learning: • How to ask clear questions • That you cannot ‘break’ AI

Week 2 – Writing Assistance

Goal: Let AI create first drafts

What to do: • Draft emails, messages, or short documents in AI first • Edit the result in your own voice

Practice prompts: • “Draft a polite follow-up email” • “Make this message clearer and more professional”

Outcome: • Faster writing • Less blank-page stress

Week 3 – Summarizing & Explaining

Goal: Use AI as a reading assistant

What to do: • Paste articles, emails, or notes into AI • Ask for summaries or key takeaways

Practice prompts: • “Summarize this in 5 bullet points” • “Explain this in plain English”

Week 4 – Creating Simple Templates

Goal: Reuse what works

What to do: • Identify 3 repetitive tasks you do often • Create AI-generated templates for them

Examples: • Standard email replies • Meeting agendas • Follow-up messages

PHASE 2: BUILDING CONFIDENCE (WEEKS 5–8)

Week 5 – Research Without Overwhelm

Goal: Use AI to digest information

What to do: • Ask AI to summarize topics you care about • Use AI before Google searches

Prompt example: • “Give me an overview of this topic at a beginner level”

Week 6 – Planning & Organization

Goal: Think more clearly with AI

What to do: • Ask AI to help plan projects or events • Create timelines and checklists

Prompt example: • “Create a simple project plan for…”

Week 7 – Turning One Idea into Many

Goal: Repurpose work

What to do: • Take one idea and ask AI to reshape it • Use different formats

Week 8 – Reflection & Improvement

Goal: Get feedback from AI

What to do: • Ask AI how to improve documents • Ask what’s unclear or missing

PHASE 3: WORKFLOW INTEGRATION (WEEKS 9–12)

Week 9 – Your Personal AI Workflow

Goal: Use AI daily without thinking

What to do: • Identify when AI saves time • Use it intentionally every morning

Week 10 – Documenting Processes

Goal: Make work reusable

What to do: • Ask AI to help document how you do tasks

Week 11 – Decision Support

Goal: Think through choices

What to do: • Ask AI to list pros and cons • Explore what-if scenarios

Week 12 – Review & Confidence Check

Goal: Solidify habits

What to do: • Review time saved • Identify your top AI use cases • Decide how you will continue using AI

FINAL THOUGHTS

If you can write an email, you can use AI.

AI is not about replacing judgment — it is about removing friction. By now, you are no longer ‘learning AI.’ You are simply working smarter.