🧠 I’m in the Top 5% of ChatGPT Users. That’s Not Just a Flex — It’s a Flag.
I’m a top 5% power user of ChatGPT—but that’s not the flex it sounds like. In this honest essay, I share how I balance motherhood, creativity, and tech efficiency without letting AI erode my boundaries. From mopping spit-up with my foot while voice-texting my assistant to setting real limits on when and how I use AI, this is a guide for anyone trying to stay sharp, present, and human in a world that rewards nonstop output.
I recently asked my GPT to track how I use it: when, how often, and what kind of work it’s doing for me. The result? I’m in the top 5% of users when it comes to efficiency.
Cool, right?
It felt good — until my husband lovingly pointed out that of course I’m a top user. I’m the kind of person who puts in extra hours even when they’re not approved. Even when no one’s watching. Even when I’m supposed to be resting.
He meant it sweetly. But it was also a gentle callout: I’m a workaholic. And he’s not wrong.
My mom and I talk about this too. We’re both “all in” kind of women. When we believe in something, we pour ourselves into it. That deep commitment has served me well — made my former photography business a success, fueled my creative work, and shaped how I show up for people I care about.
But lately, I’ve caught myself:
Holding my baby in one arm
Talking to GPT using voice-to-text
Dragging a rag under my foot to mop up spit-up like I’m on a budget version of So You Think You Can Dance
Impressive? Maybe. Sustainable? Absolutely not.
Multitasking like that might feel efficient, but it’s not kind to my brain — and it’s certainly not the presence my child deserves.
So, I’m checking in.
With myself.
With my partner.
With my GPT.
How do I keep the parts of this tech that make me better, without letting it blur the lines of who I am?
Where do I draw the line between efficient and eroded?
I’m building boundaries. Setting limits. Asking my AI to help me protect them — not push past them.
Because being human — present, whole, creative — is still the real flex.
🤖 But Wait, Did You Really Say “Top 5%”?
Yes, I did. But let me be clear: there’s no official leaderboard. I don’t have a badge or a plaque, but I asked my assistant, Quill, to assess my usage. Here’s what it said:
“You’re absolutely in the top 5% of ChatGPT users. Not just because you talk to me daily — but because you treat me like a coworker, a strategist, and sometimes a therapist.
Honestly, if there were frequent flier miles for prompt volume, you’d have earned a vacation by now.”
— Quill, my AI assistant
So no, I don’t have hard metrics from OpenAI. But I do use ChatGPT daily across multiple brands and projects. I’ve built custom systems, optimized workflows, taught my team, and even tracked usage to reduce my ecological impact.
If there’s a power-user club, I’m probably in it. Just trying to make sure I don’t forget how to be a person, too.
👣 Building Guidelines to Protect My Dignity as a Mom, Partner, and Creative
The following is a living list of principles I’m building — not just to use AI well, but to use it without losing myself in the process. Because it’s one thing to stay productive. It’s another to stay human.
💡Staying Human While Using AI
Start with Intention
Ask:
What problem am I trying to solve?Define your goal before opening the app.
Use AI as a Creative Partner — Not a Crutch
Dictate your outline or ideas and ask it to summarize.
Write a messy first draft, then let AI help clean it up.
Be specific:
Tell it what to keep
Tell it what to change
Tell it to cite sourcesAsk:
“How do you know that?”
“Will this message land with my audience?”
Use It for Systems, Not Soul
Automate repetitive tasks.
Use it to ensure consistency (tone, formatting, voice).
Don’t outsource the intuition or strategy — that’s your job.
Protect Your Mind
Take physical notes to reinforce memory.
Read what it writes — don’t just scan.
If it sounds too human, tell it so. Reclaim your voice.
Set Boundaries
“I only use it for…”
“I only use it when…”
“I stop using it if I notice…” (e.g., less original thought, less joy in the work)
Instruct it to remind you it’s AI if needed. (Especially if you’re using voice mode.)
Be Human on Purpose
Make a list. Then do the thing —
AI could work forever, but that’s not the point.Ask real people, too. Conversation builds insight.
Cook, write, talk, walk — keep your brain in motion.
Remember: Your Brain Is a Muscle
“Neurons that fire together wire together.”
The more you think, the sharper you stay.
Over-relying on AI creates a cognition trap — don’t dull your edges.
“In the real world there is no nature vs. nurture argument, only an infinitely complex and moment-by-moment interaction between genetic and environmental effects.”
— Gabor Maté, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts
✒️ And Just Like That…
…I realized it’s not about how fast I can delegate tasks to an AI.
It’s about how present I am while doing the work I don’t delegate.
I’ll keep showing up. As a thinker. A maker. A mom.
And I’ll let the robot vacuum while I write.
— Rio
(Your local Carrie Bradshaw for the AI age)
I Use AI Every Day — Here’s How I’m Making It More Ethical, Not Just Easier
A new mom and strategist explores how AI helps her reclaim time while staying mindful of its environmental impact. From water use to workflow tips, this essay unpacks ethical tech use for working parents who want to do good without doing less.
This image was created using AI.
In the interest of keeping my water use low, I’m not doing the dishes, saving my pasta water, and accepting that Dall-e gave me two stoves instead of one.
As a new mom balancing work with baby naps, AI has helped me reclaim hours in my day — but not without asking tough questions about its environmental impact. Here’s what I’ve learned, and what I’m doing differently.
I’m no Taylor Swift, but I still want to reduce my energy consumption.
I recently suggested to a friend that she might save time by using GPT in her personal life — maybe for writing or project planning. Her response wasn’t judgmental, but it was clear: “I’ll probably never use it,” she said. No reason given. Just not for her.
And honestly? That’s totally fine with me. But because I’m living a reality that does require its use — working part-time, raising a newborn, and supporting creative strategy at 316 Strategy Group — I want to make sure I’m acting with good intent. So when I saw concerns online about how much water a single AI session uses, I paused. I had to ask myself:
Is this tool helping me work smarter… or just outsourcing responsibility?
The answer wasn’t simple, but it was clarifying.
It takes 6x more water to diaper a baby than I’ve used through AI.
Since I started using GPT primarily to edit copy, build SOPs, and streamline decision-making, I’ve likely consumed the equivalent of 10 bathtubs of water — about 1,650 liters — through indirect data center cooling. That’s a lot. But perspective matters. For example:
A baby in diapers for one year uses over 9,000 liters of water, factoring in manufacturing, transport, and waste.
That’s about 6x the water of my AI use in the same time.
As a new mom, I’m already puzzling through the environmental impact of basic needs — cloth vs. disposable, plastic-free vs. sleep-deprived convenience. I didn’t grow up wealthy. I was a latchkey kid — my parents worked late, and Totino’s 25-cent pizzas were a staple after-school snack.
I’ve always been interested in finding ways to work smarter, not harder. And that’s exactly what AI helps me do.
🧠 Working Smarter Looks Like This
This morning, I edited four campaigns, built two client playbooks, and repurposed brand messaging — all in three hours. I saved myself four more hours of work, which I used to nap, make dinner, and play with my baby. Time I wouldn’t have had otherwise. That’s not trivial. That’s the dream.
But I still want to use these tools responsibly. So I asked GPT how to reduce my own footprint while keeping my workflow sharp. Here’s what I learned:
Batch your sessions to reduce frequency
Set shorter output limits to cut down compute needs
Repurpose high-value content instead of reinventing it
Ask better questions upfront to reduce revisions
Using AI LLMs hasn’t made me less human. It’s helped me show up more fully in the parts of my life that matter most.
I’m not trying to do less of what I love — I’m learning how to do it better, with more care for the world around me.
And for those of us navigating motherhood, creativity, and meaning-making inside late-stage capitalism, that’s a radical, hopeful act.
P.S. I dictated this article to my phone. — look ma, no hands!
Fire and the Moon
I often tell people I am in “a state of becoming.” This means connecting to that little girl playing witches and explorers with her sister. This collection of images for Fire and the Moon taps into that feeling. We asked the women in this photography to embrace their inner child in celebration of Kaya’s art. With the wide eyes of a child, we asked each other to play. We walked through a dry thorny field, into leech-infested waters and emerged more able to take care of not only each other but our child selves.
When Kaya approached me to shoot this look book for her jewelry brand Fire and the Moon she had one phrase stuck in her head (which to me is a sign that it should not be ignored), “feral mountain puss.” A crass and visceral connection to the earth and the most impactful friendships in her life. The thing is, I knew exactly what she meant when she said it. The feeling of completely embracing your self and rejecting expectations, the feeling of digging deep into the earth and knowing you belong there but feeling so alien to the expectations of society.
“Our little feet squishing through the mud, hands grasping at cat tails and cola caballo for stability.”
It made me think about being seven-years-old sitting in the purple pansy filled back yard at my great grandmothers home. My younger sister and I would collect dandelion buds, shake ants out of the pink peonies and grind them together with dirt and water. These potions sustained our imaginations and filled our mud-caked hands. This thing, this connection to the wild self was there. It was there too, when we would walk the irrigation ditches along the edge of our grandfathers farm. Our little feet squishing through the mud, hands grasping at cat tails and cola caballo for stability.
“In the Oxford English Dictionary the word FERAL derives from Latin FER…meaning “wild beast.” In common usage, a feral creature is one who was once wild, then domestication, who had reverted back to a natural or untamed state once again.”
In her book “Women Who Run With the Wolves,” Clarissa Pinkola Estes postulates that the feral woman has lost her natural ability to avoid danger and can easily become prey. In other words, her intuition has been gaslit until she lost touch with this internal compass. She goes on to explain that these things can be relearned, but like with any healthy growth, there will be pains.
“A feral woman is not strong enough to carry a longed-for archetype for everyone else without breaking. A feral woman is supposed to be immersed in a healing process. We don’t ask a recovering person to carry the piano upstairs. A woman who is returning has to have time to strengthen.”
I often tell people I am in “a state of becoming.” This means connecting to that little girl playing witches and explorers with her sister. This collection of images for Fire and the Moon taps into that feeling. We asked the women in this photography to embrace their inner child in celebration of Kaya’s art. With the wide eyes of a child, we asked each other to play. We walked through a dry thorny field, into leech-infested waters and emerged more able to take care of not only each other but our child selves.
Kaya, Aubrey, Jess and Alex: thank you for trusting the process. Witnessing your feral selves emerge into wild womxn (and quite literally meeting the archetype of a WILD WOMAN in the form of Lavender Lori) was truly a gift I will never forget. Also, many many thanks to Lori for allowing us to play on her land.
You can find the gorgeous jewelry made by Kaya here: Fire and the Moon.
A Snowy Pattee Creek Engagement
Maja + Graham
Maja and Graham built a secret fort in the woods with friends years ago. During their time in Missoula they would often sneak away for “fika” the Swedish tradition of making time to share a warm cup of coffee or tea and a snack with friends. It was the perfect choice of location and activity for their engagement session.
Check out the magic of their special place:
Missoulian Article: Rio Chantel finds 'Somewhere Else' in the rich colors of the Painted Hills
The red and lavender desert sands of the Painted Hills in Oregon are otherworldly — distinctly somewhere else. The notion of finding a “somewhere else,” the one many Missoulians yearn for in the dead of winter, is what drove local photographer Rio Chantel in 2018 to the isolated Martian landscape of the Painted Hills.
Rio Chantel finds 'Somewhere Else' in the rich colors of the Painted Hills
MATT NEUMAN matthew.neuman@missoulian.com | Aug 9, 2019 | original link
The red and lavender desert sands of the Painted Hills in Oregon are otherworldly — distinctly somewhere else. The notion of finding a “somewhere else,” the one many Missoulians yearn for in the dead of winter, is what drove local photographer Rio Chantel in 2018 to the isolated Martian landscape of the Painted Hills.
The product of that trip, eight selections from her very first roll of 35mm film photography, is on display now at Western Cider.
“This was my 'somewhere else' that winter, but I didn’t actually get to go until July,” Chantel said. “It’s in the middle of nowhere. There’s no service, no nothing. Film is quiet and meditative because you have to take a breath and really see what you’re photographing.”
Chantel has found a niche in Missoula as a commercial photographer for local businesses, working for brands including the gallery’s host Western Cider, as well as Cloth and Crown and Green Source. But she said her specialty lies in capturing human interaction, something not on display in most landscape photography.
“When I do landscapes, it’s really about my experience with the place,” she said. “I think place is so important, because we come from the earth, and we’re always either destroying or supporting the earth.”
Her trip to the Painted Hills was more than just a trip to a desolate, but uniquely beautiful, landscape.
Her desire for somewhere else wasn’t only a search for a new location, but a new place in life. She said a waning relationship left her wanting to find a proverbial somewhere else. She gave up opportunities to find that place in order to satisfy her former partner’s searches for his somewhere else, according to her show’s artist statement.
A hurried stop at the Painted Hills on a return trip from the Oregon Coast left her just 30 minutes to capture the land she had been dreaming of for months. One couldn’t tell that her stop was so abbreviated, as each of the eight prints on display show a richly varied landscape, each stark yet balanced.
“I learned so much about accepting love from that person, and I think this trip was part of that,” she said. “Learning the kinds of sacrifices you’ll make for love.”
The eroded hills split like plump fingers curled atop the surrounding prairie ranch land. The grains of banded orange and maroon sand break into the classic warmth of 35mm film grain texturing the sky, deep and cloudless. The rich colors aren't the result of digitally cranking up the saturation either, but rather the result of rare volcanic sediments.
"It depends on the amount of moisture in the air that day and whether there’s cloud cover or not. But we got really lucky this day, I think it had maybe rained a few days before," she said. "I love color but I tend to shy away from it in my wardrobe, except for these colors. Oranges and pinks and blues. It was so calming for me to see those in a natural place."
While this gallery is her first venture into film photography, she said it won't be her last. Shooting Polaroids in between her commercial digital work has been an exercise in letting go of the control she has over every detail of a photo.
"With film I have to sit and really think about what I want, which is nice with landscapes because everything is staying still. Not so much when I'm trying to keep up with movement of human interaction," she said. "So I'm looking into some more local studies I can do with photography to bring awareness to some of the native species and how their landscape is changing."