family Archives

Real-life prompts that go way beyond work, from sleep to date night

Image: Midjourney

After I shared my list of the best AI prompts for work, the comments poured in. “OK, Kim, but what about real life?”

What, my work life isn’t real enough for you? Kidding, great question! You know AI can plan a trip and meals or write a to-do list. But let’s go beyond that.

Here are some powerful, personal prompts to ask ChatGPT, Gemini or your favorite AI assistant. PSA: If you don’t want AI saving your chats or using them other ways, sign up and ask using a burner email address.

💭 For when you’re stuck

You don’t need a scented candle to dive deeper.

“Ask me questions to figure out what’s stressing me out.”
“Give me a plan to break a bad habit.”
“I’m in a rut. Help me brainstorm five things for more energy and joy.”

Bonus: Use Scheduled ChatGPT Tasks to have it check in with you weekly. Boom! Robot accountability buddy.

❤️ For your people

AI can be surprisingly thoughtful when it comes to people you love.

“How can I support my anxious teen without being a helicopter parent?”
“Help me write a kind message to a friend I’ve drifted from.”
“Create a no-screens weekend plan for family laughs.”

Bonus: Plan a night for a fun game you haven’t played yet, and suggest on-brand snack recipes.

😏 For love, flirts and deep convos

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What to stream now

ChatGPT

I don’t know about you, but when Friday hits, the last thing I want to do is scroll for an hour trying to find something to watch. Usually, I give up and rewatch The Office for the 10th time.

Not this weekend. I made you a watch list, meticulously crafted between dopamine crashes, for the entertainment-decision-deficient among us. You’re welcome.

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Ready, set, let’s go

🥳 Amazon’s Big Spring Sale has everything for epic family fun.

Keep little ones busy with a foldable playpen (20% off) that’s easy to store. Grandparents, you need one!
When playtime’s over, toss all the toys in a sturdy toy box (15% off).
Kiddos’ first camera (20% off) reminds me of an old-school Polaroid.
The Amazon Fire Kids tablet (26% off) has built-in controls to keep ’em safe.
Level up your gaming setup with an LG 27-inch monitor (40% off).
This gaming keyboard (42% off) has fun, colorful LED keys.
Hear every detail of the action with a new gaming headset (43% off).
Rock out anywhere with a portable Bluetooth speaker (20% off).
Timber! A block stacking game (15% off) is a summer must.
OK, I kinda want this floating basketball game (15% off) for the pool.

🐶 Fetch and chase: When your pets get the zoomies, toss a glow-in-the-dark bouncy ball (41% off). Your cat would probably prefer a laser (24% off).

We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.

00Heaven: Meet the big guns producing the next Bond film. Amazon picked Amy Pascal from Spider-Man and David Heyman, who’s behind Harry Potter. This’ll be the first time the Broccoli family won’t take charge since Amazon MGM got the rights from them. Who do you want as the next Bond girl? Sorry, I’m way too busy.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Eyes on your teens: If your kid is between 13 and 17, set up Supervision on Instagram. You or your teen can send the invite by going to your profile, tapping Menu (three lines) > Family Center > Invite your teen. Find their name and hit Invite. Then, open their account and tap the invite > Next > Allow. Simple.

Tech how-to: Delete your DNA data

ChatGPT

You can freeze your credit. Change your password. Replace a stolen phone. But there’s one thing you can’t ever change: your DNA.

That’s why the news that 23andMe just filed for bankruptcy should set off alarms. This company collected genetic information from over 15 million people. Yours could be sold as part of bankruptcy proceedings, absorbed into a merger or leaked in a breach. You’ll never know until it’s too late.

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Why you need a second phone number

ID 253338840 © Rosshelen | Dreamstime.com

I have a second number on my phone. You should, too.

Your main number? Keep that locked down for the important stuff — your bank, doctor’s office and family. But when you’re ordering takeout, signing up for a one-time deal or making an online purchase, why give out your real number?

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🧑‍🧒‍🧒 FamilySearch: This free site from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints lets you build a family tree and dig into your genealogy. It’s open to everyone, no matter your religious background.

Calling fellow tricksters: I love a prank. Hit my list of April Fools’ tech tricks to make your friends and family laugh, groan and say, “How the heck did you do that?” Love the super slo-o-o-w Alexa.

Student in the family? A student Amazon Prime account is a heck of a lot cheaper than the regular price. Students get six months free, and then it’s half off a year ($69).

We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.

Remember Ruby Franke? She’s an evil mommy vlogger who went to prison last year for abusing and starving her kids. New laws are in the works to stop parents from using their kids for clicks. If a parent makes over $150K a year from family content, they must put some money into a trust (paywall link). Once kids hit 18, they can ask for old videos to be taken down. About time.

Tag, you’re it: Keep your files organized in Finder on your Mac by using tags. You can make tags for work, family, projects or anything you like. Just select a file and press Control + number (1-7) to add a tag. You can see the order in your Finder settings. To remove it, select it and hit Control + 0.

♥️ Kindness goes viral: I love this. Lisa Aamot and her family are very close with their elderly neighbors, Fred and Evy. Recently, Lisa recorded her 4-year-old daughter, Sutton, walking to their house to borrow some maple syrup. Surprisingly, Fred, who’s usually relaxing in his chair, answered the door. The video has touched over 4 million hearts on TikTok.

📵 Kids glued to their phones? Pick a day or time for the whole family to unplug and spend time together. Download my kids’ tech contract for them to sign and hang it on the fridge as a reminder.

📱TikTok’s parental controls: In a total PR move and after seven years in the U.S., the app is rolling out Family Pairing tools. You can block access at certain times and check who’s following your teens. There’s a new “Time Away” feature to set a schedule and a “wind down” option for bedtime. Why now? It’s looking at a sale or ban next month, silly.

Gold grifters: The people behind a massive new scam operation

Jingming Pan on Unsplash

Yash Shah never thought he’d end up in jail. By his own account, he was just a “normal person” trying to make ends meet. Pick up a package, drop it off. Easy money.

But that “easy money” landed him in a detention center, facing charges for his alleged role in one of the fastest-growing criminal operations in America, which racked up $126 million in losses last year alone. I’m talking about gold bar scams.

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Tech-free zones: A friend of mine started making “screen-free areas” in their house, like the kitchen and dining table. Genius. The kids get a break from screens, their eyes get a rest, and family time actually feels like family time again.

Picture in picture: You’re at your sister’s house and she’s bringing out the old family photos. There’s a better solution than scanning them or taking a crappy photo of them. PhotoScan by Google Photos is free and gives you a high-res digital copy without that weird glare.

🍸 Shaken, not stirred: The Broccoli family has produced every James Bond film since 1962. In 2022, they sold the rights to Amazon for $8.5 billion (as part of the MGM acquisition). After years of power struggles, Amazon now has creative control and hopefully we’ll see a new James Bond soon. Speaking of … Where do James Bond actors go when they die? 00Heaven. (So good!)

📺 Did Netflix cross a line? If you’ve seen “American Murder: Gabby Petito,” you heard Gabby reading her journals and texts. The filmmakers actually used AI to clone the murder victim’s voice. They say her family approved, but some are calling it “monstrous” to tell her story this way. What do you think?