ChatGPT
OpenAI's chat assistant, used for drafting, condensing and rewriting
A chat assistant from OpenAI, on the web, on phones and through an API. Writers use it to compress source material, argue the other side of a draft, or produce a first version they then rewrite in their own voice. There is a free tier with paid levels above it. It states wrong things in the same tone it states right ones.
People on record
Sorted by strength of stance
Does it: documented as part of their own routine. Recommends: explicitly advises other people to do it. Discusses: covered it substantively without clear personal adoption; this can include criticism or disagreement.
- Federico ViticciDoes it
Apple writer · founder of MacStories
Lists ChatGPT next to Codex under the AI heading of his setup, and in mid 2026 dropped Claude, Perplexity, Comet and Superhuman from the same list in one pass.
Source: MacStories: Our Setups - Tiago ForteDoes it
Productivity writer · Building a Second Brain
Ran seven experiments trying to get ChatGPT to write a book summary for him, and published the prompts and replies. Feeding it excerpts he had already saved helped most. His verdict stayed modest: a result about half as good as one he would write himself, for maybe 20 to 30 percent less effort.
Source: fortelabs.com: How to Summarize Books Using ChatGPT
Aimed at the same thing
Other entries filed under productivity or focus.
- App$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.On record from 5 of 62 tracked people: 5 do it
- App$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Readwise
Syncs your highlights and resurfaces them a few at a time
On record from 4 of 62 tracked people: 3 do it, 1 recommends it - App$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Website and app blocker
Software that makes distracting sites genuinely unavailable on a schedule
On record from 4 of 62 tracked people: 2 do it, 2 recommend it - App$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.On record from 2 of 62 tracked people: 2 do it
- App$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
DEVONthink
DEVONtechnologies
Document and information manager for Mac and iOS with local, indexed databases
On record from 2 of 62 tracked people: 2 do it - App$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.On record from 2 of 62 tracked people: 2 do it
App entry · notes paraphrased from cited sources, quoted excerpts copied from the transcript they link to. Not medical advice. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or reviewed by anyone listed. How this works.