The Pilot-Plane-Engineer Framework

Last week, I presented at the Landsiedel NLP Conference in Zeilitzheim about productivity and AI.

I shared how I'm using AI tools to build practical productivity solutions, starting with Ali Abdaal's Pilot-Airplane-Engineer framework.

The Pilot, the Plane, and the Engineer

Ali Abdaal's framework divides productivity into three essential roles:

šŸ‘Øā€āœˆļø The Pilot (10%) sets your direction. He is responsible for creating a long-term vision, defining goals, and monitoring progress. Think weekly planning sessions, daily manifestos, and quarterly reviews.

āœˆļø The Airplane (80%) does the actual work. This role has three phases:

  • Takeoff: The hardest part requiring the most energy
  • Cruise: Maintaining focus, avoiding distractions, adjusting course as needed
  • Landing: Recording accomplishments and preparing the next concrete steps

šŸ› ļø The Engineer (10%) optimizes your systems. He maintains tools, refines processes, and ensures everything runs smoothly.

My key insight? Most of us spend too much time planning (Pilot) or tweaking systems (Engineer) and not enough time executing (Airplane).

The Productivity Framework inspired me to program a self-assessment quiz

Using Claude Code I built an interactive assessment tool.

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After answering 15 questions, you'll receive the following 3 metrics:

  • Your current percentage distribution across the three roles
  • How well you perform in each role (scored 0-100%)
  • The ability to download everything as a PDF and as an image

Here's a template to create your own quiz with AI

Step 1: Create Your Quiz Foundation

Build a complete quiz website in one HTML file:
- Welcome page with "Start Quiz" button
- 10 questions shown one at a time
- 4 answer choices per question (A, B, C, D buttons)
- Progress bar showing "Question X of 10"
- Results page showing score and custom message
- "Download Results" button that saves an image
- "Try Again" button to restart
- Modern design with smooth animations
- Works perfectly on phones and computers
Use a friendly blue color scheme. Make it look professional like Typeform.

Step 2: Insert Your Quiz Content

Now add my quiz content. Replace everything with:

QUIZ TITLE: [Your title here]
DESCRIPTION: [One sentence describing your quiz]

QUESTIONS:
1. [Your first question here]
   A) [First answer option]
   B) [Second answer option]
   C) [Third answer option]
   D) [Fourth answer option]
   CORRECT: [Letter of correct answer]

[Copy this format for all 10 questions]

RESULTS MESSAGES:
- Score 90-100%: "[Your message for top scorers]"
- Score 70-89%: "[Your message for good scores]"
- Score 50-69%: "[Your message for average scores]"
- Score 0-49%: "[Your message for low scores]"

Step 3: Personalize Your Quiz

Now customize it:
1. Change the main color from blue to [your favorite color]
2. Add your logo/name at the top: "[Your name/brand]"
3. Include social sharing: "Share your score on Twitter/Facebook"
4. Add a PDF download with detailed results
5. Make sure everything works smoothly
6. Save the final version as my-quiz.html

Test it once more and confirm it's ready to use!

If you want to try my quiz, you can do so at this link: produktiv.me/tuv (unfortunately only in German)

What This Means for You

AI tools like Claude Code and Cursor have democratized app development. You don't need years of coding experience to build useful tools.

I'm already working on my next project: an app that generates personalized audio hypnosis sessions. Input your preferences (voice type, duration, goal), and it creates a custom auditory hypnosis - like a 5-minute sleep meditation with a soothing female voice.

These tools aren't perfect - my Productivity Workshop site is still a prototype. But they're solid enough to provide real value and test ideas quickly.

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Your Turn

What productivity challenge could you solve with a custom tool? šŸ˜„

If you found this helpful, click the thumbs up below. I'd love to share more about building practical AI solutions.

Have a great week!
xx Lukas

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