Step Up Your AI Game in 2026 with These Tips from Today’s Digital Leaders

What does it really take to thrive as a working student in a fast-moving, tech-driven world?

Through the 2025 Step Up Sessions, Mapúa Malayan Digital College (MMDC), the Philippines’ premier fully online digital college, partnered with Globe Prepaid and brought together AI experts, founders, and digital leaders to share practical, real-world strategies working students can use to work smarter, not just harder.

Across a series of upskilling talks, these industry voices revealed how to design energy-saving habits instead of relying on willpower, use AI as a filter against information overload, build smarter academic systems, and protect mental health in an always-online environment.

More than inspiration, the sessions offered clear, actionable systems that working students can apply immediately in school, at work, and in everyday life.

Read on for practical tips and insights from today’s digital leaders. 

Jasper Fausto: Upgrade Your Habits, Upgrade Your Output

Jasper Fausto, Senior Brand Manager at Procter & Gamble, offers a refreshing shift in perspective: stop obsessing over time management and start managing your energy.

As a Gen Z marketer and working student himself, Jasper shared that the real productivity edge comes from designing habits that run automatically. Instead of relying on willpower, he encouraged students to engineer their routines so that desired actions feel natural and frictionless.

He recommended simple but powerful tools, sticky notes as visual triggers, the Forest app to stay focused, and habit trackers like Streaks and Habitica to reinforce consistency. When habits become automatic, they consume less energy. And when you manage your energy well, you can show up more fully in both school and work.

“The secret to keeping good habits is designing each step of the loop so it works in your favor,” he shared. “Managing your energy is all about managing your habits because if an action is automatic to you, it doesn't require that much energy for you to do it. You’re not solely relying on will power but designing this habit loop to your favor.”

The message was clear: before layering on advanced tools, build systems that support you daily.

Ace Gapuz: Make Technology Work for You

Ace Gapuz, CEO of Blogapalooza Inc., built on this foundation by showing how digital tools, including AI, can simplify life instead of complicating it.

Her advice was practical and immediately applicable: calendar everything and color-code it. Centralize communication and workflows using tools like Slack, Trello, and Google Suite. Audit your to-do list daily and set clear boundaries with your devices.

She shared, “Some days you feel amazing, some days you just want to rest. And that’s okay. You do your best everyday. You don’t have to be too hard on yourself. Manage your energy, your calendar must follow your energy. That’s how you are able to make time for everything. That’s how you are able to give yourself to everything that you need to do.”

Ace reframed productivity as a form of self-care. Technology should create space for rest, creativity, and meaningful work, not constant pressure. Your calendar, she emphasized, should follow your energy, not fight against it.

When used intentionally, tech becomes a structure that supports well-being rather than a source of burnout.

Soj Gamayon: Protect Your Yes

Soj Gamayon, founder of AgriConnect and a student entrepreneur from Ilocos Norte, spoke candidly about balancing multiple roles, startup founder, student, son, and host. He openly acknowledged how easy it is to feel stretched thin.

For Soj, AI functions like a personal assistant. He uses Shortwave to sort emails by urgency, Otter AI to summarize meetings, and Lovable to prototype ideas quickly and clarify direction. These tools allow him to automate low-level tasks so he can focus on higher-value work.

But his most powerful insight wasn’t about software,  it was about boundaries. “Every yes you give is a no to something else. AI helps you spot what really deserves today’s yes. You’re given a lot of choices everyday and AI can guide you into making sure that what you are saying yes to is worth your time,” Soj said. 

Rather than encouraging more multitasking, he positioned AI as a filter, a way to protect mental bandwidth in a fast-paced, digital-first world.

Jazmine de Luna: Build Your Academic Operating System

Jazmine de Luna, certified AI Coach and founder of LUNA AI Systems, AI Bootcamp, and AI Empowered Club. She addressed a deeper issue many students experience: overwhelm caused by relying too heavily on memory and motivation.

She proposed building an Academic Operating System, a structured workflow where AI supports scheduling, task management, and prioritization. In a live demonstration, she showed how ChatGPT and Google Calendar can work together to break down assignments and instantly map them into an organized schedule. 

“It’s not a skill problem. We can learn any skill but the problem is the mindset and resources,” she said. Her solution was creating an academic operating system, where AI helps manage tasks, schedules, and priorities. “AI can empower you if you let it. But we can’t do that if we don’t know how to use these tools effectively.” 

Her point was simple but powerful: overwhelm is rarely a lack of capability. More often, it’s a lack of systems. When cognitive load is shifted from your brain to structured tools, stress decreases and clarity improves. Students sleep better, think clearer, and perform more consistently.

Amber Teng: Scaling Purpose with Technology

Amber Teng, AI Manager at Globe Telecom and author of The Data Resource, emphasized that AI becomes most impactful when used collectively.

Technology expands where we connect, but purpose defines why we connect. Strong digital communities are built on inclusion, validation, and enablement. AI can help scale collaboration and knowledge-sharing, but meaningful connection remains human at its core.

Amber emphasized that meaningful digital communities, especially within online education in the Philippines, are built through human connection, supported by AI. She outlined key pillars of strong communities, highlighting inclusion, validation, and enablement as foundations for growth.

Her reminder was grounding: in a world of accelerating tools, people still come first. “Even with technology around us, communities are now more important than ever. Technology expands the where – we can now connect anywhere, anytime but the why stays human. We still need connection, purpose and belonging. Communities are in our DNA and the only difference now is technology makes it easier to find out people to learn, create and take action together. AI can help us scale our communities but the human need to connect will always be timeless and it will always be people first.”

Cat Triviño: Digital Minimalism for Mental Clarity

Cat Triviño, Co-founder and Chief Product and Data Officer of MindNation, shared a timely reminder about digital boundaries.

Constant connectivity does not equal productivity. Being perpetually “on” can quietly erode focus and mental health. She encouraged students to practice digital minimalism, intentionally curating their online spaces rather than passively consuming them.

“We have this thinking that we have to be always “on” or else we miss everything. But constantly being online doesn't always mean we’re being productive,” she shared. Cat then discussed digital minimalism, encouraging students to use technology intentionally rather than excessively. “We can balance online life with meaningful, grounded human life.” 

She also highlighted AI-powered mental health tools, including the MindNation chatbot, which provides 24/7 text-based emotional support. Used thoughtfully, AI can help manage, protect, and even restore mental clarity.

Her message reinforced that a strong digital life should reflect, not replace, a grounded offline life. 

Stepping up for a Sustainable Future 

Through its partnership with Globe Prepaid, MMDC continues to strengthen its role as a leader in fully online education in the Philippines. By combining flexible learning, industry-relevant skills, and community-driven initiatives, MMDC provides learners the right tools to succeed in the real world which includes responsible use of AI for productivity and mental wellness. 

More than a series of online talks, the Step Up Sessions embodies the spirit of Step Up sa Pangarap: a community that believes success should be sustainable, balanced, and rooted in digital learning, support, and shared growth. As working students continue to step up toward their dreams, these upskilling sessions prove that success in a competitive, tech-driven world isn’t just within reach for a selected few, it is achievable for anyone with the right tools, intentional systems, and a community that truly supports growth.

[CTA]