Is AI Making Us Smarter or Just Busier?
I've been reflecting on the surge of AI tools—ChatGPT, Notion AI, GitHub Copilot, and countless others. They're marketed as productivity enhancers, yet I find myself juggling more tasks than ever.
These tools generate content, code, and ideas at lightning speed. But with this efficiency comes an influx of drafts to review, emails to send, and decisions to make. It's as if the workload has multiplied, not diminished.
I'm curious:
Are these AI tools genuinely making us more productive, or are they just adding to our to-do lists?
How do you manage the balance between leveraging AI and maintaining quality over quantity?
Have you experienced a shift in your workflow since integrating AI tools?
Let's discuss the real impact of AI on our daily lives. Are we becoming more efficient, or just busier?
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and experiences!
Replies
I think AI gives me access to so much knowledge but it's up to me to use it wisely not just let it flood me with work.
@kelly_b_menchaca True
AI allows me to take on more which can feel overwhelming. I manage this by ensuring that I complete high priority projects before starting something else and by investing in automation for anything that has ongoing efforts.
For what it's worth, I don't have a log of drafts to review or emails to send and the decisions are made before I pick up a chatbot. What's an example of something that has become burdensome that falls into those categories?
@steveb That’s a great point — prioritization and automation are definitely key. I think where I personally start to feel the burden is in the "decision clutter" that AI can amplify. For example, when tools like ChatGPT generate five different ways to approach a landing page or a feature spec, I suddenly have more options to consider, not fewer. It’s like every draft becomes a starting point for another round of decision-making.
And while AI does accelerate output, it also increases the volume of “good-enough” content that now needs to be evaluated, edited, or tossed. The speed is incredible, but the cognitive overhead can creep in quietly.
Curious — how do you filter or gate what’s even worth automating or feeding into AI? Is there a framework you use to decide what gets delegated to tools vs. what you handle directly?
@parth_ahir Not really. I think AI is really great for rapid iteration but it has to be paired with evaluating the right answer for you/your goals. Another way I think about and try to use AI is that I need to know what a good answer looks like to be able to use it or else I would be falling into a lot of rabbit holes. That doesn't mean I know everything about all topics, but I think I can generally evaluate based on my taste pretty quickly.
In your example, are really getting 5 drastically different landing page specs? Perhaps refining your prompts to not ask for as many options or being more laser focused on what your ideal end state is would be helpful.
I'd be curious what other people say about this...
Headliner
I think AI has just shifted priorities a little.
For me, AI helps me get through a lot of the little tasks that are more visible but less enjoyable. As a marketer, there is literally always SOMETHING to do and bigger project to be working on, but, you often get swept up in the little social posts or formatting or editing or...the list goes on. AI has truly helped me streamline a lot of those little things that added up to hours of work each week (now down to an hour per week). This frees me up to work on those bigger, more impactful, more enjoyable projects I would have otherwise not.
Now, you definitely need to review and check AI. This still takes time, but considerably less then starting for point 0. For managing quality, I have really tried to refine some of my prompting or even just created custom profiles within AI tools to help save time.
All in all - I love using AI. As a one-person-show, it really helps me crank out some tasks so I can focus on the bigger picture.
@elissa_craig Totally feel this. AI’s made it easier to get the small stuff out of the way, but now it feels like we all have to be our own managers — guiding, reviewing, and refining constantly. It’s less about doing everything yourself and more about knowing how to direct the tools well.
Headliner
@parth_ahir well said!
That’s a good question—AI gives us access to more information and helps us make quicker decisions, which can make us seem smarter. But if we’re just using it to multitask and do more in less time, it can also make us feel overwhelmed. It really depends on how we use it—smart tools should enhance our thinking, not just add to our to-do lists.