AI Mindset Journal

Prompts for the part of this that is not technical — the anxiety, the overwhelm, and the question of what you actually want AI to do for you.

Use the ones that are relevant. Skip the rest.

When you feel behind

Everyone else seems further ahead. Where is that feeling coming from — something I observed, or something I read?

What specifically do I think they can do that I cannot? Have I actually seen them do it, or am I comparing my inside to their outside?

What would "caught up" look like? Is that a real state, or a moving target?

A useful reframe: almost nobody is keeping up. The people who appear to be are specialising narrowly and ignoring everything else. That is the correct strategy, and it looks like mastery from outside.

When you feel threatened

Which specific parts of my work do I think are exposed? Have I tested that assumption, or assumed it?

If that part went away tomorrow, what would be left? Is that more or less interesting than what I do now?

What do I do that requires someone to be accountable? That part is not going anywhere.

Am I defending a task, or a capability? Tasks move. Capability transfers.

When you feel overwhelmed

How many AI tools am I actually using weekly? How many have I signed up for?

What am I trying to keep up with, and who decided that was necessary?

If I only did one thing with AI for the next month, what would produce the most value?

What can I stop reading?

The honest answer to the last question is usually "most of it".

When it is not working

Am I using AI for tasks where it is genuinely good, or where I have been told it should be good?

Is the output bad, or is my input vague? What context does it not have that I have in my head?

Am I using this because it helps, or because I feel I should be using it?

What did I automate that I should undo?

That last one is worth revisiting periodically. Some tasks were how you noticed things.

When it is working

What am I doing with the time this saved? Be specific.

Has my judgement about this work got sharper or blunter since I stopped doing the production part?

Could I still do this by hand if I had to?

What would I do if this tool disappeared tomorrow?

The second question is the important one. If AI does all your drafting and you only ever review, your ability to judge drafts erodes quietly and you will not notice until it matters.

On the bigger picture

What do I actually want AI to do for me? More output, or less time working?

If it is less time working, am I taking that time, or filling it with more work?

What parts of my work do I want to keep doing myself, regardless of whether AI could do them?

What would I not want my job to become, even if it were more efficient?

That third question deserves a real answer. There are usually things you do because you enjoy them or because they are how you stay good. Automating those is a choice, not an obligation.

The monthly entry

DATE

What I used AI for most this month:
What I stopped using it for:
Where my judgement got better:
Where it may have got worse:
What I am worried about:
Is that worry based on something I observed, or something I read?
One thing I want to be true in three months:

Two things worth holding onto

The fundamentals have not moved. Context, constraints, verification and judgement applied to every model released while this course was written and will apply to the next ones. The churn is at the surface.

Feeling behind is manufactured. A large industry benefits from your sense of urgency. Some of that urgency is real; most of it is marketing. The weekly fifteen minutes is enough.

The question to return to

Am I using this to do my work better, or to do more work?

Both are legitimate. But they are different choices, and drifting into the second without deciding is the most common outcome of getting good at this.