Hello Reader!

I feel like there are two professional versions of me right now.

There's Person 1 who is HYPED on AI. There are so many AI tools that are helping me:

Speed up production
Summarize research and transcripts
Organize business and content processes
Edit content more efficiently
Rock AEO/SEO for clients
Etc.

And, it's honestly really nice to have tools that make working so much easier.

But there's also Person 2 who is frustrated with AI.

And maybe it's not even AI. Maybe it's more Hustle Culture + AI + the pressure from the marketing world to "not get left behind."

Yes, we have all these magical tools to help us move faster and do more. But, in my experience so far, they're not freeing up our time to do more human things. Instead, we've treated every efficiency gain as an opportunity to pile on more work.

Like many marketers, I've been immersed in the AI world for the past few years. I've been earning the tools, programming the shortcuts, and finding new ways to do more with less.

But, somewhere along the way, I realized my burnout cycles were getting closer together. And when burnout hit, it hit harder.

I was mentally exhausted, less creative, and a bit... numb.

So a couple of weeks ago, I decided to put AI on pause and recalibrate.

I bought a ticket to Spain with the promise to myself that I'd keep my computer closed (mostly... I had one assignment from Wine Enthusiast), and just eat tapas and pintxos, wander through art museums, and swim in the sea.

My first stop on Operation Recalibrate My Soul was OBVIOUSLY The Picasso Museum. I'm an art girlie. Art always grounds me, and it moves me in the same way music, nature, or connecting with another human does.

But this is where I started getting concerned.

I wandered the museum for hours, but I wasn't feeling anything.

My eyes were looking. But my brain wasn't slowing or connecting... It was stuck somewhere optimizing/scrolling/vibe coding. I wasn't thinking about tangible work items per se... but my brain and feelings were mimicking patterns it does when I'm in tech mode.

I don't know what to call it (and maybe this is a conversation I should save for therapy over my newsletter).

But the experience of being immersed in an environment that doesn't get much more human while my brain and soul were completely disconnected...

...freaked me out.

It made me hyper-aware that, much like with social media, we can let these tools affect us on a psychological level. There are also deeper ethical concerns surrounding the adoption of these tools than I'd previously considered.

Never in the history of civilization have we had the capability to produce, generate, create (if that's what you wanna call it) so robustly and... unnaturally.

That doesn't mean we should fear AI. But I'm not sure rushing to optimize or outsource various aspects of our lives (professional and personal), or the idea of rushing to "not get left behind," is the wisest approach.

This season of AI deserves more conversations about how it's changing us.

And not just how it's changing (boosting) our productivity, but how it's affecting attention spans, creativity, relationships, the way we experience the world, and our ability to be present.

Anyway, it might not sound like it, but I'm still hyped on AI. I'm still very interested in learning about new tools that help us with work.

You'll still see tech and AI recommendations in this newsletter and on my LinkedIn (BTW, are we connected?)

I'm an AI adopter.

But I'm also realizing there's a threshold for me. And I personally need to be super vigilant about how I balance my work time and chill time. I need to pay close attention to what parts of the human experience and creative process I own vs. what I outsource to a tool.

Because I'm aware now that it physically and psychologically affects me.

Anywaaaaaaaay, I'm happy to report I quickly rekindled the art spark of joy within me. I spent some pretty awesome hours immersed in art museums across Barcelona, San Sebastian, Bilbao, and Madrid.

I'm a full-on human with a soul again. Yes, one who still uses AI for content marketing. But who also has stricter boundaries about when and how I use it.

Pics of Operation Recalibrate My Soul: