AI, Productivity, and Well-Being

A photo of a large lizard. Taken during a morning walk in the neighbourhood.

AI productivity can mean two very different things:

• It can mean doing more work in the same amount of time.

• Or it can mean doing the same work in less time, and getting part of your life back.

Both are valid. Both can be powerful. But they lead to very different lives.

And I think this is a discussion we don’t have often enough.

The Hidden Trap of AI Productivity

I use AI every day. It helps me write faster, code faster, research faster, summarize faster, and move from idea to execution in ways that were not possible a few years ago.

In many ways, it feels like a superpower.

But there is a trap inside this power.

If I can answer faster, I can answer more. If I can write faster, I can publish more. If I can build faster, I can start more projects. If I can think faster, I can fill every empty space with another task.

And slowly, every free moment becomes a work moment. The playground, the coffee break, the walk, the evening at home, even the few quiet minutes between things, they all become opportunities to “just finish one more thing.”

That may look productive from the outside, but I’m not sure it is always healthy.

It almost reminds me of the early days of messaging, when distracted walking became a real thing. We got better at texting while walking, but not always wiser. Just two days ago, I saw a young woman at the mall walk straight into the barrier at the entrance to the escalator while chatting on WhatsApp.

Different technology, similar pattern.

We adapt to the tool, but sometimes forget to ask what it is doing to our attention.

More Output Is Not Always More Productivity

On a company level, productivity is often measured in a simple way: fewer resources producing more results. That makes sense. Companies need efficiency, teams need leverage, and AI can help smaller teams do much more.

But on a personal level, productivity should mean something broader. It should include energy, focus, presence, creativity, patience, quality of life, and yes, getting things done.

A more productive person is not necessarily the one who works every available minute.

Sometimes, the more productive version of yourself is the one who knows when to stop.

That’s hard for me too.

AI Can Reduce Pressure, or Increase It

This is the part I keep thinking about.

The same AI tool that helps you create one good presentation in 30 minutes can also make people expect five presentations instead of one.

The same tool that helps you build faster can also make you feel behind, because now everything seems possible.

AI removes friction. But when friction disappears, expectations often rise.

Not only from companies or managers. Sometimes from ourselves.

We start asking:

“Why not do more?”

“Why not launch another thing?”

“Why not reply now?”

“Why not use this evening to finish it?”

And this is where AI productivity can become a little dangerous.

Not because the tool is bad, but because we may forget to decide what the saved time is for.

The Real Promise Is Choice

For me, the real promise of AI is not only speed.

It is choice.

AI gives us the ability to decide where the saved time goes. Sometimes it should go into building more, learning more, creating something new, or helping someone else.

But sometimes, it should go into being present.

Resting.

Thinking.

Walking.

Doing sport.

DJing.

Playing with your kids.

Sitting with family without checking your phone.

Doing something that is not productive for work, but is good for your well-being.

Maybe even something good for the soul. That should count too.

A Personal Note

The last five years have felt like a professional marathon for me.

A lot of work. A lot of building. A lot of switching between projects, advisory work, ideas, companies, AI experiments, and personal ambitions.

And like many Israelis, this period was not only professionally intense. It also came together with personal, emotional, and national weight that is hard to separate from daily life.

Lately, I started paying more attention to something simple: I need better balance.

Not as a slogan. As a real habit.

I need to separate the day better:

• Working sessions.

• Thinking sessions.

• Sport.

• Family time.

• Quiet time.

And maybe most importantly, time where I don’t try to be productive in between.

No quick email, small task, or another “just one thing.”

I’m not great at this yet and I have a lot of work to do. But I am more aware of it now.

And awareness is probably the first step.

The Question I’m Asking Myself

What do I want to do with the time AI gives me back?

Some days, the answer will be another project.

Some days, it should be closing the laptop.

Both can be good answers.

The important thing is to choose intentionally.

Because if we don’t choose, the default will probably be more work.