The Machine Does the Work (But You Have to Drive It)

AI isn't a hammock; it's a force multiplier. Dealing with the recoil.

A new piece in Harvard Business Review this week dropped a truth bomb that every power user of AI has secretly known for months: AI doesn't reduce your workload. It intensifies it.

The authors, Aruna Ranganathan and Xingqi Maggie Ye, followed employees for eight months and found a paradox. Workers didn't use AI to finish their tasks early and head to the beach. Instead, they used their new "partner" to revive long-deferred projects, expand the scope of current ones, and spin up parallel workstreams they previously didn't have the bandwidth for.

They call it "workload creep." I call it leverage.

The "Manager" Trap

Here's the reality I live every day. I run creative strategy for a number of groups and consult on AI implementation, and—as of today—manage a family dashboard that tracks four generations of Harts.

I couldn't do 10% of this a year ago.

But the HBR piece nails the hidden cost: Cognitive Load.

When you use AI effectively, you stop being a "maker" of five things and start being a "manager" of fifty.

Instead of writing one email, you're reviewing ten variations.

Instead of ignoring a low-priority lead, you're spinning up an agent to nurture it.

Instead of letting a side project die, you're breathing life into it because "it will only take 5 minutes with AI."

Suddenly, your day isn't filled with doing—it's filled with deciding. The bottleneck shifts from execution to judgment.

The Solution: Intentional Pauses (or "Strategic Anchoring")

Ranganathan and Ye suggest "intentional pauses"—structured moments to regulate tempo and check alignment. They argue that without these, the sheer speed of AI-generated options can cause "drift," where you produce a lot of stuff that doesn't actually move the needle.

I see this constantly. It's why my AI operator (Railstote) and I have a rule: One active task at a time.

We use a system of "State Files" (ACTIVE.md, HOLD.md) to anchor us. Before we spin up a new agent to analyze 800 call logs or generate 50 image prompts, we pause. We define the win. We check the constraints.

If you don't anchor yourself, the AI will happily drag you into a productivity death spiral—doing efficient work on things that don't matter.

The Verdict

AI hasn't reduced my work. I'm working just as hard as I did ten years ago.

But the nature of the work has changed. I'm no longer limited by how fast I can type or how many hours I can stay awake. I'm limited only by my ability to direct traffic, make taste-based decisions, and maintain strategic clarity amidst the noise.

So yes, the work is more intense. The stakes are higher. The volume is deafening.

But I wouldn't trade it for the old way for a second.

Justin Hart is an executive consultant and the author of "Rational Ground." He works with AI operators to scale creative output without losing the human soul.