Every time you're about to use AI for something — homework, a project, a message to a friend — there's one question worth asking first:
Am I about to skip a rep, or add weight to the bar?
Skipping a rep
A skipped rep looks like asking AI to write the whole essay so you don't have to think through the argument yourself. It looks like copy-pasting an answer you don't understand so you can move on faster. It feels like winning because the task gets done. But you didn't get stronger. You just got the output.
Adding weight to the bar
Adding weight looks different. It's asking AI to quiz you on a topic until you actually understand it. It's using AI to scaffold a first draft, then rewriting it in your own voice so the thinking is still yours. It's asking "why" instead of just "what." It takes longer. That's the point — that's where the strength comes from.
Try this today
Next time you reach for an AI tool, pause for five seconds and ask which one you're about to do. If it's a skipped rep, see if you can flip it into added weight instead. Same tool. Different outcome.
More lessons like this are coming. If you haven't already, get on the list so you don't miss them.