AI Won’t Replace You - But It Might Save Your Sanity

Before I start this post, I’d like to be very clear on who we are and what we do. We are a group of consultants who work with clients, companies, and individuals to promote and deliver efficiencies in how we work to provide value. This is based on working with people, process, data and technology! No rocket science to this, I hear you say!  

Improved sanity is critical for work efficiency

We are curious about how to work, how to develop efficiencies and ultimately how to use AI to benefit what we do. We are not experts, and we’d argue, who is an AI expert? However, last quarter, I hit my breaking point. My calendar was stacked with back-to-back meetings, my inbox was overflowing with emails, and my to-do list was overflowing. Let’s say it could have been its novella. I wasn’t just busy, I was overwhelmed.

No amount of coffee, late nights, or “time-blocking hacks” was making a dent. And then, almost by accident, I found a strange solution; one that didn’t involve working more hours or booking a stress-relief retreat. I started leaning more on AI.

Not in the “write my job for me” kind of way. More like a second brain that could help me organise, prioritise, and clear mental clutter. What happened next surprised me: my workload didn’t shrink, but my stress did.

The Turning Point: From Overwhelm to Organised

Instead of just asking AI for quick answers, I started asking it for structure:

• Daily prioritisation: I’d paste my chaotic to-do list into ChatGPT and ask it to order my tasks by urgency and impact. Suddenly, my day looked doable.

• Drafting first versions: Reports, proposals, even meeting agendas and AI helped me skip the blank-page anxiety.

• Information digestion: Instead of drowning in PDFs and articles, I’d have AI summarise key points, highlight risks, or explain complex topics in simple terms.

The result? My mental load got lighter. I wasn’t spending energy on figuring out how to start and I could focus on making decisions.

AI isn’t Replacing You—it’s Reducing Your Stress.

One of the biggest misconceptions I hear is: “AI will take my job”. In reality, AI can take the stress out of your job. When you let AI handle the repetitive, cognitively heavy lifting, you free up bandwidth for the creative, strategic, and human work. The parts of your role that bring value and satisfaction. Think of AI as that extra brain that doesn’t need coffee breaks.

A Few Ways You Can Start Today

Here are a few small, low-effort ways to bring AI into your workflow right now:

• Email triage: Have AI draft polite responses or summarise threads so you can reply faster.

• Meeting prep: Feed your agenda, questions, or relevant materials to AI and ask for a concise prep brief.

• Writing & editing: Use AI to create first drafts, then apply your expertise to refine.

• Idea generation: Stuck on strategy or content? Ask AI for 10 possible angles and you might pick one you love.

Stress often comes from feeling like there’s too much to do and not enough of you to go around. AI doesn’t add more hours to the day but it can take tasks off your plate, help you focus on what matters, and make your workload feel lighter.

So, if you’ve been feeling the pressure, maybe it’s time to let AI be your second brain. How are you using AI to make work less stressful? I’d love to hear your tips in the comments.