Is AI Helping or Hurting Your Productivity? 3 Pitfalls to Watch For
- tstoddart3
- 19 hours ago
- 2 min read
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Why AI isn’t delivering results—and what might be getting in the way
AI now shows up in almost every corner of the workday. It drafts emails, summarizes meetings, suggests follow-ups, and speeds up individual tasks. On the surface, it looks like a productivity breakthrough.
But many professionals are still asking the same question:
Why doesn’t it feel like I’m getting more done?
Despite the speed and convenience, important work is still falling behind. Priorities feel unclear. Communication feels scattered. And time spent managing AI tools often outweighs the time saved.
If productivity hasn’t improved, you might be running into one of three common pitfalls—behavioural gaps that AI can’t solve on its own.
1. “I Don’t Know What to Prioritize Anymore”
AI can generate dozens of suggestions, drafts, and follow-ups—but it doesn’t tell you what matters most. Without a system for evaluating urgency and value, professionals often default to what’s recent, easy, or algorithmically surfaced.
The result is a day full of activity, but not necessarily progress.
The Shift: Speed without structure creates overload. Productivity starts with clear intentions. When professionals take time to identify what’s most important before engaging with AI, the technology becomes a support system—not a source of distraction.
2. “I Waste Too Much Time Trying to Get AI to Do What I Mean”
Prompting AI is not a productivity skill most professionals have been trained in. Vague or unfocused prompts often lead to vague outputs, which require more back-and-forth, corrections, or complete rewrites.
This cycle of trial and error turns what should be a time-saver into a time sink.
The Shift: Prompting is a professional skill that requires clarity, context, and intent.
That’s exactly what we teach in our WorkingSm@rt® Using AI for Business Professionals workshop.
This instructor-led course helps participants:
· Write clear, purposeful prompts that reduce rework
· Use AI to support structured task and communication habits
· Stay focused on high-impact priorities—not just easy wins
It’s designed for professionals who want AI to accelerate meaningful work—not just generate content.
3. “I Feel More Disconnected from My Team”
AI speeds up individual work, but it doesn’t create alignment. One person uses AI to take meeting notes, another uses it to draft follow-ups, and a third acts based on their own version of what was discussed.
Without shared systems and consistent communication habits, teams experience misalignment—even as everyone feels busy.
The Shift: Productivity is a team effort. When each person uses AI differently without clear coordination, confusion grows. Shared rhythms, visibility, and common workflows are still essential for working well together.
Final Thoughts
AI can improve productivity—but not on its own.
It needs to be layered onto a strong behavioural foundation: clear priorities, intentional habits, and collaborative systems.
When those elements are missing, AI tends to multiply what’s already broken. When they’re in place, AI becomes a real asset—not just another tool.