Working Slowly with AI

I’m not the kind of person who works 12 hours a day, mixing coffee with work anxiety.

I like building stuff, sure but I also enjoy lifting weights, watering my plants like they’re my coworkers, and drawing… badly. Sometimes it’s a tree, sometimes it’s a burger that looks suspiciously like a UFO.

These little hobbies keep me sane when code isn’t compiling. And let’s be honest, ideas hit harder when you’re mid-squat or halfway through sketching a mutant sandwich. Balance, right?

For a long time, I felt weird about not hustling 24/7. 🥲 The internet celebrates the “grindset” but I’ve always worked better when I’m not rushed.

Some ideas just take time to land. Some features don’t click until you sleep on them, stare at a plant for a bit, and then boom, it hits you during a shower.

But here’s the thing: thanks to AI tools like Cursor, I don’t have to choose between working slow and shipping quickly.

I can stay in my chill zone and get things done.

Cursor has become my second brain. I throw vague thoughts at it, and it comes back with semi decent code that I can fix and tweak.

I don’t waste energy on boilerplate or hunting that one missing semicolon that broke everything. That extra brainpower now goes into thinking about what to build, why it matters, and how to make it better.

This shift changed my workflow completely. I’m not context-switching like crazy. I work in focused, relaxed bursts. And in between? I water my plants. I hit the gym. I doodle.

Some of my best ideas come between watering a plant or lifting weights.

People think “working slow” means being lazy. But I’ve found that slowing down actually increases my creative speed.

When I’m not burnt out, I can spot bad ideas early, test better ones faster, and actually enjoy the process.

So no, I don’t code every hour of the day. But I do build every day with presence, curiosity, and AI as a co-pilot.

If you’re someone who thinks slow means unproductive, try working with tools that match your pace. You’ll be surprised how much you can ship while staying sane.