AI, Friction, and the Flow State
Everyone is racing to use AI to eliminate the boring stuff. Inbox zero. Auto‑summaries. Meeting notes written for you. Tasks checked off before you even touch them.
On the surface, that sounds like progress.
But there’s a trap hiding inside this rush to efficiency.
I was reminded of it while reading a recent Wall Street Journal piece called The Downside to Using AI for All Those Boring Tasks at Work. The article makes a solid point. When we remove every low‑effort task, we often replace it with nonstop cognitive intensity. Think harder. Decide faster. Create constantly.
That’s not how great ideas actually show up.
Friction Isn’t the Enemy
We’ve been trained to believe friction kills productivity. Remove friction and flow magically appears.
Reality works differently.
The right amount of friction creates momentum. It gives your brain something to do while ideas quietly organize themselves in the background. That’s why some of your best ideas show up in the shower, on a walk, or while doing something mildly repetitive.
Don Draper nailed this in Mad Men when he told Peggy:
“Just think about it deeply, then forget it, and an idea will jump up in your face.”
That line sticks because it’s true.
You think deeply. You load the problem into your brain. Then you step away. You do something else. You let your mind breathe. That’s when the idea hits.
AI doesn’t break this process. Misusing AI does.
Completion Creates Energy
There’s another piece people miss.
Small tasks give us a psychological boost. Finishing something releases energy. It builds confidence. It creates motion.
When AI removes every small task, you lose those micro wins. You jump from one heavy thinking session to the next without the dopamine hit that comes from completion.
That’s exhausting.
This is why people can feel more burned out after automating their work instead of less.
They eliminated friction. They also eliminated rhythm.
Flow Needs Both Ease and Distraction
Flow doesn’t come from staring harder at a blank page.
Flow shows up when friction drops just enough to remove resistance, while distraction stays present enough to loosen your grip.
That balance matters.
Some tasks pull you forward. Others pull you sideways. Both play a role.
AI should handle the work that blocks momentum. It should not eliminate every task that gives your brain a break from intensity.
Think about it this way.
Use AI to remove unnecessary drag. Keep enough human work to maintain cadence.
That’s how you stay sharp.
Where AI Helps and Where It Hurts
AI shines when it removes anxiety, clutter, and rework. Sorting information. Summarizing patterns. Organizing inputs.
AI causes problems when it replaces the mental spacing that fuels insight.
If every saved minute gets filled with another meeting, another decision, another strategic lift, you lose the very advantage AI promised.
Speed without space leads to fatigue.
Clarity comes from contrast.
The Real Opportunity for Leaders
The question isn’t whether to use AI.
The question is how you design work around it.
Smart leaders will do three things:
- Reduce friction that slows execution
- Preserve tasks that create motion and completion
- Protect space where thinking can happen without pressure
That’s how you get better ideas, not just faster output.
AI should support the way humans think, not force humans to think like machines.
A Better Way to Think About Productivity
Productivity isn’t about eliminating effort. It’s about directing it.
Some effort sharpens focus. Some effort provides relief. Both matter.
If you strip work down to nothing but high‑stakes thinking, you increase burnout and reduce creativity.
If you balance efficiency with rhythm, you unlock flow.
Think deeply.
Forget it for a moment and work on something else.
Let the idea jump you.
That’s not anti‑AI.
That’s pro‑human.
