[My First Note] It's not that you're fickle if you can't keep it up. It's because it's a 'hassle'.
"I can't keep anything up."
Even when I start something new, I quit after three days.
Exercise, studying, keeping a household account book, blogging—none of it lasts.
When that happens, I tend to think,
"It's because I have a fickle personality"
or
"It's because I have a weak will."
But is that really true?
Recently, I've started to think thatthe reason things don't last isn't the "activity itself," but the tedious tasks that come before and after it.I've come to think that.
For example, when going to the gym,
"Exercise at the gym for 30 minutes"
If it were just that, it might not be so hard.
But in reality,
1. Change into clothes you can wear to the gym
2. Pack your bag
3. Travel to the gym
4. Exercise
5. Return from the gym
6. Take a shower
7. Wash the clothes you wore
There are a mountain of things to do besides exercising.
The moment I think, "I'll go to the gym today,"
my brain unconsciously bundles this whole series of tasks together.
Of course it becomes a hassle.
Then, conversely, what if it were
"Jump in place just once every day"
How would that be?
I think quite a lot of people would be able to keep that up.
No need to change clothes.
No need to travel.
No equipment needed.
No cleanup afterward.
Stand up, jump, and you're done.
If you remove the hassle to this extent, even a "fickle person" should be able to keep it up.
Is it bad to want results with "short time and low cost"?
Recently, I've been seeing the term "dopamine junkie" more often.
It's used to describe behavior like watching short videos one after another or seeking immediate results and stimulation.
Whether it's good or bad aside, it might be an era where it's easy to think,"I want to get some kind of result in the shortest time and with the least effort possible."But I don't necessarily think that in itself is a bad thing.
Working, doing housework, and raising children.
The time and physical strength we can use are limited.
In such a life, if you need five or ten tedious tasks just to start something, it's only natural that you wouldn't feel motivated.
If that's the case, rather than overcoming it with sheer willpower,
it's better to think of a way to reduce those five tasks to one or two.If you want to get results with short time and low cost, don't cut corners, but
reduce the effort that doesn't lead to results.I think that's more rational.
What's needed to keep going isn't strength of will
When something doesn't last,
"I'll try harder"
"I'll make it a habit"
"I'll decide to do it every day"
is what I end up thinking.
But it's exhausting to keep fighting against the hassle with the power of will.
Rather than that,
"How can I make it less of a hassle?"
is a better way to think.
If there are five tasks before starting, can't you make it two?
If you have to look it up every time, can't you automate it?
If thinking is a hassle, can't you have someone else think for you?
If creating from scratch is hard, can't you have someone make a draft?
By doing that,you remove the hassles surrounding "what you want to do" one by one.
The thing I want to use for that is AI.
The reason I, an engineer and working mom, use AI
I am a working mom who usually works as an engineer while raising children.
It's not like I only have to do work, and it's not like I only have to do housework.
Work, child-rearing, housework.
Various tasks are progressing simultaneously every day.
That is precisely why, while also utilizing the knowledge I've gained as an engineer,"Can't I do this more easily?"I try to think.
That's where I'm actively using AI right now.
Streamlining work.
Looking up things about housework.
Organizing things I'm concerned about in child-rearing.
Summarizing things to do.
Thinking about writing.
Even if each one is a small thing, if I reduce the "hassles" I can leave to AI, my own time will gradually return.
Having AI do the "hassle"
I don't want AI to do everything for me.
If I leave even what I want to do to AI, there's no point.
Rather than that,
I want AI to do the "tedious parts" that are getting in the way of what I want to do.
For example, if I want to write a blog,
"What should I write?"
"What kind of structure should I use?"
"What's the title?"
"Isn't this sentence hard to understand?"
I think about these parts together with AI.
If I do that, I can concentrate on what I want to do most: "thinking about what I want to convey."
It's the same for work, housework, and hobbies.
Use AI to reduce tedious processes andshorten the distance to what you want to do.
If I can do this, I think things I've quit after three days until now might actually be something I can keep up.
"Eliminating the hassle" rather than "trying hard"
If you can't keep it up, before blaming yourself,
"What is the hassle here?"
try breaking it down.
And then,
"Can't I eliminate this hassle with AI?"
try thinking that.
In this blog, based on both my knowledge as an engineer and my real life as a working mom,
I will share methods to reduce daily "hassles"—work, child-rearing, housework, hobbies, etc.—using AI
while actually trying them out.
The goal is not to have AI do everything.
Leave the tedious things to AI,
and I will use my time for what I want to do.
Create a system where you can keep going without trying hard.
I would like to explore that kind of AI usage on this blog.