I'm so done with other people (and their AI) making work for me.

I know. They always present it as being in my best interest (e.g. would I like to put my prescription on auto-fill? Do I want to consolidate my emails?), but in reality they’re trying to take control of my goals and my agenda and they’re playing havoc with my To Do list.

One of these mornings I'm going to set a timer and see just how long it takes for me to get through the basics of starting my day.

I'm not talking about the recreational, online browsing of headlines and topics that interest me (what is it that I find so fascinating about decorating cakes or tying knots?). No, I'm talking about the very basics of what I need to do each morning--the digital equivalent of taking my vitamins and brushing my teeth. I know that I spend longer than I would ever have imagined--and it's certainly longer than I want it to be. What I don't know is how to stop it. How do I take charge of my morning again? How do I reclaim my time and shield myself from all the time-suckers who--under the guise of helpful life hacks or curated content especially for me--are slowly but surely eating up more and more of my morning.

I'm not fooled--I don't think anyone is--by the carefully crafted content. It's all just one more way to try and sell me something. That's fine, but, with all due respect, you have a bazillion AI resources available to you. Can't you figure out that I don't want to check for system updates when I'm looking for the confirmation number for my flight to San Jose? I'm not saying no content at all, but honestly, don't I deserve better, smarter, and more appropriate content?

I know what you're going to say.

You're going to send me a survey aren't you? You value my feedback, don't you? In other words, you want me to do your work for you. You want me to train your AI, rate your content, and assess your service.

I think not. Unless of course you'd like to pay me for my time. After all, I have my own To Do List. And just as soon as I figure out which app I used to create it and in which cloud it is currently stored, I'm going to do something.

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