Let AI Work While You Take a Break

This is a guest post by Patricia Rodriguez, a seasoned UX designer and multidisciplinary artist with over 20 years of experience in IT. Patricia is known for their expertise in web and product design and has previously worked with the Ontario government, the Stanford Humanities Center, and the Smithsonian Institute, just to name a few. In addition to designing complex websites and digital experiences, she also produces remarkably soulful music using AI. Today, Patricia is sharing their insights on how to establish healthy work habits when using AI. Let's dive in!

Generative AI promises faster work, better results, and new ways of solving old problems. It offers efficiency, creativity, and the chance to do more with less. Some say it could reduce workloads by up to 80%, freeing up time for more meaningful work or some much-needed time to breathe.

I've worked in IT for many years, mostly in web and product design. Throughout my career, there's been a constant pressure to deliver more with less: shorter timelines, tighter budgets, and greater complexity, combined with increasing competition and tools that constantly change. The pace of change can feel overwhelming at times.

When AI arrived, it promised to ease this burden. Instead it’s added new demands: mastering prompts, evaluating outputs, fact-checking, redesigning workflows, and constantly learning how to work with new models. Even with AI's assistance, my workload intensified rather than lightened, compounded by the expectation to create magic with it every time.

As a result, I found myself spending even more time on devices during what should have been leisure hours. After a year of this escalating digital immersion, I felt mentally overloaded and physically tense, increasingly disconnected from myself.

That's when I started doing something radically simple: taking prompted breaks.

Stop staring. Start connecting with your body and environment.

After sending a prompt to an AI, the natural instinct is to wait and stare at the screen while it generates the response. Get that immediate gratification. It can be quite addictive! But this is the perfect moment to step away and take a break to do something physical and grounding.

Prompted breaks: Ideas for when AI is thinking

Depending on how epic the prompt was, or how much time I have, here’s what I’ve started doing, starting with the longest type of break to the shortest:

• Taking a quick walk
• Doing a bit of gardening
• A quick tidying or cleaning session
• Stretches or strengthening exercises
• Dancing
• Getting a beverage
• Meditating
• Looking out the window at something far away
• Closing my eyes and focusing on breathing

Taking little breaks like this might either sound easy or impossible, but it makes a positive impact on how I feel, and the benefits of this approach are backed by research.

Our bodies aren’t built to sit all day

Studies show that sitting for prolonged periods is not good for us, and that we were designed to putz around for most of the day. Just getting up and moving regularly can improve circulation, reduce fatigue, and even boost mental focus.

Our eyes aren’t designed for screens

If you’re glued to a screen for hours a day, don’t forget your eyes. The 20-20-20 rule is simple: Every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds. It helps prevent digital eye strain and supports long-term eye health.

These little resets are not luxuries. They’re maintenance for the human machine. They help us recharge mentally, physically, and emotionally so that we can return to our task with more clarity, not just more speed.

Use the time AI gives you, for you

The irony is that AI can save us time. But if we spend that saved time cramming in even more work, we miss the deeper opportunity. The real gift is the chance to reclaim your time—and ultimately, your life—to create space to breathe, to move, to reset. That’s how we stay human in the age of machines. And that’s how we begin to use these tools not just for speed, but for excellence.

It’s hard to do great work when you’re tired, achy, overstimulated, and unfocused. True excellence comes not from the best tools, but from healthy, grounded humans using them wisely.

So when AI is doing its job, let it. Don’t hover. Don’t stare. Step away. Or at least close your eyes and take a few slow deep breaths.

When you come back or re-engage, you’ll be sharper. More grounded. More present. The work you’re doing will be better, the process smoother. And the efficiency we’ve been promised? That comes too, but it’s no longer the main goal.

A human future respects life and balance

Technology was made to serve us, not the other way around. As we navigate the uncertain terrain that AI brings, including its promises, its disruptions, and its unknowns, we have an opportunity to choose how we engage with it.

If we carefully and intentionally integrate these tools in ways that respect our biology, our boundaries, our need for rest and rejuvenation, we may not only become more efficient, we may also become healthier, more creative, more grounded, and perhaps even more fulfilled.

You can connect with Patricia on LinkedIn and Bluesky, and hear their music on all the major streaming platforms including Spotify and YouTube.

Cover image generated with Midjourney. Audio version made with ElevenLabs.