Most people think about AI after the output arrives. But these three habits happen before, during, and underneath the interaction.
1. Verify before it looks good. Before you even glance at the output, decide what checks it needs to pass: factual verification, logical pressure testing, tone review—whatever is relevant to that piece of work. Commit to those checks before the output looks good, because once it does, your motivation to verify drops. That's not laziness; it's predictive processing doing exactly what it's designed to do.
2. Run a monthly capacity check. Once a month, take a piece of work you produced with AI assistance and ask yourself an honest question: Could I still produce this if the tool disappeared tomorrow? Could I produce something of similar value? The answer tells you where the tool has extended you—and where it has quietly replaced a capacity you might want back.
3. Watch your emotional responses. Pay attention to your emotional reactions to AI content—yours and other people's. If you notice a strong reaction in either direction, pause. Ask whether the reaction is about the specific output… or about what the output implies about you. That moment of noticing is the difference between reacting from the amygdala and thinking from the cortex.
Stay curious, stay compassionate, and always stay brainwise.