Don’t Blast the AI Cannon Without a Target

It’s tempting to reach for AI the moment you feel stuck.

You open ChatGPT, throw a half-formed question at it, and hope it gives you clarity. Sometimes it does. But more often, you end up deeper in the weeds—because you didn’t really know what you were asking in the first place.

That’s the trap: using a powerful tool without aiming it first.

If you haven’t taken the time to sit with the problem—think it through, sketch ideas, write in a journal—you’re not giving AI something meaningful to work with. You’re asking it to finish a sentence you haven’t even started.

Lately, I’ve been realizing how important it is to think before you ask.

AI is incredible for shaping ideas, refining rough edges, and moving faster once you know what you want. But if you use it too early, it short-circuits the process. You might get a result, sure. But not understanding why that result makes sense—or whether it’s even what you needed in the first place—is a hidden cost.

Here’s what’s been working for me:

• Think first. Use your own brain. Get messy. Let the thoughts tumble out.
• Then reach for AI. Use it to polish, refine, or challenge your thinking.
• Build in pieces. Don’t try to make the whole thing at once. Design and test each part like components, not a monolith.

It’s like 3D printing a house: you don’t do it all in one go. You print the parts, verify they fit, and then assemble.

Same goes for building ideas. Think first. Aim second. Then fire.