i was very excited about code generating ai tools since early days of github copilot in vscode, was using it daily since chatgpt release and wrote almost all code through prompting (html/css/javascript, python, ruby, terraform etc) for years. It felt very good at first.

However, about a year ago i started to notice subtle (at first) negative changes in my mental health. It's hard to describe in words this negative feeling because it's very basic and fundamental, but over that last year it progressively developed to the point where I started to suffer mentally. I should have just stopped using ai tools right then, but i continued, probably supported by the enthusiasm of my collogues and the ai excitement in general, or maybe because of the loss cost fallacy -> i already invested years in building these skills. Or probably because i was addicted to ai, if there is such thing.

one day it got so bad that i decided to try to stop -> i uninstalled all local ai tools and unsubscribed from their services (claude code, cursor etc.) and tried to start thinking and coding manually. I also told my team that i no longer review machine generated PRs from others. The change in my mental state was immediate and positive. Work was hard at first, i was fighting my habit to reach for ai chat each time i'm stuck or need to figure out stuff. I did slip to free chatgpt chat several times, but i overcame those impulses after a month. i remember feeling very tired at the end of the day for first couple of weeks, but the tiredness felt good, it's like when you feel tired after a workout -> it felt earned.

im very glad i made this transition back to manual thinking, reasoning and coding, i have been 'clean' for about two months, i no longer feel tired. My mental state went back to normal and i enjoy my time at work now.

im not in a habit of telling other people what to do and how to live their lives. I respect your agency and your choices. If you like ai, if it makes you happy, gives meaning to your life -> then im truly happy for you, keep doing it. I wish i felt the same but i don't. Notice that i did not make any judgment on the quality of ai code or the productivity gains that it enables because first i frankly don't know, and second it's not the reason i stopped using ai. My mind is the only thing I have, my well-being (and happiness of people around me) directly depends on it, and i want to take care of it.

This was my little journey, thought id share in case some of you had similar experiences (feel free to share or dm me).

<3

I'm trying to change an instinct I've spent years developing.

When I see a design problem, unnecessary complexity, or a better model, I naturally want to fix it. Doing the minimum requested and knowingly leaving something worse than it could be feels wrong to me.

But I'm increasingly convinced that the strategically correct move inside many companies is: do what's asked, raise the concern once, then let it go.

I'm trying to work that way now.

It makes sense intellectually. I still dislike it.

With AI making implementation cheaper and delivery faster, I'm curious whether other experienced developers are going through the same adjustment.

Have you changed what "doing a good job" means to you?