Earlier this year, when the ChatGPT and GenAI hype was at its peak, my feed was flooded with stories about how AI will replace us all or how you MUST use these AI tools otherwise, you’re a crappy marketer.
It took a major toll on my mental health; my imposter syndrome was more active than ever, and eventually, I broke down.
You never really recover from burnout unless you completely change your lifestyle and erase everything that led you to that point. This was not my first, and I knew that eventually, all it took was a trigger to put me back where it all started.
But you can avoid AI burnout if you try to do some of these simple things.
Don’t fall into the hype trap
Let them be loud. Let them post twice a day about everything you’re missing out on by not using the tools that changed their lives and the way they do marketing. You do You.
Not everyone has the bandwidth to allocate a budget for all the shiny AI tools that pop up every morning. Don’t feel bad about it.
Hypes are toxic. They tend to be extreme and to exaggerate something. Like any other exaggerations, these are unhealthy and unproductive. The problem with hypes is that people tend to be sensationalists. They forget everything about evidence-based claims, and they start promoting unrealistic expectations.
One-person marketing teams should not be expected to grow octopus arms and three other brains to figure out new tools. None of these tools will save a bad product, poor leadership, and lack of communication. Trust me!
Narrow down your marketing challenges
A healthy way to curate the AI hype in your life is to know by heart what are the daily and main challenges that you have to deal with in your marketing-related tasks.
Is it that you don’t have enough taught-leadership content to publish on your LinkedIn profile?
Is it that you can’t send weekly Newsletters due to lack of automation?
Is it that your data is spread all over Excel docs?
Your ads don’t convert?
Your design visuals are crap?
Name it, describe it, remember it! Every time another AI zombie guru tells you that this is the tool to save you, remember the challenges you deal with every day and start repeating those like it was a prayer.
You probably do not need that hyped tool at that moment. Been there, done that!
My colleague, Oana-Corina Jelea, put together a nice list of ChatGPT alternatives you can check out if you are in the mood.
Reserve some time in your agenda to play around with AI tools
To keep your FOMO under control, I strongly recommend you put some time in your agenda to play around with AI tools. This will help you keep the anxiety under control. You get to see, evaluate, and decide whether it’s for you.
You won’t feel left behind or that you are a society pariah because you’re not as cool as the others using GenAI.
You need one hour per week, and you will already start feeling better. And if you don’t know where to start, follow Wild Tools.ai Newsletter. It’s cool.
Get yourself up to speed. Learn to understand what GenAI is
One thing that helped me a lot to feel I have things under control was to learn what GenAI is and what isn’t. How to write prompts, how to communicate with genAI, and all kinds of tips and tricks.
For that, I started taking the FREE courses Linkedin Learning has about AI. Then, I moved on to what Google has to offer.
You start feeling better when you get your certificates and realize you have some basics. You are not a dumb dumb.
Block, unfollow, delete
You don’t need everything from everyone in your feed. Consume content responsibly. Aim at following professionals who are mindful of the implications of AI on society, the workforce, mental health, and so on.
The best would be to follow regular marketing fellows who share content but don’t sensationalize trends. Keep it balanced.
My favorite marketing-related content is from the AI marketing institute, more specifically from Paul Roetzer.
Healthy closing thoughts
Don’t focus on the what if or what the future holds. Ease up. Try to keep a balanced upskilling routine, and don’t believe everything on the Internet.
I am so curious to learn about how you are using AI tools responsibly and what learnings you’ve extracted already. What are the challenges you’ve faced so far?
If you want to talk some more, we’re waiting for your DM on Instagram.
With care for your brand,
Stefana Sopco.
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