New AI tools make it easier than ever to feel productive while nothing that pays the bills gets done. I lost 2 weeks this way – and 3 months the same way back in 2019. The skill that matters now isn’t knowing the latest tool. It’s catching yourself in the rabbit hole and going back to emails, offers, conversations with your list and list growth.
Earlier this year, I spent two weeks building what felt like the future of my business.
Turns out I was just procrastinating… but with better tools!
Here’s the full (and slightly embarrassing) story:
Back in February, I fell deep into a rabbit hole.
I started experimenting with a whole series of new AI tools:
Claude Cowork…
Gemini’s Nano Banana Pro…
Lindy…
Gumloop…
And a few more.
I’d been primarily using ChatGPT for a long time for some of my workflows (and all my Custom GPTs)…
But boy, do these new toys seem EXCITING :D
All good and dandy, sure…
But somewhere in that migration… I stopped sending regular emails.
I stopped making offers.
I stopped doing the things that actually pay the bills.
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Send Me the Rapid Lead Activator →Why does the AI rabbit hole feel like real work?
But here’s the thing:
It didn’t feel like I was slacking…
It felt like I was doing work.
Important work!
Future-of-your-business, “this-is-how-the-pros-operate”-style work.
And that’s what makes this particular trap so effective!
The last time I walked into this trap was 2019.
I was just starting to build my list…
Excited, motivated, reading every email marketing blog I could find.
And I stumbled onto a very sophisticated ConvertKit automation course.
So I bought it…
And then spent 2-3 MONTHS (!) building the most intricate, beautiful, logic-branching email sequences & automations you’ve ever seen in your life!
Tagging rules…
Conditional splits…
Multi-path automations that would have made a developer feel all warm & fuzzy inside :)
It was a genuine masterpiece.
There was just one small problem….
I had NO offer that anyone actually wanted 🤦♂️
So essentially, I spent 3 months constructing an elaborate machine with nothing profitable to put inside it.
“You know nothing, Jon Snow”
That’s the line that came to mind when I finally looked up from the screen and understood what I’d done.
All that effort…
All those branching paths…
Zero revenue.
(I told the full story of that system – and the Frankenstein it turned into later – in my biggest email automation mistake.)
What happened when I tried to automate my YouTube with AI?
Fast-forward to this year…
I decided to build a YouTube content publishing system using AI.
The idea was genuinely useful.
Automate the boring stuff that comes with every video upload – descriptions, keyword research, titles, thumbnails.
(Oh, the thumbnails!)
I spent a genuinely embarrassing amount of time fighting with Gemini, trying to get it to produce thumbnails that didn’t look “meh”.
(At one point, I was having full arguments with it. Not my best moment…)
To be fair, I did ship something very real out of it.
6 published YouTube videos.
Each one breaking down a key part of my best-performing front-end funnel.
You can watch (or re-watch) the whole playlist here >>
But if I’m being honest about the ratio of hours invested into this semi-automated content production system to something that actually works without me constantly babysitting it?
It’s wildly off!
Like… embarrassingly off.
But the whole time I was in it – I felt like I was making progress.
And that’s the trap!
Why is this AI trap so dangerous right now?
Look…
Right now, the internet is absolutely FULL of noise about what these tools can do.
Claude Code…
Claude Projects…
Lindy…
Gumloop…
Agentic workflows that can theoretically run your entire business while you sleep…
Some of it is real, yes.
Some of it is impressive, absolutely.
But some of it is going to cost you weeks (maybe even MONTHS) of momentum with nothing to show for it… if you’re not careful.
Why?
Because it has never been easier in the history of online business to feel like you’re building something important… while your list goes cold and your revenue flatlines!
The opportunity cost is invisible – until it isn’t.
You look up 3 months from now… and nothing has moved.
And so…
I believe that the skill that matters most right now isn’t knowing how to use the latest AI tool…
…it’s catching yourself the moment you enter the “rabbit hole”.
Noticing that sweet, seductive feeling of important-seeming work that isn’t moving anything forward.
And once you notice it, swiftly redirecting back to the job that actually moves the needle.
For me, that’s:
– Writing (semi) daily emails
– Making Offers
– Having actual conversations with my list
– Growing my list each day
You know…
The unglamorous stuff that builds a real business :)
How to get out of the AI rabbit hole (this week)
1. Check the date of your last offer. If your list hasn’t seen one in 2 weeks or more, that’s your answer.
2. Ask one question about the tool you’re building. “When will this bring in money?” If you can’t name a date, park it.
3. Do the money work first. Email and offer before the tinkering. The tools will still be there in the afternoon.
4. Put a cap on tool time. Give the new toy a fixed slot in your week… not your whole week.
If your list hasn’t seen an offer in a while, Ignite & Sell is my system for getting fast revenue from the list you already have.
Free book + AI assistant
Turn the Leads Already Joining Your List Into Buyers – Faster
The Rapid Lead Activator reveals the psychology-based framework I use to write welcome sequences that sell – without hype. Normally $9.99 on Amazon, yours free. Plus a bonus AI assistant that writes your first 5 welcome emails for you – in minutes, not days.
Send Me the Rapid Lead Activator →-Csaba
P.S. – The 2019 ConvertKit saga cost me about 3 months of momentum.
The AI rabbit hole cost me 2 weeks.
At least I’m getting faster at making the same mistake lol
