After 8 months building LifeOrder, the author realized that most productivity apps exacerbate cognitive overload instead of solving it. LifeOrder, an AI planner, focuses on reducing mental clutter and overwhelm by helping users think about less, rather than manage more tasks.
The article contends that improving developer experience in enterprises often redistributes complexity rather than reducing it, due to excessive choices. It suggests that platform engineering should focus on opinionated infrastructure to lessen cognitive load.
The article posits that the essential skill in the age of AI isn't technical proficiency but knowing when to stop. It analogizes human conscious executive function to a single-threaded process, highlighting multitasking as costly context switching.
The author, initially skeptical, adopted AI coding tools like GitHub Copilot due to a tight deadline and found they significantly reduced cognitive load by handling repetitive tasks. He warns that while AI suggestions are helpful, blind trust is dangerous, and every line still needs careful review.
The article describes