Try This Now to Build AI Muscles

Let’s be honest: you’re probably getting fat on AI content right now. Bingeing podcasts like candy bars. Hoarding newsletter tips like Halloween chocolate. Saving Twitter threads like they’re bags of chips for later. Sure, it feels productive—like you’re “staying current” or “building knowledge.” But here’s the uncomfortable truth: all that consumption is just giving you a knowledge sugar high. And like any sugar high, it’ll crash—leaving you with exactly zero new capabilities.

This isn't about shaming your podcast addiction (I have one too). It's about getting real about what learning actually means. In a recent conversation on Beyond the Prompt with learning scientist and former Harvard Dean, Stephen Kosslyn, he dropped a truth bomb that stuck with me: most of what we call ‘passive learning’ isn't actually learning at all. If you can't use the knowledge in an open-ended environment later, you haven't really learned it – you've just rented it for a while.

So let's get real about the difference between feeling smart and getting better. Between collecting recipes and actually learning to cook. Between reading about workout plans and getting to the gym. When it comes to AI, your brain doesn't need more content calories – it needs a workout plan.

The Knowledge Consumption Trap

Here’s what I’ve noticed in myself and in my audiences: when we learn something new, it’s easy to nod along and think, That’s brilliant! I’ll have to try that sometime. But “sometime” rarely happens. You end up with a mental backlog of things you could try, someday, if only there were more hours in the day. This tendency to collect insights without acting on them—what I call “prompt hoarding”—is a trap.

As I wrote in Beware Prompt Hoarding, the allure of bookmarking tips and shortcuts can ironically distract from the very thing that builds skill: actual use. Knowledge, if it’s not applied, risks becoming like empty calories—seemingly valuable but without the nutrients needed to build real capability.

One simple example of this delusion: I gave a small but powerful tip in a keynote at “Classes Without Quizzes” at Stanford Alumni Weekend this past weekend: You can actually ask ChatGPT to “only respond with ‘mm-hmm’ unless I indicate otherwise…” It’s a simple, game-changing adjustment that keeps an “advanced voice mode” conversation flowing without interruptions. After sharing this tip, I watched hundreds of eyes widen knowingly, “I can’t believe I never thought of that.” And yet, here’s the sad truth: most people who hear it will still never try it.

They’ll appreciate it, but it won’t become part of their practice.

This is the consumption trap: the gap between appreciating an idea and applying it. Knowledge without action isn’t just empty calories—it’s a missed opportunity to build skill.

You’ve Got Two Choices

You can keep collecting digital calories that’ll never build your AI muscle, or you can start a workout regimen. Here’s how to make it stupid-simple:

1. Start Your “AI Try This Scratch Pad”: Each time you hear a tip, technique, or tactic that sparks your interest, jot it down in your scratch pad. This could be a note in your phone, a physical notebook, or a document on your computer—whatever makes it easy for you to return to regularly. To make it as easy as possible, I even built a GPT that will help you track your inspiration, and lovingly hold you accountable (shout out to my brilliant fellow members of the Try Ten Community, who suggested this idea!!).

2. Set Aside 15 Minutes Daily: Treat this as a fitness routine for your mind, to learn how to flex your GenAI superpowers. Instead of scrolling through yet another article, set a 15-minute block on your calendar to try one thing from your scratch pad. Experiment with a new prompt, test a feature, or try a new approach. If you’re looking for fodder for something to do in today’s 15 minutes, here are some options:

- look at your notes from a past newsletter or podcast — what’s one thing a guest said that you found interesting?
- try the mmhmm conversational tactic above (literally scroll up, re-read that section, and open ChatGPT advance voice mode)
- check out my 2-week AI bootcamp, which suggests some purpose-built exercises for your first two weeks of practice

STOP RIGHT NOW AND MAKE A RECURRING CALENDAR EVENT TITLED “AI Try This”

It’s incredible how alluring the tendency to “just finish the article before doing something else” really is, isn’t it? But I’m settled on this: I’d much rather you stop reading the newsletter right here — or stop listening to the podcast 10 minutes in — and actually build your muscles through action than add another calorie to the content sugar high.

3. Reflect on What Works: At the end of each session, take a quick note on what you learned. Maybe a new prompt didn’t give you the result you wanted, or perhaps you uncovered an insight that could change how you approach a project. Whatever it is, jot it down—it’s the seed of your next learning step.

This framework creates a cycle of active learning. Rather than just absorbing knowledge, you’re putting it into practice, building real ability as you go.

Here’s the Part Where Most Writers Get Philosophical

But not me. I’m going to tell you something that might sting: if you’re waiting to feel “ready” to start experimenting with AI, you’re already falling behind. Not behind some imaginary AI expert—behind yourself.

Every day you spend collecting tips without testing them is a day you could have discovered something nobody’s written about yet. I see it at every keynote I give: someone in the audience takes a half-formed idea I mention and turns it into something I never imagined. Why? Because they stopped nodding and started doing.

That’s why I created this two-week AI Bootcamp. Not as more content for your digital junk drawer, but as daily workout assignments. Each one is a chance to stop being a spectator and start being a player. Will you mess up? Probably. Will you find something nobody else has? Also probably. That’s the whole point.

The difference between the people who “get” AI and those who just read about it isn’t talent or time—it’s reps. Pure and simple. So let’s quit pretending you need more preparation and start building your reps.

Taking the First Step

So, let’s get started. I challenge you to set aside your first 15-minute block right now. Open up your calendar, block out that time, and pick a tactic to try. Start small—grab one idea, one prompt, one technique—and run with it. Then come back, add your insights to your scratch pad, and prepare for the next step.

Your journey begins here, with simple, consistent action. It’s not about the knowledge sugar high, but about building the skills that will set you apart.

So let’s go. No more waiting. It’s time to turn knowledge into muscle.

Related: Beyond the Prompt: Stephen Kosslyn
Related: Beware Prompt Hoarding
Related: AI Try This Scratch Pad GPT
Related: 2-Week AI Bootcamp

Join over 24,147 creators & leaders who read Paint & Pipette each week