A top AI newsletter writer says chasing every new tool left him stuck

Ben Tossell, who writes the AI newsletter Ben's Bites, says he felt stuck for about 10 months. He now plans a 30-day reset: fewer new tools, fewer shortcuts and more work that feels fun. He first shared the feeling in a post on Oct. 28, 2026, then wrote a longer essay about it.

What he said

In his post, Tossell wrote that he kept going in circles, questioning and re-questioning everything. Ideas felt exciting, then did not. The post drew 82.5K views and 681 likes. In the essay, he said many people seem to feel the same way. He pointed to the nonstop flow of new products and models, and to people running 20 personal agents to manage their social content or their lives. An agent is an AI program that carries out tasks for you.

The trap of doing more

Tossell wrote that he starts far more than he finishes. A course is about 70% done. A tool for non-technical people who use personal agents is 80% done. He also has two funds, and one still needs fundraising. AI was meant to handle work, he wrote, but when it does, there turns out to be endless work to add. Some of it is busywork, like cleaning a desk before starting real work.

He also borrowed a rule from running a company. A business should usually hire only when there is a pain that hiring would solve. So why hire and manage many agents for tasks that are not very painful?

His 30-day plan

• Write down random thoughts first thing each morning to clear his head.
• Use agents only to build things he finds interesting and fun.
• Add no new tools unless one clearly solves a pain.
• No AI summaries of long posts. Read it or ignore it.
• Do nothing just because it makes money.

He says he does not have the answers. He will still use agents when he wants help, but he wrote that he is not working for his agent. It works for him.

What to take from it

The plan is one person's experiment, and it has only just started. The essay does not say whether it works. Still, the test is easy to borrow. Before adding another AI tool to a business or a home routine, ask whether it fixes a real problem or only keeps you busy.