I'm paying for AI tools I barely open. Every week there's a new model or new tool.
So I subscribe.
I tinker for a day. Walk away and forget it exists.
Then I feel guilty for falling behind on the thing I paid to fall behind on.
That feeling has a name: AI FOMO
And it's doing a number on a lot of us. So I got Jane Li on the show to talk it through.
Jane's a UX lead. She came up through animation before UX, teaches at Career Foundry, and now designs inside a bank, where the shiny AI tools are mostly locked down.
She came back from maternity leave to an industry that had apparently reinvented itself while she was out. If anyone's earned the right to feel behind, it's her.
We went deep on 3 things:
1. The tools and burnout trap
Chasing every new tool never ends, there's always another one next week.
Jane's fix was refreshingly low-tech. She hosted an in-person meetup and asked other designers what they were actually doing.
The reveal: everyone's stuck on similar stuff.
Communication
Stakeholder management
Keeping a seat at the table
Those pain points haven't changed, AI or not.
Nobody has set the standard yet. So there's no standard to be behind on. Let that one sink in.
2. What if AI is restricted at work
Jane works in banking. Her team gets a stripped-down internal model and not much else.
Her move:
Pick one tool you're curious about and tinker on your own machine.
Learn what it actually does.
Then document how your teammates use the limited tools you do have, and build the case internally.
No permission needed. Just a laptop and a bit of curiosity.
3. How to build for joy, not to catch up
This was my favourite bit.
Jane stopped asking AI to make things for her. Now she makes the thing, and lets AI frame it.
The first AI attempt looked off, so she went back to her animation roots and drew it by hand, then wired it up in Claude Code.
Work out what you want AI to do, and what you actually enjoy doing.
Then protect the second one.
What Jane said that stuck with me:
"The joy is the actual creation. I don't want AI to create for me. I want it to put a frame around what I create."
She's not anti-AI. She just won't hand over the part that makes the work hers. The clarity of knowing where the line is, that's the whole game.
More from Jane:
Instagram → the real design process, AI experiments, and the honest behind-the-scenes most people edit out
Her newsletter is relaunching this month, so follow now to catch the restart
We also went deep on the airline chatbot that nearly made me chuck my phone, why AI isn't making your product decisions, and the one feature every designer wishes Claude had.
A big thanks to our friends at UserTesting for sponsoring this episode.
For designers who care about the craft — Crafted, 17 September in London 🇬🇧
If you're serious about design, not just shipping but creating work grounded in real customer perspective, this is worth a look.
Crafted is happening 17 September in London at Exhibition White City.
It’s a curated day for designers thinking about what’s next.
Start with optional morning workshops (paid), including Eli Woolery (Design Better Podcast) on AI + Design Thinking. The focus is on using generative AI to sharpen your creative process.
Or join us for the free afternoon mainstage, where folks at UserTesting and your peers will share perspectives and experiences on:
How attention, perception, and human connection shape the experiences we design
Building with AI without losing sight of the customer
Why the most impactful decisions are still grounded in real human insight
I'll be at the design workshop, if you spot me there, come say hi.
P.S. Use code UXPLAYBOOK for $100 off workshop passes.
