Before Michelangelo could paint the Sistine Chapel, an intricate scaffolding system had to be built so he could lie on his back and reach the ceiling. The world remembers the breathtaking frescoes, not the wooden planks and supports that made them possible. Nobody knows the name of the person who built that scaffolding—but everyone knows Michelangelo. In the same way, much of our work involves invisible setup and preparation that isn’t what truly matters in the end. AI is now dismantling that scaffolding, allowing us to focus on the work that people will actually remember.

Scaffolding Takes Too Much Time

Every painter knows that masking and taping can take longer than the actual painting. Builders spend weeks erecting scaffolding before even beginning work on a structure. This pre-work, this necessary but time-consuming setup, is present in nearly every job—whether you're an analyst preparing a report, a marketer researching trends, or a salesperson organizing customer data. It’s the scaffolding of work, and for many professionals, it consumes more time than the creative or high-impact tasks they actually enjoy. But what if AI could take down the scaffolding, leaving you with more time for what truly matters?

Are you a Scaffolding Specialist?

The reality is that many professionals have become experts at scaffolding. Lawyers spend hours preparing legal briefs, consultants compile data into presentations, and designers tweak wireframes before the real work of creative problem-solving begins. In some cases, the scaffolding is the job. But as AI continues to advance, it excels at handling these preparatory, repetitive, and process-driven tasks more efficiently than humans ever could. If your role is primarily about scaffolding—organizing information, formatting data, or structuring projects—AI is not just a tool; it’s a force of disruption. The smartest move isn’t to resist it but to master it. Learning how to automate the scaffolding of your job means you can spend more time on the parts that truly add value.

More Time to Innovate

The upside? Greater productivity and unleashed creativity. When we spend less time setting up and more time actually doing, we can focus on what moves the needle. Businesses can deliver better products faster. Customer service reps can spend more time solving problems rather than documenting them. And for individuals, AI can help us go beyond efficiency—it can enable true creative exploration. Creativity thrives on iteration, but iteration takes time, and time is usually in short supply. This is where AI becomes a game-changer. The best ideas come from refining and evolving thoughts through multiple cycles, but traditionally, we don’t have the bandwidth or resources to iterate at scale. AI changes that.

A Personal Brainstorm Assistant

Personally, I use AI to brainstorm on the go, treating it like an expert passenger during my commute. Instead of letting ideas float around in my head, I talk through them with AI, iterating and refining concepts in real time. This kind of rapid iteration was once only possible with an engaged team or a dedicated brainstorming session. Now, anyone can access an AI-powered thinking partner whenever inspiration strikes.

3 Ways to Automate Scaffolding

To start removing scaffolding from your own routines, try these three steps: (1) Identify repetitive or preparatory tasks in your work that AI can handle. (2) Experiment with automation tools to streamline data collection, research, and formatting. (3) Shift your focus toward value-adding tasks that only you can do.

3 Ways to Be More Creative

And to iterate your thinking faster, (1) regularly use AI as a brainstorming partner, (2) ask AI to generate multiple versions of a solution before choosing one, and (3) use AI-powered simulations or scenarios to test ideas quickly. The future of work isn’t about doing more scaffolding—it’s about taking it down and building something great instead.