Cognitive debt checklist
Practicum for Chapter 8, "Cognitive Debt." Version: 2026-06-20. Time: 5 minutes. Use this for important tasks and for any result that looks a little too polished. You do not need it for every request.
Cognitive debt means taking productivity today in exchange for skill tomorrow. Sometimes you choose that debt on purpose. The problem starts when it becomes a habit and you stop noticing it.
Faster in your browser: The Cognitive Debt Tracker asks seven questions, identifies your mode, and suggests one move that brings back useful friction.
Seven questions
Use these questions for an important task you just completed with AI.
- Did I explain the reasoning, rather than only deliver the result?
- Did I check at least one fact or source outside the model?
- Do I understand the solution well enough to repeat it without AI?
- Did this task make me more capable, not just faster?
- Which skill did I skip practicing by giving it to the machine?
____________ - Where did I deliberately keep work for myself without AI?
____________ - Does this "done" look too smooth? Did I miss an error because I did not want to check?
How to read the result
There is no score. If most answers work against you, you are taking on debt. This does not mean you are working badly. It means one of two things: you chose the debt on purpose, or it has become a habit and you need to bring back some friction.
Next: Audit your way of working with AI and the prompt bank Training, not answers.
Back: Chapter 8 Practicum. Version: 2026-06-20.