Top tips: Stay one step ahead of boreout, the new burnout

Top tips is a weekly column where we highlight what's trending in the tech world and list practical ways to explore these trends. This week, we're talking about boreout, the lesser-known cousin of burnout, and how to stay engaged as AI takes on more of the routine work.

There was a time when finishing your work early felt like winning.

Now it somehow feels... suspicious.

You glance at your inbox and nope, there are no new emails. AI already drafted the email you were supposed to write and summarized the meeting you barely had to attend. By 3pm, you've ticked everything off your to-do list and yet you're staring at your screen wondering, Surely there's something I'm forgetting?

As AI continues to take over more of the repetitive tasks that once filled our workdays, many of us are spending less time on routine work. That's exactly what technology promised us, and for the most part, it's a good thing.

But it turns out our brains weren't asking for less work. They were asking for better work.

That's the idea behind boreout, a growing workplace trend where employees feel mentally drained not because they're overloaded but because they're no longer challenged. The solution isn't to make yourself busier. It's to make sure the work that's left is actually worth doing.

Here are three ways to stay engaged in a workplace where AI is doing more of the routine work.

1. It's okay if your calendar has blank space

An empty calendar has a strange effect on people. Instead of thinking, "Great, I have time to focus," we think, "Surely I'm supposed to be somewhere."

Then comes the urge to fill that space. The irony is that AI is finally giving us something we've always been asking for: time.

Instead of immediately giving it away again, use it well. Learn something new, understand another part of the process, or experiment with tools that make your work better.

2. Do something you can't put on autopilot

The easiest workday is one where you know exactly what's coming. You open your to-do list, work your way through it, tick every box, and call it a day.

If every task feels like something you've done a hundred times before, it might be time to step outside your usual routine. Rather than asking for more work, look for work that's different. Projects with unanswered questions, new responsibilities, or unfamiliar territory are far more likely to keep you engaged than another item on the same checklist.

3. Look beyond tradition 

Every workplace has at least one process everyone complains about but nobody changes.

The longer these routines stick around, the more invisible they become. We stop questioning them and simply accept them as part of the job.

If something feels repetitive, unnecessarily complicated, or frustrating, don't just work around it. Ask if it can be improved, simplified, or automated.

Sometimes the biggest impact you can make isn't by doing more work. It's by making the work itself better.

It's more than just time

AI is changing the way we work, and mostly for the better if we let it. It's taking the repetitive stuff off our hands and leaving us more room for the work that actually needs a human in it.

So, if you ever catch yourself staring at your inbox hoping something interesting appears or stretching a simple task just to fill the afternoon, don't dismiss it as a slow week. It might just be your brain reminding you that staying busy and staying engaged are two very different things.

After all, the best use of AI isn't giving us less to do. It's giving us the freedom to do better things.