AI Is Giving You Back Half A Day Every Week. How To Use It Wisely.

If you're using AI at work, even occasionally, you may already be gaining back a valuable resource: time.

Microsoft’s Copilot study found that users spent 30 minutes less on email each week and completed documents 12 percent faster. Adecco reports time savings of around five hours a week for knowledge workers. Thomson Reuters says four.

These small efficiencies often amount to a hidden dividend of roughly half a working day every single week.

That figure is supported directionally, if more cautiously, by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Their analysis estimates that AI saves an average of 5.4% of their weekly work hours, which is about 2.2 hours every week.

Even taking the lowest estimate, the result is still meaningful: reclaimed time, quietly reshaping the workweek.

What Will You Do With Your Extra Half Day?

I describe the rising AI flood in earlier Forbes pieces and my book, The Human Edge. Some jobs are being submerged. But within the remaining roles, AI is leaving behind micro-efficiencies: small bursts of reclaimed time that quickly add up.

This is not speculative. It's already happening.

That landmark Federal Reserve survey of nearly 10,000 people found that:

• One in four used generative AI at work in the past week
• One in ten are using it daily
• AI adoption is outpacing both the PC and the internet

Even the recent ChatGPT outage caused over 500,000 Google searches in hours. That wasn't hype. This tells us something important: AI has already woven itself into the fabric of modern work.

From Time Poverty to Strategic Reinvestment

Over two decades of leadership development, I’ve worked with CEOs, scientists, creatives, and entrepreneurs. Different sectors, different goals, but the same underlying refrain:

"I'd love to reflect, learn, or think more strategically…but I don't have time."

Fair enough. Work is relentless. But AI is shifting the equation. The real question is this:

Five Smart Ways to Spend Your AI Dividend

Here are five high-leverage moves to make the most of your AI-liberated time.

1. Learn with Intention: Don't wait for the next formal training program. Build your own learning loop. Read, reflect, journal, and shape your growth.
2. Get Better at AI: Invest time in becoming more effective with AI tools. Learn how to prompt better. Experiment with new use cases. The more fluent you are, the more time you’ll save again. Coding is optional, speaking the language of digital and AI is not.
3. Protect Your Mind: Take ten minutes without a screen. Breathe. Meditate. Your nervous system will thank you, and your clarity will increase.
4. Move Your Body: Even a short walk can reset your brain. Physical movement sharpens cognitive performance and resilience.
5. Deepen Relationships: Use your extra time to build trust with humans. Send a message to someone you appreciate. Talk to a team member and truly listen.

Final Thought: Time Is Your Competitive Advantage

Here’s my prediction.

Those who recognise and reinvest the time AI gives back will lead the next chapter of work. Those who don’t may find themselves rewritten by it.

The AI age doesn’t just reward those who move fast. It rewards those who use time differently.

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