AI Side Questing: A Mental Framework for Engineers Building in the Age of AI

There’s a lot of noise right now around AI and coding.

On one side, you’ll hear fear: “AI will make engineers sloppy.”
On the other, hype: “If you’re not using AI everywhere, you’re already behind.”

As with most technological shifts, the truth sits somewhere in between.

Over the past few months, while working closely with AI, I’ve developed a mental model that helped me reconcile both camps. It’s a way to learn faster, build more, and still protect your core engineering skills.

I introduce you to AI Side Questing.

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What is an AI Side Quest?

An AI Side Quest is a deliberately small, low-stakes project where you lean into AI to build and learn as fast as possible.

The goal isn’t polish.
The goal isn’t monetization.
The goal isn’t even “best practices.”

The goal is simple:

How much can I build and learn, as fast as possible, within tight boundaries?

To make this work, boundaries matter:

• Time-boxed (for example: one day a week)
• Small in scope
• Low pressure
• No expectations of production quality

Because these are side quests, the stakes are intentionally low. There’s no fear of “AI slop” here. It's all about experimentation.

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A Rule I Follow

For my main work and core projects, I’m much more conservative with AI. I mostly use it for:

• Repetitive tasks
• Boilerplate
• Things I’ve already mastered myself

This rule keeps me grounded:

Don’t outsource your learning. Only outsource your labor.

AI Side Quests are where I break that rule on purpose. Safely, intentionally, and without long-term consequences.

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Why Complete AI Side Quests?

Here’s what I’ve noticed after doing several of them:

• 🔄 It softens AI skepticism Low-stakes experimentation often turns resistance into curiosity.
• ⚡ Sharpen speed and reactivity You learn to move fast and make decisions quickly.
• 🚪 Step outside your comfort zone New languages, tools, paradigms, without fear.
• 💡 Spark creativity Constraints force you to think differently.
• 🧠 Build intuition for AI tooling You stop theorizing and start feeling what’s possible.
• 🔁 Break the monotony It’s refreshing to build without pressure.
• 🎮 It’s genuinely fun No deadlines. No KPIs. Just building for the joy of it.

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What I’ve Been Doing

Over the past weeks, I’ve completed several AI Side Quests, each intentionally designed to push me into unfamiliar territory. I prioritize programming languages or ecosystems I didn’t already know.

Because the scope was small and the expectations were low, I felt free to explore, break things, and learn fast.

And that learning sticks.

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Why “Side Quests”?

I’ve always loved side quests. Not just in games, but in life.

Spontaneous trips.
Personal challenges.
Projects that don’t “make sense” on paper.

They break routines, expand perspective, and often end up shaping you more than the main path ever does.

AI makes these kinds of coding side quests more accessible and more fun than ever before.

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Your Turn

I challenge you to embark on your own AI Side Quest in the coming weeks.

Let your imagination run wild.
Pick something small.
Lean into AI.
Build fast.
Learn aggressively.

No pressure. No stakes. Just exploration.

I’d love to hear what you think:

• Does this framework resonate?
• Have you done something similar already?
• What would your AI Side Quest be?

Happy questing ⚔️