Is Agency a Skill or an Environment?
The Invisible Contract That Shapes Your Ability to Act
What if the choices you make every day aren’t really yours?
There are days when every decision feels borrowed. I catch myself moving through routines, following signposts someone else put up. The world offers options, sure, but they never quite feel like mine.
I once thought agency was raw willpower or hustle. But now, I am pretty certain agency as we understand it, is shaped by what’s possible and by what’s permitted in the moment. Some days, I tell myself it’s a muscle to build. Other times, it’s like London weather, where sometimes there’s enough clarity you risk wearing shorts, only for the weather (and your optimism) to vanish by lunch.
Lately, I wonder how much of my freedom is merely a story I tell myself, and bound by the platforms I use, the rules I don’t see and the systems that score and steer. Each one shapes what I can do, or even imagine doing.
And now, there’s AI and it is another layer, shaping my choices in the background. The nudges, the shortcuts, the predictions that are never neutral.
So I ask myself, “What parts of my agency are still mine?” “How much have I traded away for speed, for convenience, for belonging?”
Most of us don’t notice the boundaries until they close in. The risk is we won’t realise what we’ve lost until it’s already gone.
Where Agency Slips Away
Half a year ago, I handed over part of my workflow to an AI assistant. I uploaded my landing page copy, gave it data, shared my goals, and let it analyse our past results. Working with that assistant, we boosted our activation rate from 7% to 20%. The assistant caught things I missed and suggested ideas I’d never have come up with on my own. Letting go of control there didn’t just save me time, but it made the outcome better.
However, not every handover feels like a win. There are days when I let dashboards and prompts guide every step, just because it’s easy. I follow the path laid out by the tool, “approve it ,” and move on.
That’s why I’m starting to think agency isn’t an absolute. It’s not about keeping every decision for myself, or giving them all away for the sake of speed. The real challenge is figuring out when to take my hands off the wheel, and when to keep them firmly on.
How to Decide What Deserves Your Agency
If agency is limited, it pays to spend it wisely. I’ve started using a few simple questions to figure out when to delegate, when to automate, and when to stay hands-on.
What’s the cost of letting go?
Before I hand off a task to either a tool, a process, or another person, I ask myself:
What’s at stake if I’m not directly involved? If the answer is “not much,” I delegate without guilt.Will I learn something by doing this myself?
Sometimes, the real value is in the messy middle that are manifested in the moments when things go wrong and I have to course-correct. If a task feels like an opportunity to grow, I’ll keep my hands on the controls, even if it’s slower.Does this align with my strengths or distract from them?
There’s no glory in struggling with work that drains me. If a tool can do it better, faster, or more objectively, I let it.Am I trading short-term ease for long-term drift?
The quick wins are tempting, but I check in and ask, “Am I still steering toward my real goals, or just coasting on autopilot?”
I don’t get it right every time. But treating agency as a limited resource as if it’s a currency to invest, helps me stay present for the work (and life) that actually matters
A Tool for Real Agency
This week, I keep coming back to my own experiments with tools I custom-built that are helping me think more clearly. I set the rules and decide what the AI can handle and what stays on my plate.
If you want to try it:
Start with one decision or workflow you find draining or repetitive.
Feed the assistant just enough context to give it boundaries.
See if it sharpens your focus, or lets you reclaim energy for something more meaningful.
Augmenting yourself with AI is not about handing everything over, but rather about building tools that expand your options. When agency is a partnership between you and your environment, and not a tug-of-war, you’re more likely to build a system that works for you.
Something to Sit With
What’s one decision, habit, or part of your workflow that you’re ready to reclaim, or let go of, this week? Write it down. Notice how it feels to make that choice on purpose.
You don’t need to control every detail, but you do get to decide where your agency matters most.
Agency is the sum of every contract you sign with your work, your tools, and your world. Sometimes, letting go creates space for what matters and other times, holding on is the only way forward.
The trick is to notice the difference before you’ve traded away too much.
So let me know when you’re ready to build tools and workflows that amplify your agency instead of shrinking it.
All the zest 🍋
Cien
P.S. If this made you feel something, forward it to someone who might need a reminder: we’re still here, still dreaming, and now, maybe, a little closer to touching it.
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