---
url: 'https://www.jonefox.com/agent-angst/'
title: Agent Angst
author:
  name: jon
  url: 'https://www.jonefox.com/author/jon-2-2/'
date: '2026-04-09T06:20:13-07:00'
modified: '2026-04-09T06:20:14-07:00'
type: post
categories:
  - Code
  - Entrepreneurship
  - Introspective
  - Projects
  - Work
tags:
  - agent angst
  - ai
  - coding
published: true
---

# Agent Angst

I’ve noticed something new that maybe you can relate to if you’re building with AI – this awesome feeling of productivity unleashed by working with agents has a bit of an impact on my attitude towards work. These agents are powerful, and I feel the constant need to keep them running all the time. There’s a low-grade background anxiety when they’re not working that I’ve started to call *Agent Angst. *It’s that nagging feeling that you know you could be getting more done if you could just kick off another agent, or run another cycle on the batch you’ve already got going. It’s a compulsion to keep these things moving constantly to maximize my productivity. I am the bottleneck.

Most of the people I talk to find that AI isn’t reducing the amount of work they’re doing, it’s actually increasing it. The leverage it gives you makes you take on more. The agents are available 24/7 and you can have as many as you can afford to keep feeding tokens.

On the flip side, though, I feel like my work is more flexible than ever in many ways too. I’m no longer locked into meetings all day, only productive at my desktop, and limited to when my coworkers happen to be around to be most productive. I can now keep things spinning at my desk, when I have a down moment waiting in line, or when I’m outside sitting at the park. The moments I used to spend doom scrolling, I now spend pushing agents forward.

I haven’t figured out the right balance yet and maybe there isn’t one. Maybe Agent Angst is just the new normal for anyone building with AI. But I do know that the moments I used to waste are now moments that move things forward, and that feels like a net win even if my brain hasn’t fully adjusted to it yet.

Have you felt Agent Angst yet? I’d love to hear how you’re managing it.