What Will We Do With the Time?

Lately, I’ve noticed something interesting.

Whether I’m meeting with a Jewish day school, a synagogue, a nonprofit, or a business, everyone seems to want the same thing.

More time.

Teachers want more time with students.

Executive directors want more time to think strategically.

Rabbis want more time with congregants.

Board members want more time discussing the future instead of reviewing reports.

Parents want more time with their families.

No one has ever told me they wish they had more administrative work.

And yet that’s where so much of our time goes.

Technology is beginning to change that.

Artificial intelligence, automation, and better workflows are making it possible to eliminate work that once consumed hours every week.

Much of the conversation has focused on what these tools can do.

Write emails.

Summarize meetings.

Analyze information.

Prepare reports.

Those are useful capabilities.

But I think we’ve become distracted by the wrong question.

The more important question isn’t, “What can technology do?”

It’s, “What will we do with the time it gives back?”

That’s not a technology question.

It’s a leadership question.

It’s also a deeply human one.

One of the enduring themes in Jewish life is that our resources are entrusted to us, not simply given to us. We are expected to use them thoughtfully and purposefully.

Perhaps time should be viewed the same way.

If a school administrator saves five hours each week, what becomes possible?

More conversations with teachers?

More attention to students?

More thoughtful planning?

If a synagogue executive spends less time on administrative tasks, does that become another meeting?

Or does it become another visit with a congregant who needs someone to listen?

Technology doesn’t answer those questions.

People do.

That’s why I believe the most important conversation surrounding artificial intelligence isn’t about artificial intelligence at all.

It’s about intention.

Every organization will eventually create more capacity.

Some will simply become busier.

Others will become better.

The difference won’t be the technology they choose.

It will be how intentionally they choose to use the time they’ve regained.

Perhaps that’s the real opportunity in front of us.

Not to do more work.

But to do more of the work that matters.