At a time when our workplaces are increasingly centered on artificial intelligence, how do we leave space for creativity and human intelligence? Right now, it’s crucial to create opportunities to practice your critical thinking and creativity. If you’re counting on ChatGPT for every single task, from ideating a proposal or creating a presentation deck, to simply replying to an email, you might be creating a dependency called cognitive debt. A study by MIT measured the brain activity of participants using LLMs to write an essay, and found that “LLM users consistently underperformed at neural, linguistic, and behavioral levels.”

So what’s the solution to keep your brain working in the AI era?

It’s not about productivity optimization tips and ‘maxxing’ just about everything. It’s working with your hands, science suggests. Hands-on craft and art activities have been effective to increase neuroplasticity and emotional regulation, and even help ease anxiety disorders , in what’s known as the hand-brain-emotion axis.

Creativity is key to counteract cognitive debt and alleviate burnout symptoms. It can also lead to better work outcomes. To find out how, I spoke with Alexandra Lunn, founder of Well–Crafted , a platform that brings the well-being benefits of making into the workplace through hands-on craft.

Why Crafting Is So Important In 2026

In an age when even artificial intelligence can create art, it’s never been more important to use your own hands to build and create. From painting to needlework, ceramics, and soapmaking, humans have used their hands as tools since the beginning. Although crafting isn’t usually part of most of our daily routines, it’s certainly a proven way to boost your health.

“If AI removes all the friction from our work, what happens to the human skills we’re no longer practicing?” posed Lunn. “Our brains change in response to what we ask them to do, and how we train them. That’s one of the reasons I’m so interested in making. When we work with our hands, we’re still solving problems, making decisions, getting things wrong and trying again. AI can’t go through that process for our brains.”

Beyond physical benefits like joint mobility, dexterity and avoiding screens, making and creating has a positive impact on mental health as well. A scientific study found that art making led to significantly lower levels of cortisol, the main stress hormone. “Crafting is slowing down, connecting and enjoying the creative process,” said Lunn. “It’s making something with your hands, relaxing and tapping into your alpha brainwave state. It also involves solving problems and taking things step by step.”

There are halo effects of crafting as well, particularly in the workplace. Part of Lunn’s work is to deliver crafting workshops in professional settings, engaging office workers with craft, which can lead to higher self-esteem, cohesive team building, and renewed motivation at work.

“Soft skill workshops are often overlooked, especially in today’s economic climate, but forward–thinking companies are starting to value coming together and slowing down,” Lunn told me. “At the same time, there’s a resurgence in analog and hands–on experiences. There’s been no easier time to learn a new craft with all the workshops available from independent practitioners and YouTube videos,” she said.

Bringing Crafting Into The Workplace

No matter how technical or corporate your day job is, most humans are creative, especially when given the opportunity. I spoke with Jason Tse, a senior creative designer at Mastercard, who attended Lunn’s bookmark-making workshop at his workplace to learn about his experience crafting at work.

“99% of my job is spent behind a laptop, so it felt great to reconnect with what I actually love about design: being able to physically hold material and create something tangible.”

Tse said he and his coworker were the last in the room, still cutting and gluing away at their bookmarks. The ability to make something with his hands, with no screens in sight, had both an immediate and lasting impact on his work. In addition to meeting coworkers that he wouldn’t normally interact with, the session “released some much-needed dopamine.” Tse said, “I think it’s important to physically and mentally step away from your desk or laptop, and enter an environment where you let your creative intuition guide you. You definitely come back refreshed and ready to take on whatever comes your way!”

Team building is another strong workplace outcome of crafting. A scientific review by CIPD found team activities lead to better team dynamics and improved team performance, beyond the activity itself. I spoke with Liz Bell, director of absolute project management and president of the British Institute of Interior Design, who recently organized a Polish cutting crafting workshop for her team.

“I wanted to do something relaxing and creative with the team which would allow everyone to feel creatively challenged and get them out of work headspace for an afternoon,” she told me. “We also invited a couple of other collaborators to the event which helped nurture those working relationships.”

Bell describes that her team felt more connected following the session, and it’s been beneficial for employee engagement and motivation as well: “It was so nice for everyone to come away feeling inspired and relaxed, with some beautiful artwork. It helped build up team morale. People were enthused to work and grateful for the businesses investment in their well-being.”

Bell plans to organize more crafting sessions for her team. “We are in a creative industry so this really appeals to most of our staff, but even team members who didn’t feel hugely confident in their crafting abilities were made to feel supported and were very positive about what they made,” she said.

Three Ways To Use Crafting To Improve Your Work

There are plenty of ways to incorporate handicraft to boost your professional experience and performance. Lunn shared her top tips to use creative craft in your weekly work.

1. Create Mental Distance From A Problem

When you’re stuck on a problem and struggling to find a solution, stop forcing it. Put your phone away. Go take a shower. Walk around the block, or do something tactile with your hands to get your blood pumping like embroidery, knitting, or even coloring. Return to the problem and write down three new approaches before opening your laptop again.

2. Focus On The Process, Not The Outcome

Don’t stress about making a final product. Focus on the next physical action; one stitch, one fold, one brushstroke. Once you’re absorbed, move straight into your most important work task. You’re using the craft as a transition ritual from distraction to deep focus, which can unlock your best work.

3. Make Something Together

Give everyone the same materials and take 30–60 minutes to make something. Don’t make the outcome competitive or work-related. Conversations that happen naturally while people’s hands are occupied. It’s magical to observe how people connect and help each other while creating.