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— Worksheet · 10 minutes
Automation ideas worksheet
Not every manual task should be automated. This worksheet helps you tell the difference between an automation worth shipping and one that's a distraction.
List the candidates
- Tasks done more than once a week.
- Tasks where the steps are stable.
- Tasks where a person re-types information that already exists.
- Tasks where forgetting causes downstream pain.
Score each one (1–5)
- Frequency — how often it runs.
- Cost of forgetting — what breaks if it doesn't happen.
- Stability — how often the steps actually change.
- Owner clarity — is there one person responsible.
Pick the top two
- Ship the simplest reliable version first.
- Keep a human review step for the first month.
- Document it as a workflow before you wire it up.
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