Jan 21 • 💬 General discussion
How to Spot What Should (and Shouldn’t) Be Automated in Your Work
Start With Friction, Not Tools
Most people look at AI tools and ask:
“What can this tool do?”
A better question is:
“Where does my work feel heavier than it should?”
Pay attention to moments where you:
- Repeat the same steps again and again
- Copy-paste between apps
- Reformat the same kind of info
- Search for the same things repeatedly
- Feel mental fatigue from small admin tasks
Those moments are signals.They are your real automation opportunities.
A Simple Filter I Use
Not everything should be automated.
In fact, automating the wrong things can make your work worse.
Good candidates for automation:
- Repetitive
- Predictable
- Rule-based
- Low-judgment
- Easy to mess up when tired
Bad candidates for automation:
- Strategic decisions
- Creative direction
- Sensitive communication
- High-stakes judgment calls
- Anything where nuance really matters
That line matters.
Three Everyday Examples
1) Research & Reading
Bad flow: Search ~> read ~> summarize ~> forget ~> repeat next week
Better flow: Article saved ~> auto-summary ~> key ideas stored ~> searchable later
2) Content & Ideas
Bad flow:Think of idea ~> write from scratch ~> post ~> lose track
Better flow:Idea captured ~> AI refines ~> saved ~> scheduled ~> feedback logged
3) Learning & Notes
Bad flow:Ask AI ~> read ~> nod ~> forget
Better flow:Question logged ~> AI explains ~> examples generated ~> notes saved
One Common Trap
People try to automate a messy process.
That just makes the mess faster.
The real order is:
- Do the task manually a few times
- Notice the exact steps
- Remove unnecessary steps
- Then automate what remains
Clarity first.Speed second.
Why Tools Come Last
Tools like n8n or Make are powerful.
But they should answer a question, not become the question.
The better sequence is:
- Where is my friction?
- What repeats?
- What should happen automatically?
- Then: which tool helps me do that?
Starting with tools usually leads to impressive-looking flows that solve the wrong problems.
Automation isn’t about doing less work.
It’s about doing less pointless work.
That’s a very different goal.
What part of your daily work feels more repetitive or heavier than it should?
That’s usually where the real design work begins.
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How to Spot What Should (and Shouldn’t) Be Automated in Your Work
