Planning on Automating Your Actions, do this first!

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A filter I use before automating anything, sharing in case it helps someone here.

I call it the 3x rule. If I have done the same task by hand three or more times, it goes on the automation list. If not, it stays manual. One-off tasks are almost never worth the build time.

What lands on the list is never exciting. Chasing an invoice again. Answering the same question in messages again. Copying a form entry into a spreadsheet again. Sending the same reminder again.

Then I score the list three ways: how often it comes up, how long it takes each time, and how simple the steps are. The boring, frequent, simple one gets automated first. The clever, complicated idea usually loses to the boring one that fires every day.

Curious how others here decide. Do you have a rule for what gets automated and what stays manual?

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Planning on Automating Your Actions, do this first!