How-toAug 11, 2026·3 min read
Choosing your first AI automation: a 15-minute audit
You don't need a strategy. You need one good task. A quick way to find the highest-leverage thing to hand over first.
The mistake with automation is trying to plan the whole thing. Start with one task instead. Here's how to find it in fifteen minutes.
The three-question filter
For each recurring task on your plate, ask:
- Is it frequent? Daily or weekly beats once a quarter.
- Is it repeatable? The shape is the same each time, even if the details change.
- Does it eat skilled time? A person you'd rather have doing something else is doing it.
The task that scores yes on all three is your first automation.
Then just try it
Brief an AI coworker in one sentence and watch it run. Because every action waits for your approval, a first attempt costs you a review, not a mistake. If it works, put it on a schedule. If it half-works, adjust the sentence.
You'll learn more from automating one real task than from any amount of planning. Pick the obvious one and start.