If I work alone, what should I automate first?

The question I get asked most is: "I want to use AI to automate my work, but I don't know where to start." My answer is always the same: don't start with the tool, start with your actual work week.

Step 1: Log your real work week

Over one week, every time you finish a task, write down a line: what you did, how long it took, whether it repeats. You don't need to be accurate to the minute. The goal is to see where your time is actually going.

By the end of the week, you'll have a list. Most solo workers will notice a cluster of similar tasks: answering the same kind of question, copying data from one place to another, making reports from a template, posting content to multiple channels.

Step 2: Score each task

For each repeating task, ask yourself three questions:

1. Does it repeat regularly? Every day or every week without fail.
2. Is there a clear rule? If you can write out the steps for someone else to follow, AI can do it too.
3. Is one mistake serious? If the task going wrong costs money or customers, save it for later.

The first task to give to AI is one that repeats a lot, has clear rules, and is easy to fix if it goes wrong.

Step 3: Build the smallest working version

Don't build the whole system right away. Pick one task and make the simplest version. For example:

• When a price inquiry message comes in, AI drafts a reply for you to review and send.
• A new order automatically gets logged into Google Sheets and sends you a notification.
• Every morning it pulls together what needs doing from your calendar and email.

I use n8n for most workflows like this because you can drag and drop, set it up yourself, and connect it to almost any tool you already use. You could also start with Make or Zapier if you don't want to self-host.

Step 4: Keep a human review at the end

In the first few weeks, always have AI make a draft and you review it. You'll see where AI tends to slip up, adjust your instructions, and gradually trust it with lower-risk tasks. For things like sending money, deleting data, or dealing with difficult customers, keep the review step long-term.

Step 5: Write down how it works

Once a workflow is running smoothly, write a short page: what it does, where it gets the data, where to look if something breaks. After a few months you'll have many workflows, and if you don't write them down, you'll forget how they even work yourself.

The mistakes I see most often

• Buy the tool before you know what job needs doing. A pretty tool can't replace a clear task list.
• Automate something that only happens once a quarter. The time to build it is longer than the time to do it by hand.
• Hand a task to AI when you haven't even figured out how to do it smoothly yourself. If the process is messy, AI will just make it messy faster.

Start small, measure by the time you get back, and grow from there. That's how my own system grew, and that's how I work with small businesses when rolling out AI Automation.