Choose your first workflow to automate.

Look for recurring work.

Think through a normal week or month. What task do you or a teammate repeat—such as collecting the same details, sending a familiar update, or moving information from one place to another? Note how often it happens and what starts it.

A frequent task gives you more chances to see its pattern. If the steps vary a lot, write down what changes before deciding whether it is a good candidate.

Trace every handoff.

Pick one example and follow it from the first trigger to the finished task. At each step, note who or what receives it, which information moves along, and what happens next. Include handoffs between a customer and your business, between teammates, and between tools.

1. Starts whenWhat event or request begins the work?
2. Moves throughWho handles it, and which tools or details are involved?
3. Pauses or changesWhere does it wait, get repeated, or need clarification?
4. Finishes whenWhat tells you the task is complete?

A handoff is any point where responsibility or information changes hands. Those moments help show what a workflow would need to pass along and where a person may need to step in.

Decide where human judgment stays.

Circle the decisions that rely on context, discretion, approval, or an unusual situation. Decide who should review those cases and how they will receive the information. Missing details, an unfamiliar request, or a choice with real consequences can be reasons to route work to a person.