I once spent six hours trying to automate a task that could be done in ten minutes by hand.
The six hours were never the real problem. The problem was that I started using the AI tool before I understood what I was actually trying to solve.
The best calculator in the world
It’s like knowing complicated mathematical theory and owning the best calculator in the world, and then using both to solve the easy exercises at the back of the book. Powerful tools don’t help much if you point them at the wrong problem.
What I realised
That’s when it clicked for me. What sets people apart in the AI era isn’t who can code the fastest or who writes the better prompt. It’s the person who stops and asks: is this actually the right problem to solve?
Before you automate: a quick checklist
These are the questions I now ask myself before I open an AI tool to automate anything. They come straight from that six-hour lesson.
- What exactly am I trying to solve? If I can’t say it in one sentence, I’m not ready to build anything.
- Is this the right problem to solve? Or is it just the one in front of me?
- How long does it take by hand, and how often do I do it? Compare that honestly with the time you’re about to spend building the automation.
If the answers still point to automating it, go ahead. Now you know what you’re building, and why.