How to automate your knowledge work
As I’ve been building my new self-management system in Notion, it’s expanding my perception of what’s possible in terms of automating the operations of a knowledge business.
Here’s a view of the “Project Board” in the system …
How it works:
I have an idea.
I add it to the board.
I take action to get the idea done.
Now, what if the actions were automated?
In other words, I just need to “tell the board” the idea, and then “the board” gets it done automatically.
Example
“Create more content on remote work”
^ That’s the first item in the “Dump” section in the screenshot above.
What are the actions needed to get that done?
Pick a more niche topic. “Remote work” is too broad.
Do research on Google.
Pick a format: text, image, audio, video, etc. Let’s say I pick text.
Write original content based on my research.
Edit.
Pick a platform.
Publish.
There are already lots of AI writing softwares on the market that can do all those steps in less than a minute.
Is it good content?
No, not usually.
But that can be fixed by better prompts, fine-tuning the AI, etc.
The point is this: it’s already possible with current technology for me to give “the board” a prompt such as “create more content on remote work” and “the board” could get it done with no more work required from me.
Can be automated vs. should be automated
It’s possible to automate anything that is end-to-end software-based.
In other words, if every step in the process of completing a task/project can be accomplished using software, then it can be automated.
So why not automate everything?
Because of quality.
For example, imagine a laundry machine. It’s supposed to wash your clothes automatically for you, but it ends up ruining your clothes because it spins too fast, the water gets too hot, or some other malfunction.
Another example: an AI web designer. It’s supposed to design a website automatically for you, but the website it creates isn’t perfect because the copy is too robotic, the home page doesn’t “flow,” the site structure doesn’t make sense, or some other imperfection.
So, two reasons you should NOT automate:
The automation produces a bad outcome.
The automation produces a not-good-enough outcome (only automate if you have a human in the loop).
What should you automate then?
Tasks/projects that are routine …
Routine vs. non-routine
Any task/project is either routine or non-routine:
Routine: every step in the process is defined.
Non-routine: some steps in the process require decision-making, creativity, etc.
Routine processes are fixed. Non-routine processes are dynamic.
To avoid bad outcomes and not-good-enough outcomes, only automate tasks/projects that are routine.
Then, if any outcome is bad or not good enough, don’t blame the automation. It’s probably because you didn’t define every step in the routine process.
Establishing routines
Three steps:
Figure out which tasks/projects are routine.
Define every step in the routine.
Find an AI/software to automate the routine.
If there’s no good AI/software for the routine, find a freelancer, contractor, or agency.
Troubleshooting
If you automate/delegate a task/project and you don’t get the outcome you wanted, then one of these things must have happened:
They didn’t follow your defined steps.
Your defined steps weren’t clear, left room for interpretation, etc.
Your defined steps don’t produce the desired outcome.
Adding a human in the loop
Some tasks/projects are 90% routine, but maybe just one step or 10% is non-routine.
Then you’ll need to add a human in the loop.
The AI/software does most of the heavy lifting (the routine steps).
Then a human can take over for the non-routine step(s).
For example:
AI researches and writes a blog post.
Human edits.
AI publishes.
Conclusion
With modern technology, it’s possible to automate some knowledge work.
But just because you can automate doesn’t mean you should.
To automate: figure out which tasks/projects are routine, define every step in the routine, and then find an AI/software to automate the routine.
Some tasks/projects will be partly routine (able to be automated) and partly non-routine (you’ll need to add a human in the loop for these parts).