The Without-Me Worksheet
The four questions I run on any task that still depends on me, before I decide whether it needs a person, a written rule, or an agent.
Pick the one task that stops dead the moment you go quiet. Run it through these four questions, in order. Don't skip to the end.
The first question tells you if it's even worth your time. The next three turn a task you dread into a spec somebody, or something, could actually build from.
Will I dread having to do this again next time?
That dread is the signal, not a mood. If the answer is yes, this task qualifies. If no, leave it alone, not everything is worth automating.
Write it down: yes or no. Only tasks that pass this go on to question two.What variable data and resources can be pulled automatically?
Every task has a fixed shape and moving parts that change each time. Name the parts that change and where each one actually lives today.
Write it down: every input by its real source, not "the usual stuff." If you can't name where it lives, that's the next thing to fix.How quickly do I need this done when it's triggered?
Same day. Same hour. Same minute. This one number decides whether the task needs a person on call or something that just runs the moment it's triggered.
Write it down: a real number, not "fast" or "when I get to it." A speed target is a spec.Can I get this done at 30% of the work instead of 100%?
Most of a task is polish nobody asked for. Find the smaller slice that actually matters and ship that first, not the full version you'd hand a perfectionist.
Write it down: the 30% that matters. Cut the rest until someone actually asks for it back.Being the bottleneck feels good. Every ping is proof you're needed. That's exactly why most people never run this worksheet on the task that costs them the most, they run it on the easy ones instead.
Pick the task you'd have named if I'd asked you a week ago. Answer all four, in order, before you decide anything. If question one is no, stop there, that task isn't worth the other three.
Take the AI Readiness Check
60 seconds, six questions. See where a machine could give you your week back right now.
Take The Check →