If I'm doing the exact same thing for the fifteenth time, I'm starting to wonder why a robot isn't involved.
There was a point in my business when I did everything manually.
New client?
Send the welcome email.
Find the contract.
Create the invoice.
Make the folder.
Add them to the project management system.
Create the tasks.
Send another email.
Update the spreadsheet.
Then sit there wondering why onboarding one person felt like I had just coordinated the Olympics.
I could do all of it.
That wasn't the problem.
The problem was that I kept doing all of it.
Every.
Single.
Time.
Eventually, I realized I didn't need another pair of hands.
I needed some of my damn processes to run without me.
Automation Is Basically Me Fighting My Own Business
This is why I think of automation like boxing.
I'm trying to conserve energy.
I don't need to throw a punch at every tiny task that enters the ring.
Some things can handle themselves.
Client fills out a form?
Something happens.
Invoice gets paid?
Something happens.
Content gets approved?
Something happens.
I don't have to personally escort every piece of information to its next destination.
Float like a butterfly.
Automate like a legend.
Save my energy for the punches that actually matter.
Round One: Stop Manually Onboarding Everybody
Client onboarding is one of the easiest places to spot repetitive work.
Because you're usually doing some version of the same sequence every time.
Client says yes.
Contract.
Invoice.
Welcome email.
Questionnaire.
Project setup.
First meeting.
So why am I rebuilding that sequence from scratch for every person?
I'm not.
A client intake form can collect what I need.
A client management tool can trigger the contract, invoice, and welcome information.
An automation can send the client details into my project management system.
Suddenly, I'm not spending an hour setting up folders and copying names into fields.
I'm spending that hour doing work that requires me.
Much better deal.
Round Two: Stop Rebuilding Content From Scratch
Content will eat your entire week if you let it.
One idea becomes a LinkedIn post.
Then somebody needs an Instagram caption.
Then an email.
Then another version.
Then you remember you haven't scheduled anything.
And somehow it's Thursday.
This is where AI became especially useful for me.
Not because I want AI writing everything and throwing it onto the internet unsupervised.
Absolutely not.
I can start with one strong idea and use AI to help me develop other ways to use it.
Maybe that becomes an outline.
A shorter post.
An email angle.
A few supporting ideas.
Then I come back in.
I edit.
I add context.
I make sure it sounds like the person it's supposed to sound like.
And once it's ready, scheduling tools can handle distribution.
One idea gets more mileage without me sitting there rewriting the same thought eight times.
Round Three: Build Yourself a Little Robot Coworker
This is where things get fun.
What questions do clients ask you repeatedly?
Where's the onboarding document?
When is the next meeting?
How does this process work?
Where can I find the template?
What happens after I submit this?
If you're answering the same questions over and over, that's information worth organizing.
And once the information is organized, you can start thinking about whether an AI assistant could help people find it.
I've built and worked with custom AI tools enough to know that the fun part isn't simply saying:
Look! I made a bot!
The useful part is giving that bot one clear job and good information.
Then it can actually help somebody.
Otherwise you've just created a very enthusiastic digital employee who has no idea what department they're in.
But Don't Automate Stupid
This deserves its own section.
Automation doesn't automatically make a bad process better.
Sometimes you just make the bad process happen faster.
Before I automate something, I want to understand what is actually happening.
What starts the process?
What happens next?
Who needs what?
Where does the information go?
Where does somebody need to make a decision?
What absolutely requires a human?
Because if the process makes no sense manually, connecting six apps to it isn't going to save you.
You're just giving the mess Wi-Fi.
The Goal Is Not to Remove Yourself From Your Business
I don't want my entire business running without a human anywhere in sight.
I like the human parts.
The conversations.
The ideas.
The problem-solving.
The moments when somebody tells me something and I immediately know there's another issue hiding underneath it.
I want technology handling more of the predictable stuff so I have more energy for that.
That's the trade I'm looking for.
Robot handles repetition.
Monica handles judgment.
Everybody stays employed.
My Favorite Automation Question
Now when I notice myself repeating something, I ask:
Does this actually need me?
Not:
Can I do it?
Of course I can do it.
I've spent twenty-plus years figuring shit out.
The better question is whether my involvement makes the result better.
If yes, keep me in it.
If no?
Send in the robot.
Ding ding.
Next round.
CURRENT MOOD
“Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor.
Because apparently we're boxing now.
And nothing makes checking an automation feel more dramatic than pretending you've just entered the ring for the heavyweight championship.
Client form submitted.
Cue the guitar.
Contract sent automatically.
Cue the training montage.
Project created.
Invoice paid.
Nobody had to copy and paste a damn thing.
Adrian!
Wrong movie.
Whatever.
I'm still winning.
Listen to “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor on YouTube
PEAK OF THE WEEK
Watching something happen automatically that I used to do manually.
I don't care how many times I've seen it.
There's still a tiny part of me thinking:
Oh shit.
It worked.
And then immediately:
What else can I make do that?
#SendInTheRobot
XXX,
M💋
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