Before diving into tools, you need to identify what to automate. Sarah's transformation began with a ruthless audit of her time.
The Task Value Matrix
Plot every task on two axes: - Repetition Frequency: How often do you do this? - Income Impact: Does this directly affect your earning potential?
High Repetition + Low Income Impact = Prime Automation Targets
Sarah's audit revealed: - 15 hours weekly on report generation (High repetition, Low impact) - 10 hours on data entry and manipulation (High repetition, Low impact) - 8 hours on email responses (High repetition, Low impact) - 5 hours on meeting scheduling (High repetition, Low impact)
Total: 38 hours of automatable work weekly
The ROI Calculator
For each automation opportunity: 1. Calculate weekly time spent 2. Multiply by 50 weeks = annual hours 3. Multiply by your target hourly rate 4. Compare to automation setup time
Sarah's Example: Report Automation - Current: 15 hours weekly × 50 weeks = 750 hours annually - Target hourly rate: $100 (her goal income divided by 2,000) - Value of time: $75,000 - Automation setup: 40 hours - ROI: 1,875% first year