Start here · Lesson 1.5
A Free Template for Deciding What to Automate With AI
The hardest part of deciding what to automate with AI is often the blank page. You know you should list your tasks and pick one, but you are not sure what to write down. This post gives you three copyable templates: a task list, a scoring grid and a brief. Each comes with a filled example beside it, so you can see what a finished one looks like.
The examples are invented. Copy the layout, replace the content with yours. If you want the lesson that explains why each part is there, it is Lesson 1.5: Find the jobs to hand to AI.
Three small templates, filled in one after another, take you from a blank page to a brief you can hand to AI.
Template 1: The task list
Paste this into a notes app or spreadsheet. Fill one row per task from your last two weeks of email, calendar and messages.
Task | How often | Minutes each time | Inputs I use | Output I produce
Filled example (invented, a small florist):
Reply to wedding enquiry | 3 a week | 15 | Enquiry email, price list | Email with options Weekly stock order message | Weekly | 20 | Stock sheet | Message to supplier Delivery slot confirmations | Daily | 5 | Order list | Text to customer Instagram caption for new bouquet | 2 a week | 10 | Photo, flower names | Caption Month end summary for accountant | Monthly | 45 | Sales sheet | Short summary
Aim for 25 to 40 rows. Work from records such as your sent folder, not memory. Small repeating tasks are easy to forget and often the best candidates.
Template 2: The scoring grid
Copy this next. For each task that repeats, score 1 to 3 on each column and add them up.
Task | Often (1 to 3) | Long (1 to 3) | Easy to hand off (1 to 3) | Total | Risk if wrong (low, medium, high)
Filled example:
| Task | Often | Long | Easy | Total | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wedding enquiry reply | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | High, has prices |
| Weekly stock order | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 | Medium |
| Delivery confirmations | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 | Medium |
| Caption for new bouquet | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | Low |
| Month end summary | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 | Medium |
How to score:
- Often: monthly is 1, weekly is 2, daily is 3.
- Long: under five minutes is 1, up to half an hour is 2, longer is 3.
- Easy to hand off: needs your judgement each time is 1, partly patterned is 2, you could explain it on one page is 3.
In the florist example, two tasks tie at 7. The stock order goes to a supplier and the confirmations go to customers, so both have some risk. She might break the tie by choosing the one whose output she can check fastest, and read every result before sending.
Template 3: The choice sentence
Pick your task, then fill in this one sentence.
Every [when] I [do what] using [these inputs] and produce [this output].
Filled example:
Every Monday I turn my stock sheet into an order message for my main supplier, using the sheet and last week's order, and produce a message listing items and quantities.
If the sentence will not come out cleanly, the task is too fuzzy to hand over. Try the next one on your list, or split the task into a patterned part and a judgement part.
Template 4: The brief
This is the document you give the AI. Anthropic's prompting guidance advises being clear and direct, giving context about the purpose and audience, and treating the AI like a capable new employee who lacks context on your norms. It also lists examples among the most reliable ways to steer format, tone and structure. The template follows that.
Job: [one sentence on what and why]. Inputs: [what I will paste in each time]. Good looks like: [paste one example I am happy with, or describe length, tone and layout]. Avoid: [claims, phrases, topics that are off limits]. Before you start: ask me about anything unclear, then wait.
Filled example:
Job: Write my weekly stock order message to my supplier, so they can prepare it for Thursday. Inputs: My stock sheet with current counts, and last week's order. Good looks like: Here is last week's message: [pasted]. Short, polite, items in a list with quantities. Avoid: Do not change quantities I did not give you. Do not mention prices. Before you start: ask me if any item has no count, then wait.
Notice that the brief says what to avoid and asks questions first. These two lines catch most of the problems you would otherwise find after the fact. For a longer treatment, see How to Brief AI Like a Senior Hire.
Template 5: The first run check
After the first run, compare the output with your own version of the same task and fill this in.
Correct? (yes, mostly, no) | Sounds like me? | Minutes to check | What I changed in the brief
Filled example:
Mostly, one quantity wrong | Yes | 3 | Added "copy quantities exactly from the sheet"
This record is the useful part. It turns each run into a better brief rather than a patch on the output. If you do not want to run it by hand, a tool that works on files on your computer, such as Claude Code, which its documentation describes as able to edit files and run commands, can use the same brief. You still check the result.
How to use the templates in one sitting
- Fill Template 1Spend 20 minutes listing tasks from your records.
- Fill Template 2Score only the ones that repeat. Ten minutes.
- Choose oneBreak ties by the cheapest, most visible mistake.
- Write the sentence and the briefUse Templates 3 and 4. Fifteen minutes.
- Run and recordTest on last week's material, then fill in Template 5.
Tips for filling them in
- Be specific. "Emails" is not a task. "Reply to price questions" is.
- Use real past examples in the brief, not ones you wish you had written.
- Keep the filled templates in one document so you can reuse them next month.
- Never put private customer data into any tool before reading its privacy terms.
Questions people ask
Is the template really free?
Yes. Copy it, adapt it and use it however you like.
Do I need a spreadsheet?
No. A notes app works. A spreadsheet only makes adding up easier.
What if my task list is shorter than 25?
Go back to your sent folder and calendar. Small repeating tasks are the ones people forget.
Can I use the brief with any AI tool?
The five parts are plain instructions, so they should travel between tools. Expect to tweak them a little.
Where to go next
Fill in Template 1 today, even if you only get ten rows. Lesson 1.5 shows how to go from the list to a handed over job: Find the jobs to hand to AI. Also see 12 examples you can adapt for more ideas.