Before you start
Three fictional examples of the same task and a chat assistant. A spreadsheet is enough for the first version.
Why this lesson exists
The useful-laziness posts distinguish reducing repeated work from delegating responsibility. Start with a task you understand well enough to catch mistakes.
Do the exercise
Write the manual recipe
List the input, decisions, output and exceptions. Use a task such as turning meeting notes into a draft action list. Do it manually once.
Standardize the output
Define fields such as action, owner, due date and source sentence. Use unknown for missing information. Keep the original input attached.
Test three cases
Try a normal note, one with missing dates and one with conflicting owners. Compare with your manual answer before adding tool connections.
Add a review boundary
Let the system prepare a draft. Require a person to check it before sending messages or changing another system. Record failure and provide the original manual route.
A prompt to adapt
Replace the bracketed parts with your own practice details.
Design a draft-only workflow for [task]. Manual steps: [steps]. Example inputs: [examples]. Specify the input/output fields, missing-data rules, three tests, review point and manual fallback. Do not send messages or modify external records.
What this looks like
An action list saying “owner unknown” invites a useful clarification. Assigning the action to the first name in the transcript creates false certainty.
Check your result
Use evidence from your output. A confident explanation from the AI is not enough.
- Three different inputs produce reviewable drafts.
- Exceptions remain visible.
- The workflow has a clear human decision before external action.
If it isn’t working
If you cannot explain the manual task, do not automate it yet. If the draft needs more correction than doing it yourself, simplify the output or improve the input.
Optional. Progress stays in this browser.
Where this came from
Adapted from the archived LinkedIn theme “Stop Working Smarter. Become Usefully Lazy..” See the post coverage and editorial method.
Prepared September 2026. Tools and interfaces change; use current official setup instructions. Session lengths are estimates.