Why We Automate (and Why We Don’t)
If work were a board game, most of us would still be stuck in “Chutes & Approvals.” Every time you climb a ladder (draft finished!) you hit a chute (waiting on Bob to sign off, except Bob is “OOO until Tuesday”). So you open another tab, send another nudge, and wonder if this is what adulthood feels like.
Automation was supposed to fix that, but the average knowledge worker still toggles between up to 30 apps a day. That’s not a workflow; it’s a browser-based triathlon.
University of California Irvine found it takes 23 minutes and 15 seconds to regain focus after an interruption. Three context switches before lunch and you’ve already torched an hour of deep work.
The Four Horsemen of Manual Work
- Copy-Paste Calamity – updating the same line item across three spreadsheets because no one trusts “the source of truth.”
- Slack-Ping Purgatory – the endless parade of “just circling back 😊” messages that haunts your evenings.
- Spreadsheet Voodoo – complex formulas that only one ex-employee understood (and yes, they left last quarter).
- Approval Limbo – the silent void between “needs review” and “finally approved” where great ideas go to die.
Automation tackles all four by letting software do what humans… well, never really enjoyed doing in the first place.
But Isn’t Automation Just Fancy Script Kiddie Stuff?
Not anymore. Modern workflow automation is less “If This Then That” and more “If This, Then Don’t Bother Me Until It’s Done.”
Think of it as a helpful coworker who never:
- Sleeps
- Misplaces a link
- Forgets who owes what
- Responds, “Sorry, just seeing this.”
It’s the difference between micromanaging tasks and managing outcomes.
How (Good) Automation Gives You Your Brain Back
| Old Way | Automated Way | Your Brain Says |
|---|---|---|
| Paste Jira link in Slack, @mention everyone | Rule auto-posts status to relevant channel | “Ah, the dopamine of NOT context-switching.” |
| Email export PDF to legal | Legal auto-receives doc once status = “Ready” | “So that’s what focus feels like.” |
| Weekly spreadsheet KPI update | Dashboard auto-refreshes from source data | “I remember enjoying Fridays once.” |
The Paradox: You Still Need Humans
- Humans decide what to automate.
- Humans interpret edge-cases (because real life loves edge-cases).
- Humans celebrate when a release actually ships without 47 DMs.
Automation’s job is to clear the runway; your job is to fly the plane (preferably somewhere sunny).
Getting Started Without Starting a Six-Month Project
- Pick One Chronic Annoyance. (e.g., “Who approved this PRD?”)
- Find the Trigger. (“When status = Approved, notify channel.”)
- Automate the Nudge, Not the Judgment. Let software move the doc, not rewrite it.
- Measure. If you’re not 30 % faster—or at least 30 % less grumpy—iterate.
TL;DR (Too Long; Didn’t Robot)
Workflow automation isn’t about replacing humans. It’s about replacing the parts of your day that make you question your career choices. Every minute you save hitting “refresh” is a minute you can spend solving real problems—or at least enjoying coffee that’s still hot.
So the next time you open tab #30 to copy the same update for the third time, ask yourself:
**“Couldn’t a bot do this?”**
(Answer: yes, and it won’t even need coffee.)
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Ready for Fewer Tabs and Faster Sign-Off?
Artefact bakes workflow automation directly into your document approvals:
- CRM-grade approval lanes (no more “Who’s blocking?”)
- Automated reminders & SLA tracking
- Velocity analytics that show where time really leaks