How to Identify Automation Opportunities (and Recover 10-20 Hours/Week)
A practical, step-by-step method to map, score, and prioritize what to automate first.
By Nooda Team - Updated 17/09/2025
Hours disappear to follow-ups, copy-paste, spreadsheet updates, and status checks. The work is necessary, but it does not move your business forward. The right automations give you those hours back.
This article shows a simple method to find and prioritize high-ROI automation candidates fast. We run automation audits across industries - these patterns hold.
Step 1 - Map Your Operations (Process Inventory)
Spend 15 minutes listing recurring tasks by function (Sales, Ops, Finance, Support). Include the owner, not just ICs. Keep it rough. Your output is a simple table:
Task | Owner | Frequency | Tools | Time/occurrence
Pitfall: don't over-engineer. This is a draft, not BPMN.
Step 2 - Find Time Sinks & Error Zones
Ask where time goes; where errors or rework happen; where handoffs stall. Circle tasks that are daily/weekly, involve copy-paste or data re-entry, and touch multiple tools.
- Sales: inbound lead triage + follow-ups
- Ops: invoice reconciliation, onboarding checklists
- Support: ticket summaries, tagging, prioritization
Step 3 - Map Your Stack (Systems That Should Talk)
Diagram how data flows between your core tools: CRM -> Email -> PM -> Accounting -> Warehouse/Sheets. Identify integration points: native, iPaaS, or a light custom API. If a step needs judgment, keep a human in the loop.
Step 4 - Score Automation Potential (Quick Heuristic)
- Frequency: daily > weekly > monthly
- Complexity: rules-based > some logic > judgment-heavy
- Tool count: 3+ tools = coordination pain
- Business impact: hours saved, error reduction, lead speed
Pick now rule: If Daily + Rules-based + 3+ tools -> shortlist.
Start here: high frequency, rules-based. Expand after first wins.
Step 5 - Start Small, Measure, Scale
Choose one candidate and implement a minimal pilot in 1-2 weeks. Measure baseline vs. post (hours saved/week, error rate, SLA time). Add guardrails: logs, retries, and human approval for exceptions.
Trust builder: Don't automate a broken process - fix it first, then automate.
What NOT to Automate First
- Constantly changing processes
- High regulatory exposure without review/audit trail
- One-off workflows
- Edge cases with subjective judgment
- Anything no one truly owns
5-Minute Mini-Exercise (Do It Now)
- List 5 recurring tasks you did this week.
- Estimate minutes each takes and tools touched.
- Star the 1 task that's daily + copy-paste + multi-tool - that's your pilot.
Next: score with frequency, complexity, tool count, impact.
Common Signs It's Ready to Automate
- Happens daily or weekly
- Rules-based; minimal judgment
- Causes avoidable errors
- Blocks handoffs
- Lives across 3+ tools
Where These Automations Typically Live
Sales Ops: lead triage, follow-ups
Finance Ops: invoices, payouts, reconciliations
Support: tagging, summaries, escalations
Operations: onboarding, reporting, status sync
Automation Anti-Patterns
- Constantly changing processes
- No clear owner or SLAs
- High-risk steps without review
- One-off or rare workflows
Automation is about freeing people to focus on higher-value work. If you want help mapping your processes and shipping quick wins, we'd love to partner.