60-Second Draft #018
The One Shift
From doer to director
Relearning My Work
Some days everything runs on its own.
The workflows fire, tasks move, and our progress shows up without us doing most of the work we used to.
And that’s when the discomfort creeps in. Because I’m not doing, I’m directing. Actually, I’m not even doing that.
I’ve built the systems to direct our work and the outcomes happen automatically.
→ No email chasing.
→ Reduced cognitive load carrying.
→ Task-based work days with maximal focus and fast turn around.
The value isn’t in the grind anymore.
It’s in elimination of extraneous cognitive weight and logistical drag, and the time left to think, plan, reflect, and learn.
The Reality of Automation
I imagined automation would be quick— a week of dictating processes, a few IFTTT rules, maybe an outline.
What it really took was months of re-learning:
Dictating the process a dozen times or more
Building tables
Listing every possible status in every email
Drafting every “automated” email
Mapping dependencies in Miro
Hiring an expert to actually build our processes into a self-sustaining, scalable system
The shift wasn’t just in the system. I
t was in me and how I understood my role.
Here’s what works
Start seeing automation as a discipline, not a shortcut.
Why it works
Clarifies the real work behind the work
Surfaces dependencies you can’t see in your head
Reduces the weight of cognitive load you and your team carry each day
Frees time to create value through truly creative, visionary, and human work
Why it matters
Automation doesn’t just move work. It moves where your value comes from.
That’s the 60-Second Draft—
✔️ Automation takes more work than expected
✔️ The real shift is from doing to directing
✔️ The value shows up in what’s left
—patrick
one minute, one shift, shaping what’s next
P.S. Connect with me if you want to learn more about what it might take for you to automate your work