Lesson 1: Identifying and Automating Repetitive Tasks

Objective

• Students will be able to analyze their own workflows, identify tasks that are ripe for automation, and match them to appropriate AI solutions.

Key Ideas

• What Makes a Task "Ripe for Automation"?
  • The 3 R's:
    • Repetitive: Do you do it over and over again?
    • Rule-based: Does it follow a predictable pattern or set of rules?
    • Routine: Is it a standard, non-creative part of your process?
  • Examples across creative domains:
    • Design: Resizing images for different social media platforms.
    • Writing: Transcribing interviews, summarizing long documents, checking for grammar and style.
    • Video: Generating subtitles, creating rough cuts, finding B-roll footage.
    • Marketing: Writing social media post variations, generating SEO keywords.
• The Mindset Shift: From "Doer" to "Designer" of Processes
  • Your job isn't just to do the work, but to design the most efficient system for getting the work done.
  • Automation frees up cognitive resources for the tasks that require uniquely human skills (strategy, taste, empathy).
• Mapping Your Workflow
  • The first step to automation is to visualize your current process.
  • Break down a recent project into its component steps, from start to finish.
  • Identify the bottlenecks and the low-value, high-effort tasks.

In-Lesson Activities

• Workflow Audit Workshop: In small groups, have each student map out a recent project's workflow on a digital whiteboard. Have them use a specific color (e.g., red) to highlight the tasks that fit the "3 R's" of automation.
• "Is There an AI for That?" Challenge: Using the list of automatable tasks from the previous activity, have students race to find an existing AI tool that can perform that task. This builds familiarity with the landscape of automation tools.

Talking Points

• "Every minute you spend on a repetitive task is a minute you're not spending on the creative work that truly matters."
• "Don't try to automate everything at once. Start with one small, annoying task and build from there."
• "The goal of automation isn't to make you obsolete; it's to make you more powerful by focusing your energy where it has the most impact."