A FREE PRACTICAL GUIDE · BY MOLLY
Choose One Boring Task to Automate
Pick the chore you repeat most and hand one piece of it to something you already use.
Let’s try one
Automating doesn't have to mean a robot running your business. Most of the time it's one saved message that does the typing for you.
Who it's for
Anyone who does the same small chore over and over, for a side project, a small business, a class, a shop or a job (now or before). A baker answering order texts, a yoga teacher sending reminders, someone selling on Etsy or at markets. No tech skills needed.
Use it when
- You answer the same question several times a week by text, DM or email: prices, opening hours, “are you free Saturday?”
- You run a class, a stall or a small service, and the admin around it eats an evening a week: reminders, sign-up lists, receipts.
- You keep copying the same details from one place to another, like an order from a message into a notebook or a spreadsheet.
- You've heard “just automate it” and have no idea what that would mean for you.
You'll get: One chore picked, its steps written down, one piece of it handed off to something you already use (a saved reply, a simple form, a reminder or a saved Claude prompt), and a simple way to check it works.
How to do it
List the chores you repeat
Think back over the last week or two. Write down every small task you did more than twice: answering the same question, copying details, sending reminders, making the same kind of post, chasing payments by Venmo, cash or invoice.
Baker (made up)Replying to “how much for a birthday cake?” about ten times a week.
Yoga teacher (made up)Texting everyone on Sunday's class list a reminder on Saturday night.
What good looks like: Small, specific chores in your own words: “reply to ‘how much for a dozen?’”, not “admin”.
Watch out for: Writing “marketing” or “admin”. Those are too big to hand off.
Pick the one that's frequent, boring and the same every time
For each chore, ask: how often do I do it? Is it nearly the same every time? What happens if it goes wrong? Pick the one you do most, that barely changes, and that's easy to fix if something slips.
What good looks like: You groan a little when it comes up, and you could explain it to a friend in three sentences.
Watch out for: Starting with anything that takes money, deletes things or needs your judgment, like pricing a custom order or answering a complaint.
Do it once by hand and write down the steps
Next time it comes up, do it as usual, but jot down each step: what starts it, what you need, what you do and where it ends up. Mark the part where you have to stop and think.
Dog groomer (made up)Text comes in. Ask the size and coat. Check my book. Reply with a price and two times. Write it in the book. Needs me: the price for matted dogs.
What good looks like: Three to seven short lines, with one marked “this part needs me”.
Watch out for: Skipping this. A chore you can't write down will go wrong faster once something else does it.
Hand off one piece with what you already have
Look at your steps and pick one piece that's the same every time. Usually it's one of these: a saved reply (most phones and email apps can store text you reuse), a simple form that collects the details for you, a repeating reminder in your calendar, a template you copy, or a saved Claude prompt that drafts the reply from your notes. Try what you already have before a new app.
Molly's launchInstead of checking the sign-up list, the visitor numbers and the sales every morning, one email arrives with all of them.
What good looks like: One piece handed off, and the thinking part stays with you. You could set it up in under an hour.
Watch out for: Signing up for a new app to connect everything. That's a whole system, not one piece.
Try it, and check what comes out
Send it to yourself first. Then use it the next three times the chore comes up, and read every result before it goes to anyone. Fix what's off, and only then check it less often.
What good looks like: Three times in a row it did the right thing, and you know how to go back to doing it by hand.
Watch out for: Letting it message customers or take money before you've seen it work. A wrong price sent on its own is worse than a slow reply.
Do it with Claude in 10 minutes
This prompt walks you through all five steps in about 10 minutes. Claude asks a few quick questions, one at a time, then gives you the chore to start with, its steps, the one piece to hand off with the words to save, and how to test it.
Pick one task and hand off a piece
Find the chore to start with and the simplest way to hand off one piece of it. Paste it into Claude and answer its few quick questions. The result comes back in the same chat.
Read the prompt + an example
I keep doing the same small tasks over and over, for a side project, a small business, a class, a shop or a job. Help me pick one and hand off one small piece of it, using things I already have, so I get some time back without building a whole system. To do this well, you'll probably need to find out: - what I'm working on and the small tasks I repeat (purpose: find the candidates; easier ways in: "what did you do more than twice last week?" or "what do you type or copy again and again?") - for the one we pick: what starts it, what I do, and where it ends up (purpose: write the steps down before handing anything off) - which part needs my judgment (purpose: keep that part with me) - what I already use: texts, email, notes, a calendar, a spreadsheet, a booking or shop app, or paper (purpose: use what I have before suggesting anything new) How I'd like you to work: - I have about 10 minutes and I'm on my phone, so start straight away with your first question. No introduction. - Ask one short question at a time and wait for my answer. Before each one, say in a few words why you're asking. - When it helps, give me 2 to 4 numbered choices, with the one you'd recommend first and "something else" last, so I can reply with a number. - Start with easy, concrete questions. If an answer is vague, ask for one real example instead of guessing. - If I've already told you my task, build on it and skip the questions you don't need. Don't ask for anything you could work out or suggest yourself. - Stop once you know enough, usually three to five questions. If I say "just do it", make your best guess and tell me what you assumed. - Then give me the result straight away. Write it for a phone screen: plain words, short lines, no tables, no jargon. When you have enough, give me: - The task to start with, and in one line why it's a good first one. If several came up, say why this one beats the others. - Its steps as I do them now, as a short numbered list, with the part that needs me marked. - The one piece to hand off: a saved reply, a simple form, a repeating reminder, a template, or a saved Claude prompt that drafts it from my notes. Pick the simplest one that fits what I already use, and give me short set-up steps. - If it's a saved reply, a template or a Claude prompt, write it for me now so I can copy it, and tell me where to keep it (for example, my phone's notes). Leave blanks for anything only I know, like prices. - How to test it: send it to myself first, then use it the next three times and check each result before it goes to anyone. - A "later" list with the other tasks that came up. Don't invent how an app works. If you're not sure my app can do something, say so, tell me to check its help pages, and give me a way that works without it, like saved text I paste. Nothing that takes money, deletes things or messages people on its own until I've checked it works. Keep it small enough to set up in under an hour, and don't suggest a new app or a paid plan unless I ask.
A filled-in example
These are illustrative details. Use your own information.
I keep doing the same small tasks over and over, for a side project, a small business, a class, a shop or a job. Help me pick one and hand off one small piece of it, using things I already have, so I get some time back without building a whole system. To do this well, you'll probably need to find out: - what I'm working on and the small tasks I repeat (purpose: find the candidates; easier ways in: "what did you do more than twice last week?" or "what do you type or copy again and again?") - for the one we pick: what starts it, what I do, and where it ends up (purpose: write the steps down before handing anything off) - which part needs my judgment (purpose: keep that part with me) - what I already use: texts, email, notes, a calendar, a spreadsheet, a booking or shop app, or paper (purpose: use what I have before suggesting anything new) How I'd like you to work: - I have about 10 minutes and I'm on my phone, so start straight away with your first question. No introduction. - Ask one short question at a time and wait for my answer. Before each one, say in a few words why you're asking. - When it helps, give me 2 to 4 numbered choices, with the one you'd recommend first and "something else" last, so I can reply with a number. - Start with easy, concrete questions. If an answer is vague, ask for one real example instead of guessing. - If I've already told you my task, build on it and skip the questions you don't need. Don't ask for anything you could work out or suggest yourself. - Stop once you know enough, usually three to five questions. If I say "just do it", make your best guess and tell me what you assumed. - Then give me the result straight away. Write it for a phone screen: plain words, short lines, no tables, no jargon. When you have enough, give me: - The task to start with, and in one line why it's a good first one. If several came up, say why this one beats the others. - Its steps as I do them now, as a short numbered list, with the part that needs me marked. - The one piece to hand off: a saved reply, a simple form, a repeating reminder, a template, or a saved Claude prompt that drafts it from my notes. Pick the simplest one that fits what I already use, and give me short set-up steps. - If it's a saved reply, a template or a Claude prompt, write it for me now so I can copy it, and tell me where to keep it (for example, my phone's notes). Leave blanks for anything only I know, like prices. - How to test it: send it to myself first, then use it the next three times and check each result before it goes to anyone. - A "later" list with the other tasks that came up. Don't invent how an app works. If you're not sure my app can do something, say so, tell me to check its help pages, and give me a way that works without it, like saved text I paste. Nothing that takes money, deletes things or messages people on its own until I've checked it works. Keep it small enough to set up in under an hour, and don't suggest a new app or a paid plan unless I ask. --- HOW IT GOES (a made-up example) Claude: What did you do more than twice last week? (So we start with a real chore.) You: Answering texts asking how much a groom is and when I'm free. Claude: Which part needs you? 1. The price 2. Picking times 3. Both 4. Neither You: 1, for matted dogs. …two more short questions, then: a saved reply that asks the size and coat and gives your starting prices, with the matted-dog price left to you.Download the original prompt (.txt)
See it in action
A dog groomer's price texts. A made-up example: four questions, then one saved reply that does most of the typing.
What did you do more than twice last week? (So we start with a real chore.)
Answering texts asking how much a groom is and when I'm free. Maybe 15 a week.
When one comes in, what do you do? (So I can write your steps down.)
Ask the size and coat, check my book, then reply with a price and two times.
Which part needs you? 1. The price for big or matted dogs 2. Picking the times 3. Both 4. Neither
1. Matted dogs take longer, so I price those myself.
Where do the texts come in? 1. Regular texts 2. WhatsApp 3. Instagram messages 4. Something else
1
Start with your price texts: they're frequent and nearly the same every time. Hand off: the first reply, as saved text. On an iPhone, Settings, General, Keyboard, Text Replacement lets a short code like “gg” type it all. On Android with Gboard: Gboard settings, Dictionary, Personal dictionary. Or keep it in your notes and paste it. Your text: “Thanks for asking! What size is your dog, and is the coat matted? Small from $__, medium from $__, large from $__. I'll send two free times.” Stays with you: matted-dog prices and picking times. Test it: text it to yourself, then use it the next three times. Later: reminder texts the day before.
What to do next
Set up the one piece this week and use it the next three times the chore comes up. Then go back to the same Claude chat, say how it went, and pick the next chore from your later list.
Your answer stays in your Claude chat. To find it faster, screenshot it or copy it into your notes.
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