Choosing the right task

This lesson is still being tested: it improves with learners' feedback. If something is unclear, it is the lesson that needs fixing, not you.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to

spot the repetitive tasks in your week;
describe a task like a recipe: trigger, inputs, result, check;
sort them: what automates well, what must stay human;
choose your first task, small and risk-free.

Why it matters to you

Automating saves time, as long as you choose the right task. A bad first task (too rare, too vague, too risky) costs more than it brings, and can do damage without you noticing. A good first task is small, regular, and only prepares: you remain the one who approves.

Before you start


You need	Your journal from the last two weeks, and the task sheet (resource)
Cost	€0 for this lesson; the automation itself will need the agent subscription
Duration	35 minutes
Reminder	Module 8 assumes module 7: you know how to add and remove an extension

Understand it in 3 minutes

A task to automate is described like a recipe:

Part	The question	Example
Trigger	When does it need to be done?	Every Monday morning
Inputs	What does it need?	Last week’s journal pages
Result	What should it produce?	A draft of the weekly update, in 10 lines
Check	Who checks it, and how?	Me, with the checklist from module 3, before I use it

Sorting in three colors:

Color	The task	Example
Green	Reads and prepares, without sending anything or changing anything elsewhere	Summarizing, preparing a draft, making a tracking table
Orange	Changes your own files, or prepares an action that you approve	Tidying notes, preparing an email to send after you review it
Red	Sends, publishes, pays or deletes	Sending an email, publishing a post, paying, erasing files

Start with green. Orange comes next, with an approval each time. Red stays human: the automation can prepare, but you make the move that commits.

Tools allow it, so it is up to you to stay in control. For example, according to Claude’s help (24/10/2026), the Gmail connector can send an email, and Claude asks for your approval by default before each sending, as long as you have not chosen “Always allow” for that tool. Another official page nevertheless describes this connector as read-only: look at what it really offers in your settings before relying on it.

A scheduled task in Manual mode stays blocked until you have answered a permission request.

Warning: these protections exist: do not remove them to save a minute.

A rare task is often not worth the effort. Twice a year, a request kept in your library is enough.

Do it together

1Step 1: List the tasks from your last two weeks

Reread your journal, and note every task that comes back: preparing, summarizing, tidying, following up, doing an update. You can get help, in a session on mon-espace-ia:

Read the pages of my journal from the last two weeks. List the tasks that come back, with how many times each one appeared. Do not change anything.

2Step 2: Sort

For each task, give a color: green, orange or red. Cross out those that come back less than once a month.

3Step 3: Describe your first task

Choose one green task, and fill in the task sheet (resource): trigger, inputs, result, check. Example: “Every Monday, from the week’s journal pages, prepare a 10-line update: done, decided, next action. I review it with the checklist.”

Your turn

Your task sheet: one green task from your life, described in four parts, with the reason for this choice. Keep it: lesson 2 chooses the tool, lesson 5 schedules it.

Resources to download

Task-to-automate sheet: trigger, inputs, result, check, color, and how to stop it.

Check your work

It worked if:

you have a list of your recurring tasks, with their frequency;
each task has its color;
your sheet describes a green task, which comes back at least once a week or once a month;
the check says who checks, and how.

Common mistakes:

starting with a red task (“replying to my emails”);
a vague task (“helping me with my work”): it can be neither automated nor checked;
forgetting the check: an automation without checking repeats its mistakes;
automating a rare task.

Keep it and pick it up later

Put your task sheet in your journal or in a folder projets/automatisation/.
Keep the sorted list: your next automations are already in it.

Going further

optional

The same colors can be used to judge an automation that someone suggests to you: what does it read, what does it change, what does it send?

New words

4 words explained

Word	What it means
Automation	A task that the tool does on its own, at the planned time, without you starting it
Trigger	What makes the task start: a time, a day, an event
Green, orange, red task	Sorting by risk: preparing, changing your files, or committing (sending, paying, deleting)
Human approval	The moment when you accept or refuse an action before it happens