Stop Guessing Where AI Fits Into Your Work – Use This 5-Minute Framework Instead
“I know I should be using AI, but I have no idea where to start. Every article tells me AI will change everything. That’s not helpful.”
That’s what one of my clients told me last week. If you’re feeling the same, know you’re not alone. I hear this constantly when I do talks and workshops.
The problem isn’t (just) that AI tools are complicated.
The problem is that most people are trying to solve AI backwards.
They’re looking at tools first, then trying to figure out what to do with them.
The problem is if you dive into tools first, you’ll likely waste time on stuff that isn’t immediately helpful.
You’ve “bought a hammer and are wandering around looking for nails”.
Instead, a great place to start with AI is actually with pen-and-paper. (And possibly a beer).
Start with what you actually do every day. Then find the AI tools that make those specific tasks easier.
The RATES Framework
RATES helps you spot which of your regular tasks are prime candidates for AI assistance:
R – Repetitive: Tasks you do over and over, almost on autopilot
A – Annoying: Tasks you dread or procrastinate on
T – Time-consuming: Tasks that eat up disproportionate amounts of your day
E – Error-prone: Tasks where mistakes easily creep in
S – Scalable: Tasks that, if you could do more or better, would directly benefit your work
When you find tasks that score high on multiple RATES factors, you’ve found your AI sweet spots.
How to Do This in 5 Minutes
Step 1: List what you actually do
- What did you do yesterday at work?
- And the day before?
- What’s on your schedule for today?
- What about tomorrow?
List as many things as you can think of. As you answer those questions, start populating the table below by writing each task and its frequency. The questions help jog your memory so you don’t miss anything.
The goal is to end up with a list of tasks that you do on a regular basis. Use a really simple table to track these.
| Task / Activity | Frequency |
|---|---|
| (Short description of the task or activity) | (Daily / Weekly / Monthly / Quarterly) |
Examples might be:
- Respond to emails (Daily)
- Attend team meetings (Weekly)
- Create status reports (Weekly)
- Research competitors (Quarterly)
- Update spreadsheets (Daily)
- Write project summaries (Weekly)
Step 2: Score your daily/weekly tasks using RATES
Pick the tasks you do daily or weekly – set the monthly or quarterly tasks aside for later. They’re not happening frequently enough to give you a quick win.
For each daily/weekly task, give it a score of 0–2 on each RATES factor:
- 0 = Not at all
- 1 = Somewhat
- 2 = Definitely
For example: “Respond to daily emails” might be Repetitive 2, Annoying 1 (if it’s not too bad), Time-consuming 1 (takes 10–15 minutes), Error-prone 0 (few mistakes), Scalable 0.
Total 4/10.
That tells you it may not be the best candidate right now.
Add up the scores. Tasks scoring 6+ are your best AI opportunities. Anything ≥8 is a “no-brainer.”
Step 3: Pick your highest score and test one AI tool
Choose your top-scoring task. Research one AI tool that could help with it – consider price, data privacy, integration, ease of use, output quality. Give it 30 minutes of testing. As you test, track:
- Time saved (manual vs AI-assisted)
- Output quality (is it accurate enough?)
- User frustration (did it feel easier?)
Why This Works
That project manager I mentioned? We filled out this table together on the call and immediately spotted “meeting follow-ups” as her biggest pain point.
RATES score:
- Repetitive: 2 (after every meeting)
- Annoying: 2 (always puts it off)
- Time-consuming: 2 (30 minutes each time)
- Error-prone: 1 (sometimes misses action items)
- Scalable: 1 (better follow-ups = better project outcomes)
Total: 8/10. Perfect AI candidate.
She tried Fathom for meeting transcription plus Gemini for summarising action items and post-meeting report. Her 30-minute follow-up routine became 3 minutes.
Selecting the right task first means you’re not wasting time exploring tools that won’t help.
What Usually Scores High
In my experience, these tasks consistently rank high on RATES:
- Email responses (Repetitive 2, Annoying 1, Time-consuming 1–2, Error-prone 1, Scalable 1 = 5–7 points)
- Meeting prep and follow-ups (Repetitive 2, Annoying 2, Time-consuming 2, Error-prone 1, Scalable 1 = 8/10)
- Proposal writing (Repetitive 1, Annoying 2, Time-consuming 2, Error-prone 2, Scalable 2 = 9/10)
- Report creation (Repetitive 2, Annoying 1, Time-consuming 2, Error-prone 1, Scalable 1 = 7/10)
- Research tasks (Repetitive 1, Annoying 1, Time-consuming 2, Error-prone 1, Scalable 1 = 6/10)
- Content formatting (Repetitive 2, Annoying 1, Time-consuming 2, Error-prone 1, Scalable 1 = 7/10)
These fit well because they follow patterns, need consistency and eat up significant time. If we spot them, we can apply AI smartly.
The Real Breakthrough
The RATES process will help you find AI opportunities. It’s about being honest with how you spend your time.
When you see that you’re spending 2 hours a week on something repetitive and annoying, you start asking better questions:
- Should I be doing this at all?
- Could someone else do this?
- Can I streamline this process?
- Could AI help here?
Sometimes the answer is AI. Sometimes it’s delegation. Sometimes it’s just stopping the task entirely.
But you can’t make smart decisions until you know what you’re actually doing with your time.
Your Quick Action Plan
Here’s what to do right now:
- Fill out the table above. Spend 3 minutes listing what you did recently and what’s coming up.
- Score your daily/weekly tasks using RATES. This takes 2 minutes once you have your list.
- Pick your highest-scoring task and search for one AI tool that might help.
- Test it for 30 minutes this week. Don’t research forever – just try something.
- Measure the difference. Time saved? Output quality acceptable? Frustration reduced?
The goal isn’t to automate everything. It’s to be strategic about where AI can actually make your work life better.
Ready to Find Your AI Sweet Spots?
Don’t let this become another article you read and forget about.
Take 5 minutes right now and fill out that table. Look at what you actually do, score a few tasks using RATES, and identify one thing to test AI on this week.
The difference between people who benefit from AI and people who don’t isn’t technical skill or access to fancy tools. It’s the willingness to start with one specific task and try one specific solution.
Your highest-scoring RATES task is waiting. What will it be?
Once you’ve freed up a few hours with RATES, invest that time in higher-value work – new capabilities, sharper decisions, faster learning. I unpack those ‘growth’ uses here.
