What stops when you step away?
Look at the work that piles up whenever you leave your desk: follow-ups, scheduling, reporting, or status updates. That list tells you more about your dependence on daily tasks than another productivity app will.
Which part really needs you?
Separate decisions from recurring work. Start with one task that happens often. Use examples from your own emails, reports, or notes to show how you handle it and what a finished result should look like.
Test the handoff.
Check whether AI can complete that part reliably with your real inputs. Count the time you spend correcting and reviewing it. Keep the decisions and exceptions that need your judgment. Then look again at what waits for you. A useful change should reduce your workload, rather than give you a new system to babysit.
Sources
Sources
- Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Alexander Bick, Adam Blandin and David Deming, "The Impact of Generative AI on Work Productivity," February 27, 2025. November 2024 survey; average time savings of 5.4% of work hours, about 2.2 hours per week.
- Jeff Fargo, Fargo Factor Insight: Your Sent Folder Reveals What AI Should Automate
- Jeff Fargo, Fargo Factor Insight: My AI Command Doc Audits Every Workday
- Jeff Fargo, Fargo Factor Insight: What Parts of Your Job Can AI Replace
Transcript
Verbatim from the Fargo Walks clip, as recorded.
I'm working on my business while on a layover in Detroit. Most owners can't leave their desks for an hour. The tasks that I do almost every morning are now automated. They're running right now as I'm walking to my gate: client follow ups, content scheduling, reporting. All of it happening without me. Your business should be able to fly without you. If not, you don't own a business. You own a job that pays you. Go forth.