The most valuable automation is not always the largest. Repeated friction is expensive precisely because it becomes familiar enough to ignore.
Watch for hesitation
If a task makes me pause to remember a command, find a link, or check the same condition, it is a candidate. A tiny script or documented shortcut can remove that interruption.
Keep the escape hatch
Good automation makes its work observable and leaves a manual path. The goal is saved attention, not a mysterious machine that nobody wants to touch.