You’re losing £12,000 a year to simple tasks

The cost of doing it yourself is bigger than you think!

August 07, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 2 minutes

Most business owners underestimate the cost of manual work.

Because it’s not a line item on a P&L, they don’t see it, but it shows up everywhere.

Here’s what I mean:

Let’s say you spend just 30 minutes a day doing tasks that could be automated, things like:

  • Copy-pasting client notes

  • Moving tasks between tools

  • Manually checking statuses or sending reminders

30 minutes a day = 2.5 hours a week

That’s 10 hours a month.

120 hours a year.

Now, attach a value to your time.

If your time is worth £100/hour (low, if you’re the founder), that’s £12,000/year for things that could be completely removed from your day.

And here’s the kicker:

It’s never just 30 minutes.

Because those tasks also create:

  • Context-switching

  • Distraction

  • Decision fatigue

  • Bottlenecks for your team

Manual work isn’t just about the time it takes; it’s about the time it costs you everywhere else.

Action step for today:

Make a quick list of 3 things you did this week that:

  • You’ve done more than once

  • You could delegate with clear instructions

  • Don’t require your brain to do

Then ask yourself: “If this were automated, how would I reinvest that time?”

Because it’s never about the task.

It’s about what that task is stealing from the rest of your business.

These are the kinds of hidden inefficiencies we uncover every day with our clients.

But even if you’re not ready for the full AI Efficiency Assessment yet, just starting to look at your time like this can unlock huge wins.

– Dean & Felicity