You know that feeling when you end the day wiped out, but can’t point to anything that actually mattered? That’s burnout. It doesn’t come from doing too much. It comes from doing too much of the wrong stuff.
Every day, you get buried under the small things. Emails. Forms. Updates. Reports. Necessary, sure, but none of them give you energy. Over time, they pile up until the work that does matter only gets a fraction of your focus. You start half-doing the things that once inspired you, and by the time you reach what brings you pride or joy, your tank is empty.
That’s where the 10:80:10 rule applies.
Ten percent of your work brings you joy. The craft, the people, the pride in what you build. Another ten percent is important but not exciting. Paying taxes, managing compliance, and keeping the lights on. The middle eighty percent? That’s the noise. The repeatable, mechanical stuff that fills your day but drains your focus.
Your goal is simple. Automate the 80 so you can give your best to the 10 and 10.
When you cut away that middle layer of busywork, you get your focus back. You start caring again. You show up with purpose. You remember why you started.
Bottom-Up Automation Works Because It Starts With You
The best systems don’t come from the top. They come from the people doing the work. MIT Sloan’s The Secret to Successful AI Implementations: Worker Voice found that the most effective automation happens when workers help design it. When you shape how automation fits into your own flow, it becomes empowering instead of restrictive.
That’s what we mean at Aranea Group when we say bottom-up automation. It’s how you target that eighty percent efficiently. You already know where time disappears. You know what slows things down and what feels like maintenance instead of progress. When you build automation around your real process, you free yourself to focus on what actually matters.
What It Looks Like in Real Life
Let’s say you’re managing marketing. Is it really valuable to manually post on every social channel, time each upload perfectly, and chase trending topics? Probably not. Let automation handle the posting and scheduling. Your job is to write the message. The tone, the experience, the insight, that should be all you and that’s what people connect with.
Or take sales operations. Data entry eats hours every week. Copying info, updating spreadsheets, logging follow-ups. None of that wins a client. But the relationship does. Automate the admin work so you can spend your time where it counts: talking to people, understanding their needs, building a real relationship.
That’s the point. People don’t connect with perfect systems. They connect with humans who care.
How Aranea Group Helps
At Aranea Group, we help you, your business, and your team find that eighty percent. The repetitive tasks that drain your time and block your best work. Then we design automation that clears the path for creativity, clarity, and connection.
You don’t need to do more. You need to protect what matters and automate the rest.
Schedule a Consultation Today to learn how Aranea Group can help you focus on your 10 & 10 while automating the 80.
