# 13. Keep the work you will use

**Start here:** Choose one method you tried. Count setup, use and checking, identify the useful output and use the keep/change/stop decision below. A blank tracker is not a reason to invent a routine.

Review the methods you tried. Include checking time and useful results, then choose what to keep, improve or stop.

Keep a useful plan, one honest review note and a reusable prompt with the source and checks someone needs to use it. A fictional practice example is enough to learn the method. Expand into a recurring routine or staff handoff when it helps; no month-long record or completed shared reference is required.

For every active routine, record purpose, input, trigger/timezone, tool, owner, reviewer, next action, actual latest run and stop method. A saved task is not proof of execution; a draft is not a sent message.

Keep routines that help and simplify or stop those that do not. Review total effort including corrections. Schedule a specific use of any recovered time, such as educator coaching. Do not claim guaranteed savings, compliance or formal certification from the exercise.

### Complete practice you can copy

```
Review these fictional weekly routine notes:
Staff-message drafting: manual, 15 minutes drafting plus 10 checking;
previous manual process took 40 minutes. Operations owns it.
Planning reminder: ordinary calendar, Monday 15 minutes; owner uses
it to plan. It does not read email or create the plan itself.
Public-mentions digest: daily AI task, seven runs taking 10 minutes
each to check. Returned old links; no useful new finding this week.
Owner controls its task settings. Keep decisions provisional.
Show effort and useful output, then suggest keep/improve/stop with
reasons. Do not claim any routine has been turned off.
```

Check 25 versus 40 minutes for drafting; digest checking took 70 minutes. Any stop decision still needs the owner to pause or delete the actual task and inspect its status.

### Judge the routine by the help it provides

Change the list to the school or everyday routines you tried. Count time spent checking, describe a useful result and keep, improve or stop accordingly. No particular number of routines is required. If stopping a recurring task, inspect its saved status; ending the conversation may leave it scheduled.