The DoPath team 5 min read
How to turn a repeatable process into a reusable workflow
If you keep doing the same thing from memory, you already have a workflow. Here is how to write it down so it works for other people too.
Most people have a process they repeat without writing down: onboarding a client, preparing a launch, planning a week. Capturing it once saves time every time after, and makes it possible for someone else to benefit.
Notice what you repeat
Think of the last three times you did the task. What did you do each time? The steps that appear in all three are the core of your workflow. The steps that changed show where decisions live.
Write it as you do it
The next time you do the process, take notes as you go instead of reconstructing from memory. Memory skips the small steps, and those are exactly the ones a newcomer needs.
Separate the fixed from the flexible
Some parts never change, like “send the invoice”. Others depend on the situation, like “how many rounds of feedback”. Keep the fixed parts as a checklist and capture the flexible parts as questions with options.
Run it, then trim
Follow your own workflow once and remove anything you skipped. Then ask someone else to try it. A reusable workflow is one that survives contact with a second person.