Routine work is where strategy begins

Most people treat routine work like background noise and you’re not..…entirely wrong. It is necessary work but it can also be uninspiring. However, what if the secret to building something remarkable is hidden in those everyday tasks?

The entirety of my career so far has been about creating operational strategies for routine work. In other words: How can I be strategic while carrying out repetitive work every day?

From my time as a Customer Success rep; supporting individuals and businesses by answering the same questions over and over again or flagging new customer issues/requests to my role as Dispute Operations Lead: resolving transaction complaints logged by customers through their banks for recurring issues like “value not given” or fraud; I’ve noticed two things I could never ignore: patterns and concepts.

In any role that involves repetitive work, these two are the foundation for turning everyday tasks into strategic opportunities. Let’s break them down.

1. Patterns

What are they?

A pattern is a repeated or regular way something happens, looks, or is arranged.

In the context of routine work, patterns are recurring themes you notice in your daily activities. They are signals and signals can lead to improvements, innovation, and even entirely new ideas.

Examples of patterns in your work could be:

• Issues customers keep experiencing.

• Requests for small optimizations to existing experiences.

• Positive feedback on a recent release

• Feature (new) requests from customer

If you do repetitive work mindlessly, you’re robbing yourself of the chance to create better experiences for products, processes, or people. Capturing insights from patterns can be a strategic advantage and even a competitive edge.

Think of patterns as an opportunity to:

• Win - spot opportunities before they become urgent problems.

• Be strategic- connect small recurring issues to larger goals.

• Create a vision- design a better way of doing things.

As you go through your work, ask yourself these questions:

• Is there a world where this can be better?

• Is there a more efficient way to do this?

• Can I achieve the same (or better) results in less time?

Spotting patterns is just the start. To really make routine work matter, you also need to understand the concepts that drive it.

2. Concepts?

Behind every routine task is a concept, that is a core principle that explains:

• What you’re doing.

• Why you’re doing it.

• What happens if you don’t do it.

Understanding the concept behind your work helps you approach it with purpose and see its importance in the bigger picture.

For example as a CS rep, you’re told that speed and quality are critical when responding to tickets. Let’s break this down:

1. What concept describes speed and quality in Customer Success?

We can call it Responsiveness & Accuracy and metrics that measure this include:

• First Response Time (FRT): how quickly you reply.

• Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT): how well your response meets customer expectations

b. Why is this important?

They’re important to

• Solve customer problems accurately and quickly.

• Build trust and retention.

• Strengthen brand equity.

When customers feel heard and helped, they’ll vouch for you, trust you, and even recommend you.

3. What’s the impact of not doing this?

• Loss of customer trust.

• Decline in product usage.

• Potential revenue loss and worst case, going out of business.

• Increased cost and time to rebuild trust.

Once you understand the concept, you can start optimizing your routine work. For example:

• Use AI to handle frequently asked questions based on your documented resources (Help Center articles, playbooks, videos)

• Diversify communication channels to prevent bottlenecks.

• Measure the value of human resources and improve efficiency through training and tooling.

3. In conclusion

Routine work doesn’t have to be mindless repetition. When you:

• Spot patterns. You find opportunities for improvement.

• Understand concepts. You align your work with purpose.

  
  

  

Your routine task holds more power than you think. It’s raw material for building systems, driving change, and creating lasting impact.

Strategy starts at your desk, in the details, one routine at a time.