I love XKCD but that chart is missing a few important dimensions.

- How likely is it that you will make a mistake when performing the task manually, and how easy is it to fix the various mistakes that can be made?

- How likely is it that you'll overlook the task when the time comes? (e.g. SSL cert expiration)

- What are the costs of mistakes or failure to complete the task?

- What skills can you learn while developing the automated solution?

- How can techniques developed for the automated solution be reused for other tasks?

Of course it's fair to ask questions on the other side of the equation, too, like: if the automated solution goes bad, or is run in the wrong environment, what are the risks?

Jep, love that chart. Recently showed it to a colleague when we were discussing if it's was worth it to automate our domain creating processes.

Every time I look at that chart, my eyes glaze over and I decide not to automate. The title text when alludes to this.

I just ... don't get it. I fear I may be a bear of small brain.

As someone else mentioned, there are other valuable considerations the chart ignores, such as likelihood and impact of mistakes.

OTOH automating is an acquired skill, so I learned to say "screw it". Unless you feel you're trying to spend a month to save 10 minutes total, go ahead and automate it - that's how you get better at automating more stuff faster.

Automation also gets rid of context-switching, which has a cost of its own. It may only take you half an hour to do -foo-, but to switch into the mental space for it and switch out again are costs that most people don't factor in.