Where should I spend my time? 

I know this email is called "build you automations" (with an exclamation point no less) but it really doesn't make a ton of sense to go down this road until you're locked in on your content. And frankly, that can happen entirely in a Google doc or Notion page or wherever. Get the material dialed in before you start building because...

It's not a super light lift (it's not that bad either)

It will require some time to set everything up, especially if you're going the self-pacing route.

But here's the thing: the hard work is all upfront. And if you aren't a psychotic person like me, your course will probably be shorter than 20 emails. Big Later, my side biz that you're all too familiar with now, has sixty unique emails. I'm sure you can imagine how fun it was to build out those automations...

Three comments on my process and then you're off to the races

These are a few things that save me time.

1. I don't put the content into the emails until I've built the structure

2. I don't put the Polls in until I've got all the redirect pages set up (but you can build the Polls whenever).

3. When I am actually building out the individual emails, I make sure to track the completion of the pre-header, header image, fast forward link, and progress tracker (these are easy to miss!)

So yes, this does mean that I end up going through the automations a few times, but it's a good thing to be intimately familiar with them as it gives you more opportunities to catch little mistakes. Fortunately, it’s not too bad to just open all the tabs on your browser simultaneously.

When you're ready to build...

Test the hell out of these things. You'll find instances where you forgot to add the preheader, where you used the wrong link for your self-pacing, where you just forgot to turn an automation on... test, test, test.

Good luck!