Keep a run log for every automation you build

An automation should leave a trace every time it runs, not just when it fails. A simple log — what ran, when, and what it did — turns "I think it's working" into "I can see it worked."

This matters because most automation problems are not dramatic crashes. They are small drifts: a step that skipped one record, a form that stopped attaching a file, a sync that quietly missed an entry. Without a log, you cannot tell the difference between a smooth week and a week where something slipped through unnoticed. With one, you can scan back and spot the gap before it becomes a real problem.

You do not need anything fancy. A row added to a spreadsheet each time the automation completes is enough to start.

Try this today: open one automation you rely on and add one line that records the date, the result, and anything unusual, every time it runs.