After an immense struggle I figured out the first one and rewarded myself by not figuring out the second one... I think that makes me something less than a real geek...":O}
Been there, done that. But the graph is even more complicated than that, because you have to factor in the amount of time you save by learning to do something on this task, that you can then use on another task, saving time there as well.
Then when everything is automated and saving you lots of time... something breaks and no one remembers how to fix it
I see it happening at work. People before me setup a bunch of automation processes and are long gone, but something eventually breaks or stops working. People come to me to fix it and I have no idea what they are talking about or how to even get started. Documentation is also a blessing
They missed the optional part of an error in the script, followed by writing another script to email 100,000 customers apologizing for the error.