A project by Clear Road Labs
We help teams build AI systems that actually ship.
Timeback is the research arm of Clear Road Labs — a small studio that designs and implements custom AI systems for knowledge-work teams. We built this site because every engagement starts with the same question: where, concretely, is the time? Now you can answer that question for your role in under a minute, and — if the numbers make sense — talk to us about building the system.
See also: our principles · security & data handling
Recent work
Valise
Reclaimed 15 hours/week from their operations team. We mapped their operations team's week, built a task-level blueprint like the ones on this site, then implemented the system end-to-end.
Built on Real Data
Our analysis starts with the Bureau of Labor Statistics occupation database (800+ occupations) and O*NET task data from the Department of Labor. Every time-back estimate is derived from actual task descriptions, not guesswork.
Task-Level Analysis
Instead of broad predictions, we break each occupation into micro-tasks and score them individually for AI applicability, impact, and implementation effort.
Actionable Blueprints
For every occupation, we generate an agent blueprint — a concrete plan for which AI agents to deploy, what tools they need, and how they coordinate. Not theory: a system you can actually build.
Human-Centered Approach
AI should augment your work, not replace you. Our blueprints identify tasks where AI excels and where human judgment remains essential — including explicit checkpoints where people stay in the loop. Read our full principles for how we think about time reclaimed, human oversight, and the limits of our numbers.
Our principles →Our Methodology
Each occupation's automation profile combines multiple signals: O*NET task descriptions and their AI applicability scores, ability requirements (physical vs cognitive), knowledge domains, and work activity patterns.
The composite score (0–100) reflects overall AI readiness. Time-back estimates are given as conservative-to-optimistic ranges, broken down by work block (intake, analysis, documentation, coordination, etc.).
We classify occupations by archetype — desk/digital, mixed, or physical — with corresponding multipliers that account for the practical limits of AI in non-desk work.
How we work
- Discover. We use this site (and a 45-min call) to map where your team's time actually goes.
- Blueprint. You get a concrete implementation plan — tools, integrations, human checkpoints, and an honest ROI estimate. No fluff.
- Build. We implement the system with your team. Weekly demos, real code, no vendor lock-in.
- Support. Ongoing tuning, monitoring, and improvements once you're live.