5 Ways Automation Can Speed Up Your Daily Workflow - And Implementation Is Easy

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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• Automation tin thief easiness nan strain of a engaged day.
• There are circumstantial devices and features disposable for automation.
• Some devices do person a steep learning curve.

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Every day, you execute repetitive tasks that tin often return much of your precious clip than you want. This has go particularly important arsenic our days get filled pinch much and more, until it seems there's not capable clip successful nan time to complete everything earlier it's clip to log off.

How tin you easiness that burden?

Automation.

Before I continue, this isn't astir automating everything you do specified that you'll beryllium capable to beryllium backmost and watch each task completed by ghosts successful nan machine. This is astir improving nan regular grind, truthful it's not arsenic grind-y.

To that end, let's talk astir automation.

1. Macros

Macros person been astir for a agelong clip and are sets of instructions that automate a bid of actions, typically wrong a package application. Some applications, specified arsenic LibreOffice aliases MS Office, see built-in macro features, but location are immoderate third-party applications, specified arsenic Macro Recorder, PyMacro, and Keyboard Maestro that tin automate tasks for each types of software. 

There are besides devices for illustration Google Apps Script that make it imaginable to automate wrong nan Google Workspace ecosystem. The 1 point to support successful mind is that immoderate macro devices (and moreover nan macro features built into software) person a somewhat steep learning curve. In nan end, however, it will beryllium worthy your clip to study nan ins and outs of macros.

2. AI

AI does person its spot and tin beryllium useful for definite tasks. Remember maine talking astir macros above? I've utilized AI to constitute macros for LibreOffice to create resume templates and different useful items. AI is bully astatine helping pinch boring, repetitive tasks. You could usage AI to make a screen missive based connected circumstantial input, thief pinch automating your smart home, analyse patterns of smart devices, thief information cameras observe definite people, punctual you of attraction tasks (like replacing furnace filters), automatically move information from a shape to a spreadsheet, and truthful overmuch more. 

Also: How I made Perplexity AI nan default hunt motor successful my browser

The point astir AI is that, erstwhile you get proficient successful its usage, there's nary extremity to what it tin thief you automate. Yes, you'll person to walk a bully woody of clip making this activity for you, but erstwhile you get nan bent of it, you'll find each sorts of useful automations that tin help.

3. Password head browser extension

This 1 is easy. More than likely, your password head (such arsenic Bitwarden) offers a web browser extension. Those extensions greatly simplify nan login process by auto-filling login credentials for you. For example, utilizing Bitwarden, I tin spell to a tract that requires that I log in, unlock nan browser extension, click to autofill, and log in. No much having to unfastened nan password manager, transcript nan password, type my username, paste nan password, and past log in. This is 1 of nan simplest automations you tin do for yourself.

4. Dedicated automation tools

There are immoderate devices that tin automate rather a spot for you. Two specified applications are Power Automate and Robotask. Power Automate is tin of automating applications (web and desktop) connected your Windows instrumentality by mimicking actions for illustration clicks and keyboard input. 

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Robotask allows you to create elemental macros and analyzable automation workflows that see conditional logic, loops, civilization variables, and different precocious options to thief automate tasks. Both of these devices tin beryllium utilized for free (with limitations), but to get nan astir retired of them, you'll want to acquisition a afloat licence (Power Automate Premium is $15/month/user, and Robotask is simply a one-time $150 licence fee). Both devices are coagulated options to thief automate immoderate of your tasks.

Also: How I provender my files to a section AI for better, much applicable responses

5. Bash scripts and cron

If you're a Linux user, bash scripts and cron are nan champion options for automation. With this combination, you tin automate a number of tasks, specified arsenic backups and updates. The 1 downfall of nan scripts/cron combo is that it won't thief you automate GUI tasks. There is besides nan xdotool, which allows you to simulate keyboard input and rodent activity, move and resize windows, and more. The 1 drawback of xdotool is that it is simply a command-line app and has a learning curve (although not astir arsenic steep arsenic macros).