How to Automate Repetitive Tasks

I turned the most annoying 20 minute task of my job into 20 seconds. Here's the step-by-step breakdown: For years, I've been drowning in business card requests. Emails at all hours, random texts, people stopping by my office - all asking for the same thing but never giving me complete information. I'd spend 15-20 minutes per request just coordinating between employees, our designer, and placing orders. It was literally the least important but most time-consuming part of my week. Working with Claude (Anthropic's AI), I built my first AI agent that completely automates this workflow. Now when someone needs business cards, they fill out a simple form in Teams. The moment they hit submit: ✅ Data automatically saves to SharePoint ✅ A ClickUp task gets created for our designer with all the details ✅ Task gets assigned with a 3-day deadline ✅ I get notified when it's ready for ordering What used to take me 15-20 minutes of back-and-forth now happens in seconds. Zero manual work on my end. The crazy part? This entire system was built in a few hours using tools we already had - Power Apps, SharePoint, Teams, and Power Automate. No coding required. Here's my biggest takeaway: AI agents aren't just for tech companies. They're for anyone tired of repetitive tasks eating away at time that should be spent on strategic work. I'm a marketing leader at an oil and gas services company, not a programmer. If I can build this, anyone can. What repetitive task is driving you crazy? Maybe it's time to automate it. Next up: I'm eyeing our expense reporting process 👀

👉 What used to take hours of manual copy-pasting at NUCEE… now happens in seconds — with just one click. ⚡ As a Finance Assistant at Northeastern University’s Center for Entrepreneurship Education (NUCEE), I spent the last 3 months automating the way our team generates Award Letters & Invoices for student venture funding (Alpha Fund & Gap Fund). Here’s what I built: 📌 Smart Google Forms to collect student details (with validation checks) 📌 Automated Google Sheets tracking for responses 📌 Streamlined templates in Google Docs 📌 Organized Google Drive folders for easy access 📌 A custom Google Apps Script → connects everything and auto-generates Award Letters & Invoices (PDF + Docs) with just one click ✨ The result: No more manual copy-pasting. No more wasted time. Just instant, accurate, professional documents — every time. This project showed me how small automations can create big impact, saving the NUCEE team hours of repetitive work and making the student experience smoother. 🙌 Huge thanks to Marina Watanabe, PhD (Mosaic Northeastern) and Alyn LeBlanc (IDEA: Northeastern University's Venture Accelerator) who manage these funds — glad this automation is making their process faster and easier. 👉 Curious to see the scripts? Check them out here: https://lnkd.in/d8YmA_D3 💭 What’s one repetitive task in your work you wish you could automate? #Automation #GoogleAppsScript #ProcessImprovement #Efficiency #Entrepreneurship #Northeastern #Finance #IDEA #Mosaic

If you think AI = ChatGPT, you're missing out. 7 tools to automate your work with AI: I've spent 15+ years building large software systems and automation. I've learned that the upfront cost of automating repetitive tasks leads to: - Huge time savings  - Better efficiency  - Fewer costly mistakes Today's AI automation landscape has changed everything. Here are 7 powerful tools that can transform your productivity: Top 7 Workflow Automation Tools ➡️ 1. N8N An open-source workflow automation tool that allows for both no-code and advanced custom coding. Self-hosted for full data control or paid cloud service. • Self hosting option (open source) • Most developer friendly option • Custom JavaScript/Python ➡️ 2. Make A powerful visual automation platform with AI agents and complex multi-step workflows. • Drag-and-drop interface (no-code) • AI agents recently added • Perfect for business process automation ➡️ 3. Zapier The leading no-code automation tool connecting thousands of apps through simple "if this, then that" logic. • Extremely beginner-friendly interface • Massive app ecosystem • Great for everyday business automation ➡️ 4. Relay This one was new to me, but I really like the UI. Collaborative workflow automation platform for team-based multi-step processes without coding. • Create AI agents that work for you • Popular tool integrations • Connect 100+ apps in minutes. ➡️ 5. Gumloop User-friendly platform for building AI-powered workflows without coding knowledge required. • Visual interface • Pre-built AI templates • Built for non-technical users ➡️ 6. FlowiseAI Open-source, low-code platform for building custom LLM applications and AI agents with visual nodes. • 100+ LLMs, Vector DBs • Developer friendly (SDKs) • Integrated traces ➡️ 7. Relevance AI Low-code/no-code platform specialising in AI-powered agents and data intelligence automation. • Complex business process automation • Multi-model AI support with rapid deployment • Best for teams handling large datasets My favourite quote on automation: ❤️ "Automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. Automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency."- Bill Gates Which automation challenges are you facing in your business right now? --- Enjoy this? ♻️ Repost it to your network and follow Owain Lewis for more.

I spent 3 hours building an AI automation yesterday. It replaced 20 hours of weekly busywork. But here's what nobody tells you about the AI revolution: The technology isn't the hard part. The mindset shift is. Last quarter, I watched my Chief Of Staff spend 4 hours copying data between spreadsheets. Same task. Every Monday. For 2 years. I asked her: "What if we automated this?" Her response broke my heart: "But then what would I do?" That's when it hit me. We're not just afraid AI will take our jobs. We're afraid it'll reveal how much of our "work" was never really work. Here's what I've learned playing with AI tools: ❌ AI doesn't replace humans ✅ AI replaces tasks humans shouldn't be doing ❌ AI makes you lazy ✅ AI gives you time to be strategic ❌ AI is complicated ✅ AI is as simple as having a conversation The real transformation? When you stop doing $10/hour tasks and start solving $10,000 problems. My CoS? She now spends those 4 hours: → Building client relationships → Spotting growth opportunities → Creating systems that scale Revenue impact: +47% in 60 days. Not because of the automation. Because of what the automation freed her to do. Here's my simple AI adoption framework: 1. Track your repetitive tasks for 1 week 2. Pick the most time-consuming one 3. Ask ChatGPT: "How would I automate [task]?" 4. Start with the simplest solution 5. Reinvest the time saved into high-value work The Hurricane Method isn't about working harder. It's about working on what matters. And AI? It's just a tool that helps you get there faster. Stop fearing the robots. Start partnering with them. Your future self will thank you. — ♻️ Share to help someone win back their time 👤 Follow Matt Savarick for more on building systems that scale

How to Automate Repetitive IB Tasks Using Excel Macros (No Coding Required) Analysts lose hours each week doing the same things in Excel: 1) Cleaning pasted financials 2) Formatting decks 3) Replacing brackets, merging cells, fixing date formats You can automate most of this using Excel Macros, and you don’t need to know VBA. Here’s how to start in less than 5 minutes What Is a Macro? A macro is a recording of your actions in Excel that you can replay with one click. It’s like telling Excel: “Hey, remember everything I just did? Now do that again anytime I ask.” Simple Macro Use Cases for IB Analysts: 1) Clean Formatting - Auto-fit columns - Standardize font - Remove gridlines - Apply accounting format 2) Convert Text to Numbers - Select column → Text to Columns → Finish - Multiply by 1 (Paste Special → Multiply) 3) Fix Bracketed Negative Numbers - Replace ( with - - Replace ) with blank - Convert to numbers 4) Update Pitchbook Templates - Swap placeholders (e.g., <> → Real name) - Recolor headers - Refresh charts How to Record a Macro (Step-by-Step): - Open Excel → Go to View tab → Click Macros > Record Macro - Name your macro (e.g., “CleanSheet”) - Assign a shortcut (like Ctrl + Shift + C) - Perform your usual steps (e.g., formatting, cleaning, deleting blank rows) - Click Stop Recording - Done Now run that macro anytime with your shortcut. But ensure you don't use shortcuts that you use regularly (like Ctrl C, Ctrl V etc. as it over rides the default excel functionality of copying, pasting etc. and replaces it with the defined macro) Save all your macros in Personal Macro Workbook → this lets you use them across all workbooks, not just the current one. This one trick can save 30–60 mins every week. Follow Pratik for investment banking careers and education

Simple Automation – Small Changes, Big Gains Automation doesn’t have to mean robots, AI, or huge investment. Sometimes, the biggest impact comes from the simplest forms of automation—the kind that removes repetitive tasks, reduces errors, and frees people up for higher-value work. That’s what we call Simple Automation. What Is Simple Automation? It’s about using basic tools, low-cost tech, or clever design to: ✔️ Remove manual steps ✔️ Reduce decision-making fatigue ✔️ Speed up routine processes It’s not high-tech—it’s smart design. Examples of Simple Automation 🔹 Excel Macros – Automating reports or data cleaning 🔹 Barcode Scanning – Instant data entry without typing 🔹 Auto-fill Forms – Reducing repetitive admin work 🔹 Drop-down menus – Preventing entry errors in systems 🔹 Sensors or limit switches – Triggering actions on machines without manual input 🔹 Jigs with built-in stops – Ensuring parts are positioned correctly every time Why Use It? ✅ Saves Time – Routine tasks are completed faster ✅ Reduces Errors – Standardized steps = fewer mistakes ✅ Improves Flow – Less interruption, more consistency ✅ Frees Up People – Employees spend more time on valuable work, less on admin Where to Start 1️⃣ Look for repetitive tasks done daily or weekly 2️⃣ Ask: “Could this be simplified or automated?” 3️⃣ Start small – one macro, one visual cue, one process improvement 4️⃣ Measure the time or errors saved 5️⃣ Share the success and build momentum Final Thought Automation doesn’t need to be complex to be effective. Start with the simple stuff—and scale as you go. Small wins add up fast.

If you do a task more than twice, ask yourself "Can this run without me?" Repetitive tasks silently eat hours out of our day. But the good news is - "almost any task can be automated in 30 mins or less" (without fancy tools or AI) I needed to create 56 client folders in Google Drive for a project. Doing it manually? Over an hour of repetitive clicks. And u already know “to err is human…” After creating 7 folders manually, I decided to find an easier approach. Opened up n8n, created a new workflow, set up a trigger, connected the list of clients from Notion with Google drive. Hit run and in ~ 2 mins all 56 folders were accurately placed in my Google Drive. Automation does not have to be about using fancy tools; just look for opportunities to remove/ reduce friction to being closer to what you actually want to spend time on. Would love to know your thoughts here?

How I Stopped Doing Everything in My Business When I was bootstrapping Spark Your Resume, I wore every hat—sales, marketing, operations, fulfillment, customer support. You name it, I did it. I didn’t have funding to hire people, so I had to figure out how to scale myself. That’s when I discovered Zapier and it completely changed the game. Automation became my secret weapon. How I Think About Automation I follow one simple rule: 👉 If I do it more than twice, I need to automate it. If a task is repetitive, it can (and should) be automated. Here’s my framework: 1️⃣ Trigger – What external action kicks off the task or project? 2️⃣ Sequence – What series of events need to happen to complete the task? 3️⃣ Goal – What’s the final outcome of the automation? Once I define those three elements, I: ✅ Identify the tools I’m already using to complete the task manually. ✅ Plug them into Zapier to see what triggers & actions are available. ✅ Mind-map the automation based on Trigger → Sequence → Goal. ✅ Build it in Zapier and hit publish. The result? I free up hours of my time every week and focus on growth instead of grunt work. If you’re still manually handling the same tasks over and over, it’s time to think about automation. Want me to break down an automation I use? Drop a “Show me” in the comments. #Automation #Zapier #Scaling #Entrepreneurship #Productivity