Automation is a very complex topic. There are so many different types of automation, and so many different ways to approach it. It’s hard to find something that completely fits your situation. If you’re like me, you just want to dive in and get started with some automation. I use a form filler to fill online forms automatically, I have a set of scripts that run on my computer to automate certain things, and I use Zapier to automate between different apps. They all have their own place.
The first thing that you need to do is figure out what you want to automate. What are you already doing? Where can automation make your life easier? Do you have a lot of information in a spreadsheet that’s hard for other people to use? Are there reports that you have been meaning to implement but haven’t had time for? Look at your day-to-day tasks and see how automation can help with them. I highly recommend looking at iDoneThis if this is something that will help someone else track things for you (especially if it involves sending out an email or text every day).
That being said, the next step is deciding what kind of automation will be best for the task(s) at hand. It may not be worth it in the long run! Automation can be great, but it has its limits too! If your task involves communicating with another person through an app or website, then automating these tasks may not work as well as they would if they were done manually by another person. For example, if I want to send an automatic email to a client every time I finish something, then it would be better for me to have my (or another) assistant do that.
If you’re looking into automating a task such as this, then email forwarding is probably the best place to start. Forwarding emails comes in handy when you have someone else doing your tasks for you. If they aren’t available or just don’t feel like doing it at the moment and get back with you later on, then forwarding them will give them what they need right away without bothering them at that moment. It’s also more efficient because they can take their time since they will still have what they need when they are ready!
Another thing that needs mentioning is the fact that automation isn’t always good! Sometimes you really don’t want something automated. For example: if your task involves communicating with other people or interacting with other humans in some fashion (such as sales or customer service), then automation may not be what’s best for the job! You’ll come off as too robotic and/or unprofessional if all of your communications are done by a computer instead of by hand. This is especially true when it comes down to things like social media communication (Facebook comments and such). If this isn’t something that you can automate easily yet there are many people who interact with your business daily through social media channels, then automating those interactions may not be worth the hassle. You may not get good results from your efforts, and you will probably be seen in a very unprofessional way.
A third thing to consider is whether or not it’s even worth the hassle. There are some things that can be automated easily without too much thought, but there are others that take more time and effort than they are worth. If you’re looking into automation for something relatively easy like email forwarding or even checking on social media channels every once in awhile (although I still wouldn’t do this), then it may be worth your time! However, if you’re looking into automating something with a lot of work involved (such as writing an article on the spot within a few minutes) then it might not be worth trying to automate everything since there are so many ways that automation could go wrong and result in problems at school or work! This is another one of those instances where absolute accuracy is important.
One last thing about automation: don’t forget about the human element! When we think about automation, most people think about computers doing all of our tasks for us automatically.
Automation is a very complex topic, but it’s still important to understand! I highly recommend looking into automation and see what works for you. It’s a really good way to save time, and sometimes even money! If you have any automation suggestions or questions about how to get started with automation, then I would love for you to leave them in the comments below. Have an awesome day!
