Wouldn’t it be nice if you could automate your morning routine? Or rely on an external schedule so you never have to worry about what you’re supposed to do next?
Automation is powerful not only because it spares us from the time it takes to do an action manually, but because it allows us to stop dedicating mental energy to remembering and focusing on those tasks. It’s a way to free up brainpower that you can then apply to more important endeavors, whether it’s tackling a hard creative problem in your business or just better enjoying some “you” time, so you can work harder during business hours.
Fortunately, with today’s technology, it’s easier than ever to automate some of your most common daily habits.
Ideas for Automation
Try using these strategies to automate sections of your life.
1. Set up Gmail reminders
First, take advantage of Gmail reminders. If you’re not currently using Google Inbox, now’s a good time to switch—reminders are an exclusive feature of Inbox. With the app open, hover over the + icon and click the blue “reminders” icon. Type whatever you’d like to remind yourself to do, set a time for the reminder, and sit back. You’ll get a notification when it comes time to do something. And with recurring reminders, you could automate your entire daily schedule, so you never miss a beat.
2. Subscribe and save
Remembering to buy household products at specific intervals, like shampoo, pet food, diapers, or multivitamins, can bog down your mind—and leave you without items when you need them the most. But if you use a feature like Amazon’s Subscribe and Save, you can get new deliveries of those products at an interval of your choosing, so you never have to worry about missing a pickup.
3. Proofread
Proofreading your documents and emails takes up a lot of time, but it’s necessary if you want to make a good impression and ensure there are no misunderstandings. Even so, if you’re proofreading your own work, it’s easy to miss a detail or overlook a mistake. Consider using an automatic proofreading tool like Grammarly to verify your work no matter which app you’re in, and rest assured you won’t sound like a fool.
4. Backup
Setting your computer to automatically back itself up is one of the best things you can do for yourself. You won’t have to remember to manually back up all your files, and you can rest easy with redundant protection, in case your computer is ever hacked, damaged, or otherwise incapacitated. Most modern computers come with a built-in automatic backup function, so start making use of it.
5. Get creative with triggered actions
You can also establish your own “triggered” actions across a wide variety of apps and devices thanks to IFTTT (If This, Then That). For example, you could program your porch lights to turn on when you order pizza, or get the weather forecast at specific intervals during the day.
Conclusion
There’s no limit to what you can automate in your life if you use these strategies creatively. It might take a bit of time to find, learn, and program a new solution, but once that initial effort is out of the way, you could save minutes to hours of time every week.