From 1977 to 1987, my father operated a Chinese-Western restaurant in Edgemont Village. While working in the restaurant, I learned the value of providing high-quality customer service. And behind the scenes, I learned about the power of automation. Of course, we don’t think about dishwashers as automation because they are so commonplace. But I remember seeing stacks of dishes on busy nights and being thankful I didn’t have to handwash them.

Whether you are an entrepreneur or a stay-at-home parent, you can use tools and technology to automate repetitive tasks. It will free up your time so you can engage in more creative endeavours or enjoy the company of family and friends. Here are some ways the power of automation can save time and boost efficiency.

Why You Should Automate

Before you start automating systems, figure out if you need to do them in the first place. Deciding to delete tasks that no longer serve you is essential. Once you determine what you don’t need to do, consider automating the tasks below.

Frequent Repetitive Tasks: Tasks you do frequently and repeatedly can be time-consuming and monotonous. A popular productivity expert recommends the “3 Times Rule.” It means if you acknowledge a task is repetitive three times (or more), consider automating it. For instance, if you install a dishwasher in a busy restaurant, the staff can focus on customer service instead of hand-washing dishes. Likewise, invest in a bulk file renaming app if you spend time renaming image files (i.e., from IMG_1234.jpg to ClientName-Date.jpg).

Error Generators: Unfortunately, humans make mistakes and humans are inconsistent – it’s part of life. We can’t always remember the rules for naming computer files or if we turned down the furnace. Additionally, we make typos when entering data (e.g., from paper invoices to spreadsheets). However, we can set up automated processes to do the work for us. Additionally, technology is sufficiently advanced to alert us to discrepancies.

Awkward Workflow and Communications: The power of automation can help create smoother workflows by eliminating steps or the time between steps. For example, in a project management scenario, the system updates everyone’s status when one person marks a task as complete. Then, it sends reminders to the people involved in the next phase. It happens instantaneously – we don’t need to wait for someone to open the project management software and complete the steps. Likewise, automated messaging (email, texts, etc.) means business owners can respond to customers 24/7 with fewer errors, increasing customer satisfaction.

The Power of Automation in Real Life

Computer Backups: Prevent a data-loss disaster by automating daily computer backups. It will take some time to set up, but then you can (almost) “set it and forget it.”

Money Management: To streamline your finances, set up automatic deposits, bill payments, invoicing, and more. Financial/bookkeeping software platforms also track expenses and prepare financial reports and income tax documents.

Password Managers: Besides storing and protecting your passwords, the benefits of password managers include quickly and securely auto-filling data on websites and saving you the hassle of requesting and recording new passwords.

Templates: While technically not an automation, most automated systems use templates to function optimally. For example, create templates for estimates and invoices in your bookkeeping program to ensure you include all the relevant terms and conditions for each service you offer.

Email Rules: Most email programs already incorporate the power of automation. Take time to organize your email by creating rules to divert messages to specific mailboxes. For instance, send those shopping ads directly to the “Shopping & Advertisements” folder so they don’t clutter your inbox.

Keyboard Shortcuts: Programs like TextExpander or BetterTouchTool allow you to insert a large amount of text by typing only a few keystrokes.

Communications: Create email templates and have your email app send them at specific times (sometimes called “delay” or “schedule” send). You can also invest in a CRM (customer relationship management) platform and program it to send meeting and appointment reminders and client follow-up messages.

Meetings: Use meeting scheduling solutions to automatically check people’s calendars, propose potential time slots, and schedule reminder emails.

Smart Home/Office: Install programmable thermostats so you don’t have to remember to adjust the temperature (they also save up to 5% on your energy bill). Smart lightbulbs turn on and off at specific times, so you don’t leave them on 24 hours a day. Advancements in robot vacuum cleaners mean they will vacuum, mop, and switch modes depending on the type of flooring. Some models have built-in LiDAR systems to recognize and avoid obstacles.

Shopping: Set up automatic delivery of grocery and personal care items. If the delivery interval varies, create a “favourites” list on your grocery app to add the frequently purchased items to your shopping cart quickly. You can set up automatic prescription refills at most pharmacies. They will even send you reminders of when you are on your last refill so you can contact your physician for a renewal.

Is Automation Worth It?

Finally, the wise and entertaining folks at xkcd put together a diagram to show the power of automation. For example, you perform a task once a day and wonder if it is worth automating that task. If you set up a process to save 30 seconds, then in 5 years, you will save 12 hours (2.4 hours/year). There are two aspects to this. Firstly, if you perform the task daily for one year and you invest less than 2.4 hours in automating the task, you save time. Secondly, it may not seem like much for that one little task, but imagine the time you will save if you automate many tasks.

Considering how busy we are today, harnessing the power of automation is no longer a luxury but a necessity. You can save time, reduce errors, and focus on what matters, whether strategic business initiatives or spending quality time with your loved ones.

Check out additional time management and productivity resources, or contact the Out of Chaos team to book a workplace presentation.