Automation of repetitive tasks

Automating repetitive tasks in an organisation is essentially using technology to streamline and simplify routine processes. This can involve various software tools and techniques to reduce the need for manual work. Automation frees up employees’ time, allowing them to focus on more strategic and creative tasks. It also reduces errors typically associated with manual data entry and repetitive actions. Additionally, automation can improve efficiency and productivity, leading to many cost savings.

Books:

1. Automate Your Busywork: Do Less, Achieve More, and Save Your Brain for the Big Stuff by Aytekin Tank – This book focuses on the concept of “timefulness” and achieving a state where you have enough time to get critical tasks done. Tank dives into using no-code automation tools and delegation strategies to free yourself up for more important work.
2. Automate the Boring Stuff with Python: Practical Programming for Total Beginners by Al Sweigart – This book is a fantastic resource for those who want to learn how to automate tasks using Python programming language. Even with no prior coding experience, you’ll gain the skills to automate repetitive tasks on your computer.
3. The New Automation Mindset: The Leadership Blueprint for the Era of AI-For-All – This book argues that simply adopting automation tools isn’t enough for businesses to thrive in the age of artificial intelligence (AI). The book emphasizes a critical shift in leadership thinking to fully harness the potential of automation.
4. INTELLIGENT AUTOMATION: Learn how to harness Artificial Intelligence to boost business & make our world more human – This book goes beyond basic automation and delves into Intelligent Automation (IA), which combines Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Machine Learning (ML) to create a more sophisticated level of automation.
5. The Business Case for AI: A Leader’s Guide to AI Strategies, Best Practices & Real-World Applications – This book is geared towards business leaders who want to understand and leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) for their organisations. It aims to equip them with the knowledge and tools to develop an AI strategy, identify opportunities for AI implementation, and achieve success in the AI landscape.

Articles:

1. Focus on the How, Not Just the What: A Guide to Automating Repetitive Tasks – This article by Asana outlines a practical 5-step process for identifying and automating repetitive tasks within your workflow.
2. How to Break Down Work into Tasks That Can Be Automated – This Harvard Business Review article dives deeper into the concept of identifying tasks suitable for automation. It highlights the importance of understanding the nature of tasks (repetitive, rule-based) for successful automation.

3. 5 Ways to Automate Busywork and Free Up Your Time – This PC Magazine article offers a more general perspective. It provides a list of practical tools and techniques you can leverage to automate everyday tasks on your computer, boosting your personal productivity.
4. Automate Repetitive Tasks to Unlock Your Business Potential – The article discusses what repetitive tasks are and the benefits of automating them. The article also details steps to take to automate tasks. Some of the benefits of automation include increased efficiency, accuracy, and employee satisfaction.
5. How to automate repetitive tasks and grow your productivity – Outlines how automating repetitive tasks can boost business productivity. It explains task automation as using software to create efficient workflows, reducing manual effort and errors, and improving resource allocation.

Guides:

1. The ultimate guide to task automation – This guide provides a comprehensive overview of task automation, including the different types of automation tools available and how to choose the right tool for the job.
2. Beginner’s Guide to Task Automation: Automate Repetitive Tasks and Scale Your Business – This guide offers a good introduction to task automation, explaining the benefits and steps to take to automate repetitive tasks. It also covers best practices for successful automation.
3. Automate Repetitive Business Processes – This guide focuses on automating tasks within a business setting. It includes steps to identify opportunities for automation, selecting the right tools, and designing automated workflows.
4. Top 18 Task Automation Software for 2024 – While this guide focuses on software, it also provides a good overview of different task automation tools and what kind of tasks they can handle. This can help you understand the capabilities of automation and identify which tasks are good candidates.

Podcasts:

1. Masters of Automation – This podcast dives into the future of work through automation and artificial intelligence. They interview creative technologists, founders, and entrepreneurs who are using automation to change the way we work.
2. Compiler: Adventures in Automation – This podcast explores all things automation, with a particular focus on Apple products. They discuss various automation tools and workflows you can implement to streamline tasks on your Mac.
3. Get Automated – This podcast is all about helping you take back control of your time by automating repetitive tasks. They cover a wide range of tools and techniques for automating tasks in all areas of your life, from work to home.

Tools:

1. Zapier – A powerful tool that allows you to connect different web services and automate workflows between them. For example, you can use Zapier to automatically add new Gmail contacts to a spreadsheet or create a Trello card whenever you receive a new email.
2. Microsoft Power Automate – Built into Microsoft 365, Power Automate allows you to automate tasks within the Microsoft ecosystem, such as copying data between Excel spreadsheets or sending automated emails based on triggers in SharePoint.
3. TextExpander – Saves you time by allowing you to create abbreviations that automatically expand into full text snippets. For example, you could create a shortcut that expands “@@email” to your full email address.
4. Python – A popular and versatile programming language that can be used to automate a wide variety of tasks. While it requires some coding knowledge, Python is a relatively easy language to learn, and there are many libraries available to help with automation tasks.
5. ClickUp – Automation software and project management tools used to create recurring reminders for meetings, automatically assign tasks, move statuses, post comments, and more.
6. Tallyfy – An automation tool that lets you automate mundane tasks without coding or complex flowcharts. For instance, you can use it to show or hide tasks based on powerful rules.

Automating repetitive tasks involves using software to streamline workflows, reduce manual effort, and minimise errors. This enhances efficiency, improves resource allocation, and boosts employee satisfaction. Key benefits include time savings, cost reductions, and better customer experiences. Examples of automatable tasks include invoice processing and data entry.