Automation is not just a buzzword. It’s concrete tools that, when implemented properly, can give you back several hours per week.
How it started Several years ago, I spent every Monday manually copying data between spreadsheets. Invoices, orders, reports — all manually. Sound familiar?
The first tool that changed my approach was Make (formerly Integromat). Simple visual logic, hundreds of integrations, and the ability to run scenarios without a single line of code.
What I automated first I started with small things:
Email notifications — instead of checking the inbox every hour, I get a digest at 9:00 AM Weekly reports — Google Sheets + Make generates PDF and sends to the client automatically Invoices — store integration with the accounting system eliminates manual copying Results after 3 months Total time saved per week: 15 hours. That’s almost two full workdays.
More importantly — errors disappeared. When humans manually copy data 50 times a day, errors are inevitable. Machines don’t make mistakes.
Tools I use Make — for orchestrating data flows between applications. Best value for money.
GPT-4 via API — for categorization, summaries, and content generation based on data.
Airtable — as a flexible database that understands people, not just programmers.
What’s next Automation is a process, not a one-time project. Every month I find a new repetitive process and ask: does a human have to do this?
Most often the answer is: no.