5 Everyday Business Tasks You Didn’t Know You Could Automate

How much time do you spend each day moving information from one app into another? Or scouring the internet for information that you need? What about adding calendar events or tasks to your PM tool that you’ve discussed with your team?

You can do all of that completely automatically, without the wasted time, through automation. By automating the repetitive tasks of your business that you perform each day, you can free up a lot of your time and use it productively.

When I first start with a client, I am often told (repeatedly) that their business is streamlined.  But as soon as I dive deep into their business for the first time, I often realize that they are doing many repetitive tasks manually - tasks that can be easily automated with the help of some very valuable online tools. 

Fortunately for us DIY entrepreneurs out there, there are automation tools like Zapier that allow you to automate monotonous tasks like creating tasks in Asana, saving email attachments, or monitoring social media. But Zapier isn’t the only way.  Oftentimes, I see my clients using great tools like Slack, Dubsado, Asana, Click Up, and OneNote without using all the integrations that their developers have provided.  

These tools are an entrepreneurs’ savior, saving you time, reducing human errors, and improving efficiency overall. Instead of spending time copying, pasting, and saving, you can and should focus on things that require—and deserve—human brainpower and your zone of genius. 

So here we go!  Dive into your 5 everyday business tasks you didn’t know you could automate and start geeking out today!

Create Tasks In Your PM Tool From Meeting Notes or Your Team Communications

Do you find yourself taking meeting notes just to spend time manually breaking down action items afterward? Do you communicate with your team using a communications tool like Slack and then creating tasks for what’s discussed in your PM system.

Notes taken via Evernote or OneNote can be turned into actionable tasks in Click Up or Asana using Zapier.  Click Up even has a DOCS view where you can convert notes into tasks with a click of a button.

When you’re on Slack with your team and are delegating tasks, don’t leave it up to them to create the task in Asana.  Use the built-in integration to convert your chat into tasks automatically in your PM tool.

Record Sales or Document Leads for Analytics in Google Sheets

Information is key, right? And when you are strategizing and guiding your business forward, the more information the better. Analytics are great, but some of these automated tools don’t account for every nuance of a business. So many of us entrepreneurs like to go old-school and record data in spreadsheets.  Sometimes it’s Airtable, Google Sheets, or the OG Excel, and there is probably someone that you’ve hired that does it manually.

Ready to have your mind blown? Zapier can connect your payment processor (i.e.; Thrivecart, Paypal, etc) or email marketing manager with the spreadsheet of your choice to keep track of new activity.  That’s right, if you have a new email sign up, it can be added to your spreadsheet database with all its details, then you can decide how you want to nurture that lead, or upsell that new customer.

Update Timeline Automatically by Using Dependencies

Do you ever have a project where if one task isn’t complete it delays the entire project and you are left updating and pushing back the dates for every other task in the chain?  Been there, done that!

Well that’s where dependencies come in.  It’s easy to forget that each interlinked task is related to the overall success of your project. By making tasks codependent on each other you’ll never underestimate delays again because each task will be automatically updated based on when the first task gets done.

Create Calendar Events Directly From Your PM or Comm Tool

This is very similar to the first point above.  In your everyday communication with your team via Slack or whichever tool your team uses, you can integrate your calendar into the workflow.

So the next time you discuss getting together to chat about a project on Monday at 11am, instead of forgetting about it because the conversation kept moving, or taking the time away from the flow to add the calendar entry manually, with a click of a button, you can have that added to your calendar. Abracadabra!

Automate Your Research

I feel like this might be an “um duh” moment. If you are like me, you’ve known for years now that Google has a feature called Google Alerts. You can save your Google searches and have them redone for you periodically and delivered to your email inbox in real time, daily or weekly.

But, like me, I don’t think you understand how useful this feature is until you are trying to do 15 things all at the same time. No more scouring the web for untold hours. No more digging through countless search result pages.  Google Alerts brings the information directly to you!