Automating Your Life
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Do you ever find yourself writing the same email replies every day? Do you get tired of picking what clothes to wear to class, or what meals to cook for dinner? Let me teach you how to automate your life! With the rise of AI in recent years, many automated tools are at the tips of your fingers, you just need to know how to utilize them.
Hi, I’m Emily and this article will walk you through a crash course on how automation works, what free automation tools are ready to use, and what you can do to write your own automation flows and scripts. All you need is your imagination– if you can think it, you can automate it!
So, what exactly is automation? IBM defines automation as “the application of technology, programs, robotics, or processes to achieve outcomes with minimal human input”. What this means is that instead of using human labor to do a repetitive task, the task is programmed into a computer and performed automatically so that that human is able to dedicate their time and energy into solving more complex problems. When the human brain is stuck doing the same task, we can be left feeling bored, unfulfilled, and even feeling like a zombie with no mental stimulation. For humanity to progress and solve problems that require significant mental labor, we must give small tasks to computers. Chances are, you are already using a little automation in your life: if you set your alarm once to wake you up every morning automatically instead of setting it every night, that is a form of automation. This concept can be applied to some other tasks I mentioned, like having a program automatically create a meal plan for you to cook during the week, or picking out your clothes a week in advance. All of these programs have one thing in common: making your life easier.
While there are many automated tasks that can be beneficial to anyone, first we will take a look at some automation tools for students. The first tool, Notion AI, is a great resource for students. It has the capability to transcribe notes from lectures or study sessions, so that you are able to give your full attention to understanding content and asking questions. From experience, when I have professors give information heavy lectures, I am often caught up in writing notes and do not always fully grasp the concepts being taught. If I could go back in time to my freshman year, I would definitely start using this tool a lot sooner. The next tool that I have found extremely useful is Quizlet’s AI feature that allows students to generate flashcards by uploading their notes. I love using Quizlet, but sometimes it can take me several hours to build a comprehensive flashcard deck. By auto-generating a flashcard deck, students can reclaim the hours they would have spent building the desk, and be able to use that time to start studying even earlier. Finally, we also have AI tools built into software like Canva, that can be extremely useful for generating graphics and saving time. In the computer science club that I head at my university I allow tour social media officer to generate images to be used to promote our weekly meetings, because it is a repetitive task that can be simplified. I would much rather that officer used his time thinking of new marketing strategies than using the same template every week and spending half an hour updating.
Outside of school, there are many other ways to automate your personal and work related tasks. Like I mentioned above, there are free apps already available for Apple and Android that can create meal plans so that prep time is reduced significantly, and there are also apps that can style outfits for you to wear every day. Apps like these allow you to enjoy the benefits of a great receipt or outfit, without the hassle of actually having to think about putting ingredients or pieces of clothing together in a combination. This can be controversial to some people, however, because there is the argument that using automation tools like this can eventually erode creativity. It all depends on how you use the tools– if you buy the pieces of clothing without AI help, the style is still your own; it can be nice to see a combination from an AI tool that you might never have thought about trying on your own and may even allow you to think of more combinations and use that suggestion as a springboard for many other new ideas. As long as AI is used responsibly, it can be an amazing asset.
All of the tools I have suggested may have prompted you to think of your own tasks that could use automation to make them easier. Luckily, there are several tools at your disposal to craft flows and scripts that are easy to learn and use. Personally, I use software like Python and Power Automate, as well as Apple Shortcuts. Apple Shortcuts is the simplest to use, and can be applicable to many scenarios such as sending texts automatically when you are driving, setting your phone to silent when you go to sleep, the possibilities are nearly endless. Power Automate and Python can be a little more difficult to use, as they require block coding and scripting, respectively. Some processes you can automate with either tool include sorting emails, sending automated email responses, sorting data in excel, and automating social media posts.
Now that you know a little more about automation, think about how you can apply these time saving techniques to your personal life. I bet a few ideas came to mind as you thought about all the repetitive tasks you wish you could eliminate. Not only can automation make for a great way to increase your productivity, automation engineers are exactly what a lot of companies are looking for right now. Reducing the labor used in repetitive tasks saves money, and is a valuable skill to have. The automation projects you create to help yourself can be use on a resume, and may even land you a job one day. As long as it is used responsibly, AI and automation are great tools that will help humanity progress, and save you from bored and mindless repetition.
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