The Lazy Person's Guide to Being More Productive: What to Automate First?
Let’s be honest. When most of us hear the word "automation," we picture complex code, expensive software, or huge corporations trying to replace humans with robots.
But what if I told you that automation is actually the best friend of the "lazy" person? And I a proudly say I m “Lazy”
By "lazy," I don't mean slothful. I mean efficient. I mean someone who realizes that spending two hours a day copy-pasting information from an email into a spreadsheet is a waste of human potential. Many beginners never start automating because they simply don't realize what is possible. They have been doing a task manually for so long that they think it's the only way to do it.
If you want to work smarter, not harder, the first step isn't learning new technology—it's changing your mindset to spot the "digital busywork" hidden in your day.
Here is the beginner’s guide to figuring out exactly what to automate first.
The Mental Shift: Stop Acting Like a Robot
The biggest barrier to automation isn't technical skill; it's awareness.
We get so used to our daily grind that we don't notice when we are acting like bots. If a task requires zero creativity, zero complex decision-making, and is just moving data from Point A to Point B, a computer should be doing it, not you.
Humans are great at strategy, empathy, and creative problem-solving. We are terrible at repetitive data entry without making mistakes.
The Golden Rule of Automation: The 3-R Checklist
How do you know if a task is ripe for automation? Before you try to automate something complicated, look for tasks that fit the 3-R Rule.
If a task hits all three of these criteria, it is the perfect candidate for your first automation.
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Repetitive Do you do this task over and over again? • Yes: You do it daily, weekly, or every time a specific event happens (like getting a new lead). • No: You only do it once or twice a year. (If so, skip it—it's not worth the setup time).
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Rules-Based Does the task follow a strict, logical path without needing "human intuition"? • Yes: It follows "If This happens, Then do That" logic. (e.g., "IF an email arrives with the subject 'Invoice', THEN save the attachment to Dropbox.") • No: It requires a judgement call, a gut feeling, or complex analysis that changes every time.
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Regular Data Is the information always in the same format? • Yes: The data comes from a standardized web form, a specific cell in a spreadsheet, or a system notification. • No: People send you information in messy emails where you have to hunt for the details. (Automation hates messy data!)
Ideally, Where Should I Start?
You might be thinking, "Okay, I get the theory, but what does this actually look like?" Here are three common examples of "invisible" tasks that beginners often don't realize they can automate:
• The "Email Attachment Hunter": Do you receive invoices or reports via email and manually download them to save in a specific folder on your computer or Google Drive? Automate it. You can set up a workflow that automatically strips attachments from specific emails and files them away for you.
• The "Social Media Juggler": Do you post a photo on Instagram, then open Twitter to post the same link, then open LinkedIn to post it again? Automate it. You can set it up once so that posting on platform A automatically triggers posts on platforms B and C.
• The "Form-to-Spreadsheet Copier": Someone fills out a contact form on your website. You get an email notification. You open the email, copy the name and email address, open Excel, and paste it in. Automate it. A simple workflow can instantly turn that form submission into a new row in your spreadsheet without you ever touching it.
Your First Step Don't try to automate your entire life overnight. Start small. Look at your day tomorrow and try to spot one single task that fits the 3-R Rule. Even if it only saves you 5 minutes a day, that adds up to roughly 20 hours a year saved. Stop doing the robot's work. Be lazy, be productive, and let automation handle the boring stuff.
CA Himanshu Majithiya