My Failed Attempts at Automation (and What Finally Stuck)

My Failed Attempts at Automation (and What Finally Stuck)

There are few things more frustrating than spending hours setting up a "time-saving" automation, only to find it creates more work. I’ve been there, more times than I’d like to admit.

I remember one instance where I tried to automate my social media posting. I spent an entire weekend wrestling with a complex tool, trying to get it to perfectly schedule and cross-post everything.

When it finally went live, it messed up all my formatting and posted at weird times. I ended up spending more time fixing its errors than I would have spent posting manually.

It felt like a huge step backward.

This experience, and others like it, made me realize I was approaching automation the wrong way. I was chasing the "perfect" automated system instead of focusing on what actually mattered: saving real time and reducing real friction.

That’s why I developed two simple principles that have completely changed how I think about automation:

1. Friction Point Identification: What are the repetitive, annoying tasks that consistently slow you down or cause you to procrastinate?

These are your prime candidates for automation. Don't automate something just because you can; automate it because it's a genuine pain.

2. Minimum Viable Automation (MVA): Just like with product development, start with the simplest possible solution that solves the identified friction point.

Don't try to build a Rube Goldberg machine. Aim for the most straightforward, reliable automation that delivers immediate value.

Let me give you a couple of examples of how I apply this.

The "Before" Scenario: I used to manually copy and paste customer feedback from my email inbox into a Google Sheet. This was tedious and prone to errors. I thought about building a complex Zapier workflow to parse emails, extract data, and update the sheet.

The "After" Scenario (MVA): I realized the friction point was simply getting the feedback into the sheet. So, I created a simple Google Form that I could quickly fill out whenever I received feedback.

Then, I set up a basic Zapier integration to automatically add new form submissions to my Google Sheet. It took about 15 minutes to set up and saves me at least an hour a week.

Another example: I was manually checking my website uptime for each of my products every morning. This was a habit, but not a productive one.

The "Before" Scenario: Daily manual checks.

The "After" Scenario (MVA): I signed up for a free tier of a website monitoring service. Now, if any of my sites go down, I get an instant alert.

I don't have to think about it, and I only act if there's a problem. It’s a tiny automation, but it gives me peace of mind and eliminates a pointless daily task.

So, how can you find your own effective automations?

• Track your time for a day: Seriously, just jot down what you're doing. You'll quickly see where the repetitive, low-value tasks are.
• Ask yourself: "Does this need to be done by me, every time?" If the answer is no, it's a potential automation candidate.
• Start ridiculously simple: Can you use a browser extension? A simple script?

A basic Zapier/Make integration? Don't overcomplicate it.

The goal isn't to become a robot or eliminate all human interaction. It's about strategically removing the small, annoying tasks that drain your energy and steal your focus. By focusing on genuine friction points and implementing the simplest possible solution, you can reclaim a surprising amount of time and mental energy.

What are your biggest automation wins (or failures)? I'd love to hear about them in the comments.