Do you ever feel like your workday is a never-ending cycle of emails, meetings, and repetitive tasks? Those seemingly minor activities can steal precious time you could be spending on impactful work. A variety of experts weighed in and suggested ingenious hacks to streamline your routine tasks, freeing up your schedule and boosting your overall productivity.
Try automation for routine tasks
Workflow automation software is one game changer we’ve implemented at Mack Industrial to streamline those not-so-fun but totally necessary routine tasks. It’s like having an invisible helper who’s always on the ball, making sure all the repetitive tasks are taken care of without a hitch.
This software allows us to automate invoicing, customer follow-ups, and maintenance tracking. It’s pretty much like setting up a series of dominoes; knock the first one over, and everything else follows smoothly. We use a platform that integrates with our existing CRM, so everything’s connected and flowing. The impact? Well, it’s major. Our team spends less time on mundane tasks and more time focusing on big-picture strategies and customer satisfaction. It’s all about working smarter, not harder.
We’ve noticed quicker turnaround times, fewer errors (because, hey, even the best of us slip up sometimes), and an overall happier workplace. People feel more fulfilled when they can engage in meaningful work, and automating the routine stuff has allowed just that. Plus, a happy team leads to happy customers. It’s been a win-win for us.
Steve Mackey, managing member, Mack Industrial
Centralize social media planning
One tool that has helped us streamline our social media planning is Smartsheet. Having multiple stakeholders involved in content creation for different workstreams makes it difficult to align on the overall content strategy.
Smartsheet has enabled us to have one central calendar that gives teams the ability to see which social posts are being created, who is creating them, and how they fit into the timing. This centralization has reduced duplication, increased communication, and enhanced cross-team collaboration. Now, teams don’t have to jump on multiple calls or email back and forth to see what’s coming down the pipeline. Working together has never been easier!
Stephanie Green, social strategist, Intel Corporation
Implement marketing automation software
We’ve implemented marketing automation software in response to the question about streamlining routine tasks. These tools have significantly impacted our team’s productivity, especially on routine tasks like email newsletter management.
Previously, sending out newsletters involved manually creating, scheduling, and tracking individual campaigns. Marketing automation allows us to preschedule email blasts, personalize content based on customer data, and automatically track key metrics like open and click-through rates.
This automation liberates valuable time previously spent on repetitive tasks. Furthermore, the software delivers real-time insights into campaign performance, empowering us to swiftly identify successful strategies and optimize future campaigns. In summary, marketing automation streamlines routine tasks and equips us with data-driven insights to continually enhance our email marketing efforts.
Mia Naumoska, CMO, Internxt
Create a consistent and simple routine
Simplicity is the secret of an effective routine. Within my team, every repetitive task followed the same method: set a clear goal, invest in preparation, allocate time for execution, and “replay.” This final step was crucial.
By asking, “What’s working and what isn’t?” we cut inefficiencies, focusing our time and energy on activities that bring results rather than unnecessary work.
Kate Sotsenko, founder, productivity and leadership coach, TheGoodBusy.com
Adopt a customer support platform
If you aren’t using a platform like Zendesk, I’d highly recommend adopting one to automate a load of customer support tasks. We found that when just using Gmail, it was taking us too long to help people, but switching to a platform helped us monitor questions and create macros for the common ones.
It also helped us create articles for our support center, so we receive fewer questions in the first place and have more time to dedicate to the complicated or rarer ones.
David Ciccarelli, CEO, Lake
Automate deep analysis with macros
Implementing tools and methods to automate repetitive work enables my team to focus their talents on more strategic initiatives. One technique I’ve instituted is using macros in Excel to automate data manipulation and analysis.
For example, we have a monthly sales report that requires consolidating data from multiple sources, cleaning the data, and creating pivot tables. I created a macro to handle these repetitive steps with the click of a button, reducing the time spent on this report from four hours to 30 minutes. Now my team can use the hours saved to conduct a deeper analysis of sales trends and opportunities.
Automating the busy work has increased productivity and provided time for more impactful work that moves the business forward. This shift from low-value repetitive tasks to high-value strategic work has improved team engagement as well as outcomes. Streamlining routines through automation allows me to leverage my team’s specialized expertise while eliminating drudgery.
Peter Wuensch, V.P. Industrial, Knape Associates
Add personal assistant software
As a small business owner, there are always thousands of things on my plate. Balancing limited resources with endless tasks can be challenging. I recently adopted Copilot for Microsoft 365 as a personal assistant.
It helps me organize my emails, recap team meetings, manage revenue forecasts, and track invoices. This automation enhances team collaboration and enables me to focus on driving innovation and growth for my business.
Helen Yu, CEO, Tigon Advisory Corp
Convey essential information through video messaging
Loom, a video messaging platform, has done wonders for my team. By utilizing Loom, we have been able to automate various communication and training processes, particularly when it comes to sharing updates or instructions with team members.
Instead of typing out lengthy emails or scheduling time-consuming meetings, I record quick video messages using Loom to convey information effectively and efficiently. For example, instead of sending out written instructions for a new project, I record a brief Loom video outlining the project goals, requirements, and expectations. This not only saves time but also ensures clarity and consistency in communication, as team members can visually see and hear the information being presented.
The impact of implementing Loom for routine tasks has been profound on my team’s productivity. By automating communication and training processes, we have been able to free up valuable time that can be redirected toward more strategic and high-value activities.
Team members appreciate the convenience and accessibility of Loom videos, as they can consume information at their own pace and refer back to it as needed. Plus, the visual nature of video messaging fosters better engagement and understanding compared to traditional written communication methods.
Michael Hurwitz, CEO and cofounder, Careers in Government
Utilize AI across departments
AI has been a game changer for us with routine tasks. We utilize AI in several areas, the largest of which is marketing. I write an email weekly to my subscribers. My Marketing Coordinator takes that email and throws it into AI to convert it to a blog post and generate five social media captions.
It doesn’t take away from her value—it allows her to focus on other items. We sometimes use AI to convert that blog post into a podcast script. We place our podcast transcripts into AI to generate show notes and create an episode title for us.
On the financial side, we copy our dashboard data from QuickBooks and put it into AI to generate financial takeaways each month. It has brought a ton of value to our business without putting a single person out of work. A true gift.
Kerri Roberts, founder and CEO, Salt & Light Advisors
Leverage project management tools
Repetitive tasks like client onboarding and project updates were constant time drains for our UI/UX design agency. To free up our designers for core creative work, we implemented Notion as our central project management tool.
Notion excels at streamlining workflows with automation features. We’ve automated repetitive tasks, allowing designers to focus on their expertise: crafting exceptional user experiences and interacting with clients. Additionally, Notion is a one-stop shop for all project communication, files, and tasks. This eliminates scattered documents and endless email threads, saving time searching for information and keeping everyone on the same page.
By automating these tasks, we’ve achieved a faster design iteration cycle. With less time spent on repetitive actions, our designers can focus on what truly matters—delivering exceptional design solutions for our clients. This approach boosts efficiency and fosters a more focused and collaborative team environment.
Juan Carlos Munoz, cofounder, CC Creative Design