Software Automation Guide

Automate the repetitive digital tasks that eat up your time — no coding required.

Stop Doing Things Your Phone Can Do for You

How much time do you spend on tasks that feel like they should be automatic? Copying data from an email into a spreadsheet. Manually moving files to the right folder. Sending the same status update every week. Checking three different apps to see your family's schedule.

Software automation tools can handle all of this — and you don't need to write a single line of code. From simple "if this, then that" rules to complex multi-step workflows, there's a tool for every skill level and budget.

We'll help you figure out what to automate, which tool to use, and exactly how to set it up.

What Can Be Automated?

More than you might think. Here are real examples organized by life area:

Email & Communication

  • Auto-sort incoming emails into folders based on sender or subject
  • Get a Slack/text notification when you receive an email from a specific person
  • Automatically save email attachments to Google Drive or Dropbox
  • Send a weekly summary email of your family's upcoming calendar events

Files & Documents

  • Automatically back up phone photos to cloud storage
  • Organize your Downloads folder by file type
  • Convert uploaded files to PDF automatically
  • Sync documents between Google Drive and Dropbox

Calendar & Scheduling

  • Sync events between Google Calendar and Apple Calendar
  • Automatically block focus time when your calendar fills up
  • Get a daily digest of today's events every morning at 7 AM
  • Auto-create tasks from calendar events

Shopping & Finance

  • Get price drop alerts for products you're watching
  • Auto-log purchases from email receipts into a spreadsheet
  • Sync grocery lists between apps

Social Media & Content

  • Auto-save Instagram posts you like to a collection
  • Cross-post between platforms automatically
  • Get notified when specific topics trend on Reddit

Choosing the Right Tool

IFTTT — The Simplest Option

Best for: Complete beginners. Single-step automations like "if it's going to rain, send me a notification."

Price: Free tier with 2 applets. Pro from $3.49/month.

Learning curve: Minimal. You can set up your first automation in under 2 minutes.

Apple Shortcuts — Built Into Your iPhone

Best for: iPhone and Mac users. Automating device actions, quick shortcuts, and location-based triggers.

Price: Free (built into iOS and macOS).

Learning curve: Low to moderate. Basic shortcuts are drag-and-drop. Advanced ones can get complex.

Best for: Users who need to connect multiple apps with multi-step workflows. Largest library of integrations (6,000+ apps).

Price: Free tier with 100 tasks/month. Paid from $19.99/month.

Learning curve: Low. The interface walks you through setup step by step.

Make (formerly Integromat) — The Power User's Choice

Best for: Visual thinkers who want complex, branching workflows. Better value than Zapier for high-volume automations.

Price: Free tier with 1,000 operations/month. Paid from $9/month.

Learning curve: Moderate. The visual builder is powerful but takes a session or two to learn.

n8n — The Self-Hosted Option

Best for: Privacy-conscious users or anyone who wants unlimited automations for free. Requires running your own server.

Price: Free (self-hosted). Cloud option from $20/month.

Learning curve: Moderate to high. Best for users comfortable with basic server management.

For detailed tool recommendations, visit our Resources page.

Your First 5-Minute Automation

Want to experience the power of automation right now? Here's one quick win per platform:

  • IFTTT: Create an applet that sends you a notification at 8 AM if rain is forecasted. Takes 2 minutes.
  • Apple Shortcuts: Set up an automation that enables Do Not Disturb and dims your screen at bedtime. Takes 3 minutes.
  • Zapier: Create a Zap that saves new Gmail attachments to a Google Drive folder. Takes 5 minutes.

New to automation entirely? Visit our Start Here page for a complete beginner's roadmap.

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