This past week has set me up with some easy solutions for taking care of my email and a calendar entry for cash back categories. When I began to move on to more technological solutions, things got complicated fast.
Progress and Obstacles
There isn’t much to say about what I’ve gotten through so far. I’ve taken care of the easy things so far, email and a simple calendar.
Finally tackling the mound of email I let build up over a few weeks is always a relief. Using that pile to create rules to delete or archive emails automatically will make the process near instant in the future. There are still items I want to read, review, and reply to, but most emails that I get are things I don’t need or can find on demand otherwise.
The simplest, but not necessarily easiest, process to pursue for email was to unsubscribe from those I no longer need. There are a number of newsletters I’ve signed up for over time, only a few of which I regularly check. This I believe is the biggest takeaway so far, elimination can beat automation.
After accomplishing the simple items on my list, I wanted to shift to some home automation options. In looking for a smart plug to remotely toggle a lamp in my room, The options quickly became a lot to learn. I found myself perusing reviews and subreddits trying to find something simple but also isn’t total junk. When I thought I came to an answer, I found myself down a discussion that saw security flaws in the plugs. While there are options to secure them, it sounded like just as much work to begin a more complex process. For the time being, I don’t expect much for technological automation over the next few weeks.
Next Steps
I plan to continue researching options for getting that lamp automated, but it’s taking a backseat to some other options for now.
One area where many things are already automated are my finances. I have most everything on autopay, direct deposit, etc. However, there are a few areas I still pay manually, and I am looking for an option to automate a monthly payment. I think I have a solution in the service Zelle, already offered through my back, but I just haven’t taken the time to confirm it will do what I want. This will definitely be a focus for next week.
When I prepare games for DnD, I use a template from SlyFlourish for the lazy dungeon master system. This template in itself saves me a lot of time being able to plan just a few key elements built from a simple template. However, I’ve been thinking about introducing additional methods for handling random encounters and rewards, some of the less interesting parts of planning in my opinion. There are some manual random tables I use to minimize the thought process, but I feel there are still opportunities to smooth the overall planning process out.
A place I’d like to explore more is using code to speed the process up. Recently, I got my first glance at Google Scripts, JavaScript platform that allows the development and execution of scripts. So far, all I’ve used the platform for is automatically archiving emails, something not possible through filters. What I like about focusing on programs over hardware, is that it’s a lot easier for me to understand what lines of code will do as compared to the wide variety of automation products out there.
I’m happy to continue eliminating or iterating on the numerous tasks in my day. Finding systems, technology, and programs to minimize mental effort can forever be a benefit.
Trying Out Before Buying In 