15 Aytekin Tank Quotes from Automate Your Busywork To Help You Reclaim Your Time

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Excerpt: So much of our time is lost each day to silly, tedious, annoying busywork. Our quotes from Automate Your Busywork will show you a better way.

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Introduction: The Expert Line Cutter

The Urgent is an expert line-cutter.

Each day, as The Important graciously lines itself up to be prioritized, The Urgent cuts right in front and boots it to the back of the line.

It does this over and over again, day-in and day-out.

Don’t allow this type of behavior in your house.

For what you have to realize about The Important is that it’s patient—it thinks there will always be time. It assumes that if The Urgent needs to go through all of that trouble to plot, plan, fuss, and meander its way to the front of the line, it might as well get the priority.

But, the reality is, there won’t always be time. And The Urgent will always think it’s more important than The Important. That’s its nature.

As the authority of your life, it’s your responsibility to recognize this and put clear boundaries up around prioritization.

Sometimes an urgent cut in line may be justified. But, there should rarely ever be a day when you don’t—in some way, shape, or form—work on what’s important.

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Automate Your Busywork is a practical book that shows you how you can utilize the power of automation to reprioritize The Important [Tasks] in your life and keep the pesky line-cutter tasks (The Urgent) in check.

By embracing the powerful and increasingly easy-to-use technologies in our modern world, we can reclaim huge chunks of time that were once devoted to tedious, monotonous, repetitive tasks and do more of the creative, skillful, important tasks that add the most value to our work / workplaces.

The idea isn’t to create automations that eliminate jobs—it’s to create automations that save time so that we can do more of the work that matters inside our jobs.

Below, you will find some of our favorite quotes from Automate Your Busywork that further illustrate this timesaving idea. And if saving time so you can save your brain for more of the big stuff sounds good to you, I recommend you pick up a copy of Aytekin Tank’s book (linked at the end).

Not only will you get a more complete picture, but you’ll get access to tons of automation ideas (presented in a future-proof way) that you probably didn’t even know existed or were possible.

And without further ado… let’s dive in.

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The List: 15 Aytekin Tank Quotes from Automate Your Busywork

“There’s a poetic beauty in imagining that all the whispered conversations, cups of coffee, and daily minutiae add up to create a rich and textured story. Then there’s the reality of modern life: emails, chat notifications, system backups, and taxes. Our digital world has empowered us to accomplish so much, yet, many of us are proportionately beholden to electronic tools and tedious processes. My goal [is] to loosen their grip, to help you find more space and freedom.”

Aytekin Tank, Automate Your Busywork (Page 137)

“Your productivity is not the problem. Many of us have absorbed the message of productivity culture that says success requires a superhuman work ethic. When exhaustion and overwork are normalized, it’s easy to drive yourself into the ground and think it’s your fault you haven’t yet created the optimal morning routine or applied enough time hacks to tame your to-do list. But your productivity is not the problem; the problem is thinking you need to personally do every iota of work that lands on your plate.”

Aytekin Tank, Automate Your Busywork (Page 5)

“It will feel great to check off each item [of your to-do list], they say. When you reach the end, you’ll be free, they say. But the truth is there is no end.”

Aytekin Tank, Automate Your Busywork (Page 17)

“Of course, trimming ones’ to-do list reduces stress. But for some the idea of automation adds stress, since many people worry that humans will be replaced by an army of robots. But automation isn’t necessarily about replacing humans—it’s about handing off mindless, time-consuming tasks so that we can focus on the work machines can’t do.”

Aytekin Tank, Automate Your Busywork (Page 10)

“Before I could even begin to eliminate my busywork, I had to set boundaries—which was hard. I turned off notifications when I left work and kept them off at home. I had to learn how to consciously switch my mind away from work. But over time it got easier. I didn’t cringe every time I said ‘no’ or ‘tomorrow, not today.’ These might not sound like big steps, but when you’re in reaction mode, doing anything with intention can feel revolutionary. I also realized that boundaries prioritize your attention. Instead of responding to an email the moment it hit my inbox, I chose to continue the critical work I was currently engaged in.”

Aytekin Tank, Automate Your Busywork (Page 16)

“We’ve already seen occupations like typesetting, switchboard operation, data entry, travel planning, and even retail sales dwindle or become obsolete, and technology will continue to replace manual work with machines. We need equitable retraining solutions for people who lose their livelihoods, but otherwise, this is a good change. The vast majority of people have more to offer than pressing buttons or sorting widgets. We need their contributions.”

Aytekin Tank, Automate Your Busywork (Page 158)

“No one will eliminate busywork for you. It’s your responsibility to create space in your work(day), and automation can make it happen.”

Aytekin Tank, Automate Your Busywork (Page 29)

“Repetition is a neon sign that points to busywork. Manually composing and sending a variation of the same email every quarter is not the best use of your skills. Of course, this doesn’t apply to recurring work that requires creativity or strategy, like writing a monthly newsletter for your top clients.”

Aytekin Tank, Automate Your Busywork (Page 42)

“Turning repetitive tasks into automated digital processes frees your brain for the essential, creative work. And you don’t need to hire a team or spend money on expensive new products. Automation is accessible to anyone who wants to take advantage of it. With a little effort, anyone can automate.”

Aytekin Tank, Automate Your Busywork (Page 1)

“Creativity is an utterly human skill that can’t be automated. But technology can sweep away some of the more tedious parts of the process, like research or data transfer or transcription. It can give you space to do the work that only you can do.”

Aytekin Tank, Automate Your Busywork (Page 158)

“Climate change, human rights issues, political polarization, loneliness, and isolation. These are just a few of the challenges we need to solve together—and it will take smart, creative, empathetic people to find workable solutions. The less time you spend on mundane tasks like email, the more time you have to unleash your imagination.”

Aytekin Tank, Automate Your Busywork (Page 158)

“If I lived only for the major, newsworthy milestones, I’d be miserable. Instead, I focused on small wins and created an alternative way to measure success and happiness: know what you’re good at and what you like doing, and spend as much of your workday doing exactly that.”

Aytekin Tank, Automate Your Busywork (Page 168)

“You can’t necessarily automate your happiness. But you can use automation to give you more time to follow your bliss—whatever that looks like for you.”

Aytekin Tank, Automate Your Busywork (Page 168)

“Sometimes I’m afraid to write. While I love to tell stories, I occasionally freeze when I face a blank page. And I know I’m not alone. From the memoirs of famous artists and authors to discussion boards populated by blocked writers, it’s clear that, at one point or another, almost everyone struggles to overcome the sneaky creative fear author Steven Pressfield refers to as ‘resistance.’ Over the years, I’ve learned that (1) you just have to take a deep breath and get started, and (2) everything is easier once you have a first draft—no matter how bumpy it may be.”

Aytekin Tank, Automate Your Busywork (Page 103)

“Whenever I get frustrated or feel things are moving too slowly, I think about Barcelona’s ‘unfinished masterpiece,’ the Sagrada Familia church, which was designed by Antoni Gaudí. Construction began in 1882, but only a quarter of the work had been completed when Gaudí died in 1926. Nearly a century later, more than 24 architects and 200 workers are laboring diligently to complete the basilica by 2026. Assuming the Sagrada Familia team meets its deadline, that’s 144 years of persistence.”

Aytekin Tank, Automate Your Busywork (Page 133)

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If you enjoyed these quotes from Automate Your Busywork, you should check out Aytekin Tank’s book in full. It comes warmly recommended: