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.
By: Aytekin Tank
Book Overview: Do Less, Achieve More, and Save Your Brain for the Big Stuff. In this book, entrepreneur, founder, and CEO of Jotform—Aytekin Tank delivers a can’t-miss blueprint to help you make the most of your most precious asset: time. You’ll explore what’s possible when you offload repetitive tasks, why automation has democratized innovation, and how you can use cheap―or even completely free―no-code automation tools to transform your ability to focus on what truly matters in your business and life.
Post(s) Inspired by this Book:
“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)
“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)
“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)
“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)
“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)
“Trying to force a wild human brain into precise, professional boxes is one of the reasons we’re so overwhelmed in the first place.”
Aytekin Tank, Automate Your Busywork (Page 137)
“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)
“Getting a bad haircut is usually worse than missing an appointment with your stylist. A large portion of a tasteless dish is rarely better than a smaller portion of a delicious meal. There are many times in life when the outcome is more important than the output. In the same vein, your workflow shouldn’t just work; the system should create value for you and everyone else involved. Quality beats quantity.”
Aytekin Tank, Automate Your Busywork (Page 113)
“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)
“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)
“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)
“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)
“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)
“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)
“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)
“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)
