How to double your productivity with automation
Everything you need to know to get started with no-code automation
Feeling bogged down by admin? No-code automation might be your new best friend.
There’s tons of hype about AI (and you know I’m drinking that kool-aid) — but automation may actually be more useful for you right now.
Many of the assistants I’m working with report greater time savings with automation vs gen AI 😯
If you’re a non-techie, it might sound intimidating — but with a little practice and know-how, you can set up automations in minutes that’ll save you hours per week of busywork.
Let’s dive in.
What is no-code automation?
No-code automation cuts out repetitive tasks by connecting the apps you and your exec already use, and moving information seamlessly between them. All done automatically and in the background.
For example, last time you placed an online order, you got an instant order confirmation via email. Then a shipment notification and tracking number when it shipped. Then a delivery confirmation once it arrived.
Each of these emails were driven by automations pushing data between different systems — an e-commerce platform, shipping provider and email tool.
You can do the exact same thing for your workflow.
What you stand to gain
Automating repetitive tasks in the background feels like 🪄 magic
You’ll minimize manual data entry and inefficient app switching
It makes you super efficient, freeing up your time for high-priority work
More time for yourself = better balance 💛
How it works
Every automation involves a trigger and an action or series of actions. Think of it as a formula: when [TRIGGER] happens, then do [ACTION].
Here’s an example:
Dream workflow: never miss actions that come in via email again by instantly moving them from your inbox to your Todoist app as a task with one click
Trigger: I label an email as “Todoist”
Action 1: take body of email and run it through ChatGPT, extract all actions that are for me
Action 2: add each action as a separate task in my Todoist
So within seconds of you labelling that email, your actions appear in your task list ⚡
Top use cases for assistants
We’re bringing in a true powerhouse to share her expert tips on no-code automation—Cortney Hickey, EA to the CEO at Zapier.
Cortney leads a Carve AI session on no-code automation, and is the expert on automation for assistants.
Check out this short video (4 mins) to hear Cortney explain how to get started with automation and some of the pro level automations she uses to 🤯 double her productivity.
5 automations Cortney uses in her workflow
Daily calendar digest: draft an email to your exec of the next day’s schedule pulled from their calendar, put into your preferred format
Distribute meeting notes: set up triggers to auto-file and share links to meeting recordings or AI-generated meeting summaries
Organize virtual files: keep files in order with automated sorting and storage for any doc that hits your inbox
Email and message reminders: set up auto-reminders to never miss an important message
SMS meeting reminders: set up text message alerts to your exec 5 minutes before critical meetings
Our 3 favorite automation tools
Before you sign up for a tool, understand there are risks with using any automation tool so it’s important to get permission from your IT or infosec team.
You may be surprised to learn parts of your business already have access to one of these tools — they’re common in Sales, Marketing and Ops especially.
Here are our favorite no-code automation tools:
Zapier: the gold standard, currently connects with 7,000+ apps (and counting)
Microsoft Power Automate: ideal for automating within the Microsoft ecosystem like Outlook, Teams, and SharePoint — but we’ll be honest, it’s not very user-friendly
Make: a really user-friendly alternative to Zapier, only downside is it connects to a smaller number of apps
Let’s get started 🚀
We won’t lie — no-code automation can feel intimidating and time-consuming to set up. The hardest part is actually figuring out which tasks to automate.
Good news: you can learn directly from Cortney and get hands-on support and inspo to set up your own automations in the upcoming Carve AI cohort. We’re kicking off next Tuesday 8th. Join us!
Interested but can’t get it company-funded? Get in touch. We offer a self-funding discount and installment plan to make Carve AI accessible to all.
Have a great week ahead,
Fiona