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Week 6: Automate your workflow

Led by Cortney Hickey, EA to the Founder/CEO at Zapier

Tuesday, November 18 at 9am PT | 12pm ET | 5pm UK

Overview

In this session, we learned how to use no code automation tools like Zapier, Make and MS Power Automate to automate your workflow and take your productivity to new heights.

Quick Links
📺
Session recording
🌟 Key points
💻 Session slides
📚 Further resources

Key points


Basic definition of no code automation = having a process done automatically for you, without knowing how to code

  • This is fantastic as it means you can set repetitive tasks to run in the background, and minimise data entry and app switching — maximizing your efficiency

  • Cortney gave an overview of how to use Zapier to automate pushing data between different work tools you’re using

  • A great hack: ChatGPT is well trained on how Zapier works, so you can simply tell it which work tools you use (e.g. Slack, Notion, Gmail), and ask what tasks you could automate. It’s a quick and easy way to generate tailored Zapier ideas without needing to know where to start.

  • Cortney shared some common initial blockers with EAs she’s trained and worked with:

    • Time investment concerns

    • Uncertainty about where to begin

    • Fear of automations "going off the rails"

Recommended first steps

  • Start with email/message triage automation

  • Focus on repetitive tasks that follow "when X happens, do Y" pattern

  • Use AI-powered "What would you like to automate?" box for guidance

  • Progress over perfection approach - start basic, enhance over time

Practical use cases for EAs

  • Calendar & meetings

    • Auto-create weekly/recurring meeting docs

    • Interview prep packs from ATS data

    • Meeting recap summaries from note tools

    • Auto-share Zoom recordings + AI summary

  • Email & inbox

    • CEO inbox triage + smart labels

    • Customer / candidate routing from inbox

    • Draft replies for hiring + support

  • Exec to-dos & planning

    • Slack “saved” messages → structured tasks

    • Weekly planning agent (calendar + email + Slack)

  • Culture & team comms

    • New-hire welcome messages from HR system

    • Emoji-triggered “wins” log + Friday update

  • For more inspo and demos, see Cortney’s further resources slides

Session slides


Further resources