/blog-posts/2010-03-27-automation.org

#+TITLE: Automation

March 27th, 2010 -
[[http://sachachua.com/blog/p/7065][http://sachachua.com/blog/p/7065]]

A repetitive task is an excuse to learn more about automation tools. My
text automation tool of choice is
[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emacs][Emacs]], a ridiculously
programmable text editor. When it comes to numbers, I can do a lot with
equations, pivot tables / data pilot, and judicious use of macros. For
general automation on Windows, there's
[[http://autohotkey.com][AutoHotkey]].

My threshold for automation is lower than most people's. When faced with
a repetitive task that will take me an afternoon to do, I'll spend maybe
half an hour understanding the task, an hour figuring out how to do it
using the tools, and another half hour to an hour completing it with
automation's help. I spend the extra time learning more about the
automation tools or sharing what I've done.

Even if the time savings are probably not going to be significant, if
the task is sufficiently repetitive, I'll go for the intellectual thrill
of automating it. Bonus: if I have to do the task again (which
occasionally happens), I have my process all ready to go.

What would it take for people to learn how to automate more things? How
do I do it? How did I pick up this habit?

Part of it is knowing the capabilities of a tool. I know that I can
simulate mouse clicks and keypresses, so when I catch myself repeating
certain motions, I think about how I can automate that.

Part of it is being able to abstract the steps in a procedure. I can
figure out what can be easily automated and what needs manual
intervention. If I can automate 80% of something, that's usually enough.

Part of it is being able to program and not being afraid of geeky
interfaces.

Part of it is asking if the time-intensive parts of the procedure are
really necessary. (Sometimes they're not.)

I like automation. I
[[http://sachachua.com/wp/2008/12/why-automation-matters-to-me/][wish
more people were comfortable doing it]].

Want to get started? The best way is probably to pick a tool depending
on what you spend most of your time doing, learning lots about your
tool, and doing little experiments. For Emacs, it might be learning how
to use keyboard macros, then using Lisp. For Excel, learn different
functions (I use CONCATENATE and IF a lot). For AutoHotkey, try using it
for abbreviations, then expand.

Have fun and save time!