Automation Adds Tremendous Value By Unlocking Time.

Automation allows us to achieve much more in life.

Automation probably doesn’t have a good reputation as Humans’ friend. The dog ranks higher. Some say that the diamond sits on the apex. Even if automation might be our friend, it seems to be one we have to abandon quickly before we get throttled by our colleagues or friends.

I don’t understand why this is a pervasive, general attitude. I guess it has to do with the Employment Market.

“More and more jobs are being automated away.”

That’s what I hear.

However, isn’t that very 1-sided?

I mean, Entrepreneurs and Businesses are there to achieve targets that are bigger and better than the previous years, with an eye on delivering great service and products to customers.

Failing to do that sets themselves on a path of self-destruction. And getting bigger and better really means that they need all the help and power that they need, not one or the other. Definitely not one at the expense of the other as well.

This is what I believe in.

I believe that people aren’t released by their companies because of automation. It is more likely to be a result of office politics.

First off — I have to declare one thing.

I love automation.

Yes, the journey to get to full or even partial automation is a painfully arduous one. Everyone who got selected by their direct supervisors for Digital Transformation involvement shudders with fear. We might even spot rivers of perspiration down their cheeks.

It is an acumen, an Oracle, an omen, that many late nights are awaiting them. So, pretty naturally, people hate them. They shun away from such responsibilities from afar, like the natural reflex of a superstitious old lady when the silhouette of a black cat is detected streets away.

But, look. Social elements aside.

Ask any husbands about their opinions of the Robo-vacuum. They would say it is a God-send. Why? Because they can finally walk the dog in peace.

Then replace “walk the dog” with any activities they enjoy doing into the sentence above. They embrace it wholeheartedly. All it takes is a push of the button on their phones and the robots take over. I imagine, with glee. The husbands can go walk the dog and pick dog poo.

Alright, make it dogs instead of a dog.

And the work is done after the walk. The robots would happily park themselves into a docking station. Charging themselves back to 100% battery life too! So, the husband is happy, the dog is happy (maybe dogs), the spouse is happy.

We have at least performed 2 tasks in parallel, I would say keeping the spouse happy would be a legit 3rd. The same could be expressed at work. If we want to do more, we have to recognize one thing.

Our constraints are time and single-mindedness.

First — We only have 24 hours a day.

Even if we can be super productive at 19 hours a day for the entire spread of waking hours and push the envelope by sleeping less — We max out at 19. This is the limit. For some, 16 hours is their effort ceiling.

Not forgetting we have to release our bowels, eat, walk the dog, do the dishes, attend to emergencies, fighting fires at home and at work, fall sick, visit the dentist, call mum, listening to customer complaints when it isn’t full moon today.

Second — The permutations possible of derailing our focus are infinite. Most of them just happen. Once our time is diverted away from our work, both attention and time are diverted.

With automation, our tasks can be performed in a metronomic fashion without our presence.

It is like clockwork. Let me share an example at this point.

Writing stories on Medium ISN’T JUST ABOUT the creative process of inspiration, ideation, structuring the write and polishing it repetitively using the edit comb.

I wish it is. It just isn’t. We have to think about the hashtags, the publication spaces, the distribution, and engagement. I will focus on distribution within the context of automation.

Many of us want our stories to see the light of the day. Actually, many of us want our stories to be consumed by many. It brings us tremendous joy.

In order to get the highest possible readership for our stories, we have to distribute where the people are.

Enter Social Media.

Distribution across various social media platforms takes time and consumes energy. I used to get into the individual MEDIUM stories and hit on the social media icons for distribution.

One by one. While it is a one-click process and the pre-draft text is pre-populated (for Tweets) — There is a problem. It’s 1-to-1. At any one point in time, I can only tweet 1 post containing 1 story. What happens when there are hundreds of stories like the esteemed writers?

Click 100 times?

100 times for tweets, 100 times for Facebook posts and 100 times for Linkedin?

That is not feasible. I will have to give up my day job and stop running my ventures. I value my time. Thus, automation is necessary.

Through the use of a social media manager application, I get to schedule posts and tweets containing linked to my stories in Medium for the entire week in 1 sitting. The time that is returned to me can be deployed to other tasks outside of distribution.

And this is what it really means.

• It means I have more time to research topics to write.
• It means I gave more time to read stories from other writers.
• It means I have more time at my disposal to learn how to write better.

And all that adds up and feeds into a virtual cycle of growth and infinite possibility.

So why isn’t automation our friend? Why isn’t automation our best friend beyond dogs, puppies, and diamonds?

It is.

In my humble opinion.

Have a brilliant day ahead,

Aldric

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About the Author:

As a Consultant by training, I believe in making the complex simple.

Because simplicity adds value.

Simplicity helps us gain clarity, and clarity helps us to grow.

And if we are not growing, then what’s the point of anything else?

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