Introduction

In today’s busy world, it’s all too easy to get bogged down with repetitive, mundane tasks that sap your time and kill your productivity. Whether it’s sifting through endless emails, manually transferring data between apps, or any number of administrative chores, these routine activities can pile up and prevent you from focusing on meaningful, high-impact work.

Fortunately, there’s a simple yet powerful solution – workflow automation. Zapier is the leading automation tool that seamlessly connects your favorite apps and services to streamline processes and eliminate repetitive busywork. By setting up automated workflows called “Zaps,” you can save countless hours and free up mental bandwidth for the projects that really matter.

In this post, we’ll be exploring 10 game-changing Zapier automations that will skyrocket your productivity. Whether you’re a solopreneur or part of a larger team, these automations will help you work smarter, direct energy into high-value tasks, and take your efficiency to new heights. You’re about to discover how easy it is to leverage Zapier to eliminate distractions and become a productivity powerhouse.

Automate Saving Email Attachments

One of the biggest time wasters is having to dig through your crowded inbox to find important attachments and files. You get an email alerting you to a document you need, but then you lose precious minutes scrolling and searching to download or save it. According to Qflow, email disorganization can critically impact productivity.

With Zapier, you can eliminate this pain point by creating a zap that automatically saves attachments from your email into cloud storage. Connect your email provider like Gmail with a storage service like Google Drive or Dropbox. Set up a trigger so that every time you receive an email with an attachment, Zapier will instantly save it to the designated folder in your drive. As Microsoft notes, automating attachment organization is a huge time-saver.

The benefits are massive. You’ll never have to hunt for files buried in long email threads again. Attachments are seamlessly saved to your cloud drive, organized and accessible. This automation eliminates wasted time and reduces headaches. According to Egnyte, automating repetitive email tasks boosts productivity. Let Zapier retrieve and sort your attachments so you can get back to more important work.

Create tasks in your project management tool from new form submissions

One common issue many businesses face is manual follow up on new form submissions. When a prospect fills out a lead gen form on your website, that contact info doesn’t automatically go anywhere. You have to manually export the submissions, then create follow up tasks in your project management tool like Asana or Trello.

With Zapier, you can eliminate this manual process by connecting your form tool (like Google Forms or Typeform) directly with your project management software. Now, whenever someone fills out your intake form, Zapier can automatically create a new task in Asana or Trello with the relevant details from the submission.

This automation streamlines your entire intake process, making it hands-off. New leads and requests are automatically documented as tasks, so nothing falls through the cracks. You have an organized, automated system to stay on top of new prospects. According to Smartsheet, workflow automation is crucial for efficient project management.

The faster you can follow up on new leads, the higher your conversion rates will be. Automating the busywork with Zapier gives you back time to focus on the high-impact follow up that drives growth.

Auto Post Blog to Social Media

Social media is critical for extending the reach of your blog content. According to research from Social Bee, social media marketing automation can boost content distribution by up to 80%. Rather than manually posting your new articles, you can use Zapier to instantly syndicate each post across your social profiles.

Simply create a Zap that connects your WordPress site to your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social accounts. Each time you publish a new blog post, Zapier will automatically share it on social media for you. This saves you time while maximizing your content’s visibility.

The main benefit of auto-sharing blog posts on social is increased distribution and engagement. Instead of your content only being seen by site visitors, it now gets shown to all of your followers across every social platform. This multiplication effect dramatically amplifies the reach of each piece of content without any extra effort on your part.

According to research from Sprout Social, social media automation tools can improve content reach by 150-200%. Set up this Zapier workflow and watch your blog content reach new audiences across the social web.

Get Slack Notifications for Important Emails

Never miss a critical email again! With Zapier, you can set up custom filters to detect important messages (like those from a key client or containing an urgent keyword) and instantly alert you via Slack. Stay informed and responsive without constantly monitoring your inbox.

According to The Best Automations for Slack Users, you can create Zaps in Zapier to route notifications from various apps directly into Slack channels or conversations. This keeps your team aligned without getting overwhelmed.

For example, you can filter incoming emails in Gmail for ones from VIP contacts or with high priority flags. Then use Zapier to send those emails as notifications to a dedicated Slack channel. Now your team can stay on top of important messages without someone having to manually check emails and forward them.

The benefit is you never miss critical communications but avoid the distraction of being glued to your crowded inbox. Get the key information pushed to you, and regain focus on your more strategic work.

Add New Leads to Your Email Marketing Platform

When a prospect fills out a lead gen form on your website, it’s crucial to follow up with them quickly while their interest is piqued. Research shows that contacting a lead within 5 minutes makes you 100x more likely to qualify that lead compared to waiting 30 minutes or more.

That’s why it’s so important to automate adding new leads into your email marketing platform. With Zapier, you can instantly add contact info from your lead gen forms into tools like Mailchimp or ConvertKit.

This automation allows you to immediately begin nurturing leads with targeted email campaigns and content. Rather than manually exporting and uploading lead data, Zapier handles it seamlessly behind the scenes.

The faster you can engage and nurture leads, the higher your conversion rates will climb. Automating this process with Zapier helps you scale your lead follow-up and boost conversions.

To learn more, check out this guide on automating email workflows with HubSpot.

6. Sync Calendar Events to Project Management

Stay on top of important deadlines and due dates by automatically syncing calendar events to your project management system. Create a Zap that connects your calendar (Google, Office 365, etc.) to a tool like Asana, Trello or Jira. Whenever you schedule an event or meeting related to a project, Zapier can add it as a task and due date in your PM system. This ensures key dates are accounted for in your project plans and don’t slip through the cracks. You’ll never miss an important deadline again!

For example, you could have a recurring calendar event to follow up with a client scheduled every 2 weeks. With a Zapier automation, this calendar event would automatically create a “Client Follow Up” task in Asana every other week to prompt you to connect. Stay proactive and organized with automated calendar syncing.

Automatically Track Time with Toggl

Staying on top of billable hours is a constant challenge. But with Zapier, you can easily connect your calendar to time tracking software like Toggl to log hours automatically. Just set up a zap that detects calendar events from Google Calendar, Outlook, or iCal and adds them as time entries in Toggl. You’ll eliminate manual time tracking and always have accurate records for client billing.

This automation is a game-changer for consultants, agencies, lawyers, and anyone else who bills by the hour. Stop wasting time on manual time tracking and let Zapier automate it for you. You’ll gain back hours each week to focus on more strategic initiatives.

Automate Expense Reporting with Receipt Tracking

No one enjoys manually filling out expense reports. With Zapier, you can eliminate this headache by automatically tracking receipts and generating expense reports. Simply connect your receipt tracking app (like Expensify) to your accounting software (like QuickBooks). Whenever you add a receipt, Zapier will log the expense and categorize it. At the end of the month, your expense report will be ready to submit with no data entry required! This automation saves massive time while ensuring expenses are properly tracked for reimbursement or tax purposes. According to surveys, automated expense reporting increases employee satisfaction by over 80%. It’s a win-win for your business and your team!

9. Automatically Track Time in Your Calendar

As a busy professional or entrepreneur, keeping track of how you spend your time can be a challenge. Zapier integrates beautifully with time tracking apps like Toggl, Harvest, and TSheets to effortlessly log your work hours.

Set up a zap that starts a timer in your time tracking tool whenever you create or assign a task in Asana, Trello, or Jira. The timer runs in the background as you work, precisely tracking time against projects and tasks. When the task is marked complete, the timer automatically stops and adds the tracked time to your timesheet app.

You’ll gain clear visibility into where your time goes each day and week, helping you identify areas for improvement. No more guessing how long tasks take or scrambling to recreate your activities for client billing. Automated time tracking with Zapier takes the guesswork out of monitoring your work hours.

To learn more about leveraging Zapier to boost your productivity and streamline your business, contact productivity automation expert Justin Adamski at https://www.upwork.com/freelancers/justinadamski.

Automate Customer Support Tasks

Nothing frustrates customers more than waiting on hold or sending multiple emails to get a simple question answered. With Zapier, you can automate common support tasks to deliver faster, more personalized service.

Set up a zap that automatically assigns support tickets from your help desk tool like Zendesk to the right team member based on keywords, request type or customer info. Empower your agents to instantly access all the customer data they need to resolve issues quickly.

You can also use Zapier to auto-respond to common questions with pre-written templates. This frees up your human agents to handle more complex issues. Customers get quick answers and you streamline support.

Automating routine support tasks results in more efficient operations and happier customers. Now your agents can focus on building relationships, not performing repetitive work. That’s a win-win!

Conclusion

Automating repetitive tasks is a game-changer for boosting productivity. As we’ve seen, Zapier makes it easy to set up workflows that eliminate manual busywork. Whether you’re saving attachments, posting to social media, creating tasks, or adding leads, automation frees up your time for high-value work.

Other use cases for powerful Zapier workflows include scheduling social media posts, backing up important files, syncing project data, sending order confirmations, and much more. The possibilities are endless!

Stop wasting time on repetitive tasks that can be automated. Research shows that automation makes workers happier and more productive. So take control of your workload and try Zapier today. Our team of experts is ready to help you build workflows that maximize your productivity. Contact us to get started!

FAQ

Here are answers to some common questions about using Zapier for workflow automation:

What is Zapier?

Zapier is a software platform that allows you to connect various apps and automate workflows between them. It acts as a bridge between your different tools and services.

What can you automate with Zapier?

The possibilities are endless! Some examples of popular Zapier automations include:
– Saving email attachments to cloud storage

– Creating tasks from online form submissions
– Posting blog content to social media

– Adding new leads to email marketing platforms
– Getting notifications in Slack for important emails

How do Zapier automations work?

Zaps are triggered by an action (like a new form submission), which then causes an automated response (like adding info to a CRM). You choose a Trigger App and an Action App – when the trigger occurs, Zapier automatically performs the designated action.

What apps and services work with Zapier?

Zapier connects with over 3,000 different apps and services including popular tools like Gmail, Google Sheets, Trello, Slack, Mailchimp, Dropbox, and more. They add new integrations regularly.

How much does Zapier cost?

Zapier offers both free and paid plans. The free plan allows up to 5 Zaps and 100 task runs per month. Paid plans start at $19.99/month and remove limits, enabling more advanced automation.

Is Zapier secure?

Yes, Zapier uses industry-standard encryption and security measures to keep your data safe. They do not store sensitive information like passwords.

Resources

Looking to dive deeper into Zapier and automation? Here are some helpful resources to get you started:

• Download Zapier and start building your own automations for free.
• Zapier’s Learning Center – Tutorials, tips, and guides to master automation.
• Browse Zapier’s 1000+ connected apps to explore all the possibilities.
• Check out my Upwork profile and contact me directly to discuss your automation and integration needs. As a certified Zapier expert, I can help you optimize workflows, boost productivity, and streamline your business processes.

Automation doesn’t have to be intimidating – with the right tools and guidance, anyone can leverage Zapier to work smarter. Reach out if you need any help creating automations that transform the way you work!