3 AI Automations That Give You Your Life Back Right Now
How to reclaim 5+ hours every week without working harder
Hola!
Remember last Tuesday when you stayed late to answer emails? Or that Wednesday morning you spent 30 minutes trying to find a meeting time that worked for everyone? What about Friday afternoon when you stared at a blank document, knowing you had to write that proposal but your brain was fried?
Yeah. We've all been there.
But here's what's wild: while you were wrestling with your inbox, Sarah from accounting was leaving at 5 PM sharp. She figured out something that's saving her 5 hours every week. And it's not working harder or some magical productivity hack.
It's automation. Specifically, three AI automations that are quietly transforming how smart people work.
AI Concept of the Week: Automation
(But I Make It Simple)
Let's talk about automation for a second. Not the scary, robots-taking-over kind. The "Sarah gets to have dinner with her kids" kind.
Automation just means teaching a computer to do the boring stuff you hate doing. Email sorting? Computer can do that. Finding meeting times? Computer's got it. Writing first drafts? Yep, computer again.
Think of it like having a really efficient assistant who never gets tired, never takes breaks, and costs less than your daily coffee budget.
Here's the thing everyone gets wrong: automation isn't about replacing you. It's about giving you back the time to do the work that actually matters. The creative stuff. The strategic thinking. The conversations that move things forward.
Real Business Win: How One Developer Reclaimed 12 Hours a Week
Meet Johnny, a software engineer at a fast-growing startup. Six months ago, he was drowning. Twelve-hour days were normal. Weekends meant catching up on emails and scheduling meetings for Monday.
Then he discovered three simple automations.
First, he set up SaneBox for his email. This AI tool automatically sorts emails by importance. The result? His inbox went from 150 daily emails to 20 that actually needed his attention. Time saved: 2 hours daily.
Next, he started using Motion for his calendar. Instead of playing calendar Tetris, he tells Motion his priorities and deadlines. The AI builds his entire schedule. Time saved: 3 hours weekly just from not thinking about when to do things.
Finally, he began using Claude for first drafts. Project proposals, documentation, status updates - anything that starts with a blank page now starts with an AI draft he can edit. Time saved: 7 hours weekly.
The math is simple: Johnny went from 60-hour weeks to 48-hour weeks. Same output, better quality, way less stress.
But here's the real win - Johnny now coaches his daughter's soccer team on Thursdays. That's what this is really about.
Try This Today: Set Up Your First Email Automation (15 Minutes)
Ready to start getting your life back? Let's begin with email, because that's where most people feel the biggest immediate relief.
If you use Gmail:
Go to gmail.com and look for the "Help me write" button when composing emails
Click it and type: "Professional response declining this meeting request"
Watch Gmail draft a polite response in 3 seconds
Edit it to match your voice, then send
If you use anything else:
Go to saneBox.com
Sign up for the 14-day free trial
Connect your email account (takes 2 minutes)
Let it run for 24 hours
Check your @SaneLater folder tomorrow - you'll be amazed what it filtered out
That's it. Seriously.
Don't overthink this. Don't research for hours. Just pick one and try it. You can always change later.
The hardest part isn't the technology. It's giving yourself permission to stop doing things the hard way.
Golden Nugget: The "5-Hour Freedom Formula"
Here's the shareable insight that'll make your friends say "wait, you can do THAT?"
Email AI + Calendar AI + Writing AI = 5+ hours back every week
But here's the secret sauce: don't implement all three at once. Do email first (biggest immediate relief). Add calendar automation after two weeks (once email feels normal). Add writing AI last (once the first two are habits).
Why? Because your brain can only handle so much change at once. People who try to automate everything immediately usually quit after a week because it feels overwhelming.
People who take it slow? They're the ones sending screenshots of their empty inboxes to their friends.
The math is beautiful:
Week 1-2: Email automation saves 2 hours
Week 3-4: Add calendar automation, now saving 4 hours
Week 5-6: Add writing automation, now saving 6+ hours
By month two, you've reclaimed an entire workday every week. Use it wisely.
The Three Automations Everyone's Talking About
1. Email That Manages Itself
The tools: Gmail's built-in AI (free), SaneBox ($7/month), or Superhuman ($30/month)
The reality: A product manager I know went from spending 3 hours daily on email to 45 minutes. Same quality responses, zero stress.
The secret: These tools don't just sort your email - they learn what actually matters to you. After two weeks, they're basically reading your mind.
2. Calendars That Think Ahead
The tools: Motion ($34/month), Reclaim.ai (free tier), or Calendly with AI ($12/month)
The reality: An operations manager at Vodafone told me she stopped playing "calendar Tetris" entirely. The AI just handles it. She saves 4 hours weekly and never double-books herself.
The secret: You give these tools your priorities, and they build your entire schedule around what actually matters. No more "I don't have time for deep work."
3. Writing That Doesn't Suck
The tools: ChatGPT Plus ($20/month), Claude Pro ($20/month), or Notion AI ($8/month)
The reality: A freelance consultant I know uses AI for first drafts of everything. Proposals that used to take 6 hours now take 90 minutes. And honestly? The AI's first draft is often better than what she would have written from scratch.
The secret: AI isn't writing FOR you, it's writing WITH you. You still bring the ideas, strategy, and personality. The AI just handles the blank page problem.
What This Really Means
Look, I'm not going to pretend AI is magic. It's not going to solve all your problems or make you instantly successful.
But it will give you something precious: time.
Time to think strategically instead of reactively. Time to have conversations that matter instead of shuffling emails. Time to work ON your business instead of IN it.
Time for Tuesday dinners with your family instead of Tuesday nights at your laptop.
And isn't that the whole point?
The people figuring this out now aren't just saving time - they're completely changing how they work. While everyone else is still fighting their inbox, they're building the future.
The question isn't whether AI automation works. The question is: how much longer are you going to do things the hard way?
What's one task you do every day that you wish would just handle itself? Hit reply and tell me. I read every response, and I'm always looking for the next automation to test.
Remember: AI isn't about the technology. It's about getting your life back, one hour at a time.
Talk soon, Dex
P.S. - If you try any of these automations this week, I want to hear about it. Send me a screenshot of your empty inbox or tell me about the extra hour you got back. These wins deserve to be celebrated. I’ll feature you in next weeks Newsletter!