[cmontgomeryb]

I have started automating a lot of the smaller, repetetive tasks. It doesn't save a huge amount of time, just removes small annoyances and friction. One example is that I'm new to OSX, so I was playing with Automator and have used it to create a command which brings up my entire development environment. This saves only 1.5 to 2 minutes each time, but it removes that friction when I get home from work I can just put my laptop on the sofa and have the dev environment load while I make a drink.

At work we have to create performance reports monthly for a particular client. The procedure has always been to do it manually, which takes around 4 to 5 hours. Writing the code to automate this in C# took less than 4 hours and now the reports take 2 to 3 minutes each month. Time well spent, money definitely saved.