My job is to advertise on classified ads my local business: heard of OLX? I have macros in JavaScript that does that automatically (I only have to sit and write the captcha)
Ask HN: What do you automate in your life and work?
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Re: Ask HN: What do you automate in your life and work?
#32Hire a cleaner once every 10-11 days to clean my apartment and do the laundry. Its surprising how much time you have if you don’t have to do dishes.
Re: Ask HN: What do you automate in your life and work?
#33Not exactly a script, but if I really think about it the largest thing I've automated in my life is investing--- via index funds. No picking individual stocks, no rebalancing (Vanguard and others have "target date" funds that rebalance automatically).
Don’t you just end up with a portfolio weighted with half below average stocks? Seems like you could beat this just by buying stuff you’ve heard of. I’m sitting her with my Apple phone, using Verizon internet, burning electricity from a publicly traded utility that probably won’t go broke next week, wearing my Nike shoes and drinking a Coke. That portfolio probably beats your index and requires zero brains or effort.
Over the past 5 years, Nike has gone up by 100%, coke by 20%, Verizon by 15%, and apple by ~125%. The s&p500 has gone up by ~50%.
So if you invested 100 in an index fund, you'd have 150, if you invested 100 split evenly in those 4 stocks, you'd have 165. Of course, if you invested in GE, you'd have lost money. And if you invested in Amazon alone, you'd have $500.
Re: Ask HN: What do you automate in your life and work?
#34My typing. In my work I tend to type a lot of the same things over and over again. So I automate that with AutoHotKey. Ctrl+Tab becomes RightAlt. Two words become entire paragraphs. Even simple things like "You're welcome" are just 'ywyw' or 'tyvm' becomes "Thank you very much". I know it sounds silly, but while trying to avoid RSI's, the less typing the better. I also use autohotkey to help me remember to Linux comm…
I wonder if it would be possible to build an app that's effectively a self-installed keylogger given access to your entire stream of writing, and after a few days, it starts to recommend candidate strings for automation with Autohotkey.
Re: Ask HN: What do you automate in your life and work?
#35I had trouble getting a DMV appointment. Wrote a script that would alert when one was available. The site wasn't busy enough to warrant building out the booking. Only used the script once.
Re: Ask HN: What do you automate in your life and work?
#36I use a 20 line Python script to convert Outlook .ics calendars into billable hour count. It looks for a company name (the client) and calculates start and end time. All it needs now is to fill a .pdf invoice template and I can get rid of HR :D
Re: Ask HN: What do you automate in your life and work?
#37Not exactly a script, but if I really think about it the largest thing I've automated in my life is investing--- via index funds. No picking individual stocks, no rebalancing (Vanguard and others have "target date" funds that rebalance automatically).
This is the smallest thing that will have the biggest impact on your life significantly decades from now. I like phrase "pay yourself first".
Re: Ask HN: What do you automate in your life and work?
#38I automate my garden. In the summer I have it configured with an automatic drop. I still get to play in my garden and there's always more annual maintenance to do, but the general watering and care is easily automated with a drip timer from home depot.
Re: Ask HN: What do you automate in your life and work?
#39Hire a cleaner once every 10-11 days to clean my apartment and do the laundry. Its surprising how much time you have if you don’t have to do dishes.
My house is a mess after a week. How’d you come up with 10-11 days?
Re: Ask HN: What do you automate in your life and work?
#40Hire a cleaner once every 10-11 days to clean my apartment and do the laundry. Its surprising how much time you have if you don’t have to do dishes.
What's the pricing like for something like this? Do you use a large service for this?