Get started with automation and free up some time

Hi ! Amanda here from Think-research team!

In a small but fast moving company, it is important to work efficiently and adjust quickly! Like how my colleague have shared here, adjusting quickly is a way to go - not only keep things interest but to make the most benefit out of every action. So, just like Maya said , sometimes su-re.co does feel like college - and I am here for it to continuous learn and develop!

In the administrative world, to make the most out of every action sometime can also become tedious, without producing any real output. It may feel frustrating when we are juggling one admin task and then another before the other one got solved when all we want to achieve is for the company to run smoothly :/ Whenever I feel like I am stuck with the same solution, I remember the principle I shared couple months ago in my blog – work smart, dont work hard! If it takes more than 15-30 minutes to do a common admin issue, there must already automation tricks on google - we just have to be smart about it to choose which best suitable to solve our issue. These efficient problem solving approach through programming has been shared by our Founder, Tak - read it more here. In this age, the programming it self is automated, you just need work around it and choose the source of the data you'd like to use.

For the last couple of months, automation have been such a time saver, and I think it would be really useful for my fellows who are handling and emailing a report/ progress update or presentation materials to participants or internally. For Microsoft users, there's an automation tool that integrates all Microsoft apps and some other project management apps called power automate. The goal is to cut down repetitive tasks and save time by connecting apps. It has been quite practical during events when we have to both collect attendance and consent form and send the materials and feed back form afterwards. Here are some of the steps: 1. When you land on Home Page of Power Automate, decice which source of the app that you like to start of the automation for. i.e. youd like to start for partcipants who whill out the form to receive materials, so you start with the Microsoft forms. 2. Then go to Templates and type the app or function you would like to automate. i.e. if you would like to send automatic reply to responders, then Type " forms" or "email forms". there will shown bunch of function for you to choose.

3. Choose which ever suited best for your needs. in this case I chose

Send an email to responder when response submitted in Microsoft Forms

4. You follow the steps to connect to your personal one drive and email. *You can not choose your shared one drive*.

5. Then follow all the steps and created - i.e. choose the appropriate forms, and create the text email youd like to use. Test it out couple of times using flow checker and test button. I

There it is! five simple steps :) however, it may need couple of test rounds before you send it to your actual recipients to actually make it work as it is coding essentially - so all the source and kind of the data have to be clear. Don't worry if you are still confused, there is always google and youtube for some templates that already created, so dont stress out if the flow doesnt work.

I guess thats it a little admin trick I learned along the way, there are so much more to explore!

Have a great rest of the week!