How I Automate Repetitive Tasks With Low-Code Dev Tools

If there’s one thing I used to dread in my day-to-day work, it was the constant repetition. Logging data in spreadsheets, sending the same emails over and over, manually triggering builds, updating status reports — you name it. These weren’t tasks that required deep thinking or creativity, just time, attention, and a lot of clicking around. That’s when I discovered the world of low-code development tools. And let me tell you: learning how I automate repetitive tasks with low-code dev tools was a game changer.

Before diving into how I did it, let me make something clear: I’m not a professional automation engineer. I’m just someone who got tired of wasting time and wanted to work smarter, not harder. Low-code tools gave me a way to do that without writing thousands of lines of code.

Understanding Low-Code Dev Tools

Low-code development platforms are exactly what they sound like — platforms that let you build applications and workflows with minimal hand-coding. They use drag-and-drop interfaces, prebuilt components, and visual workflows to help you create useful tools quickly. You can still use code when you need it, but most of the time, it’s optional.

There are tons of tools out there, but the ones I’ve leaned on the most are:

Zapier
Make (formerly Integromat)
Airtable
Notion with Automate.io (before it was shut down)
Retool
Power Automate (from Microsoft)

Each has its strengths, but they all let you automate things without spinning up a whole app or backend.

Why Automate in the First Place?

Before I automated anything, I started by identifying the tasks I hated doing or forgot to do. These usually fell into a few categories:

Data entry: Copying data from one system to another
Notifications: Updating people when something changed
File management: Moving files from emails to folders
Calendar events: Creating events based on triggers
Reminders: Nudging myself or my team to act

Once I had this list, I started figuring out how to automate them one by one.

How I Automate Repetitive Tasks With Low-Code Dev Tools: The Core Strategy

Let’s walk through a few real-world workflows I’ve built, just to give you an idea of how these tools help.

Automating Weekly Reports with Airtable and Zapier

Every Monday, I used to spend 30 minutes creating a status report. It pulled from Jira, Slack, and my own notes. Now?

Jira cards get automatically added to an Airtable view based on status changes.
Slack mentions I receive with a keyword (like “update”) are piped into Airtable using a Zap.
Every Friday afternoon, Zapier triggers an email that sends the Airtable view as a report to my manager.

I don’t touch anything.

Lead Follow-Up System Using Make

I had trouble keeping up with leads. I’d forget to email back or miss follow-ups. So I built a low-code workflow:

New leads submitted via Typeform go into Google Sheets.
Make watches the sheet and triggers a workflow:
- It sends a personalized email via Gmail.
- It sets a follow-up reminder on my calendar.
- It adds the lead to Notion CRM.

Now I never miss a follow-up.

Content Publishing Automation

When I publish a blog post, I used to do this manually:

Update the CMS
Share it on social
Email it to my list

Now, using Power Automate and Buffer:

A button in Notion triggers a Power Automate flow
The blog content gets pulled, formatted, and posted on LinkedIn and Twitter
A Mailchimp campaign is drafted automatically

The process that used to take me an hour now takes 5 minutes.

Benefits of Low-Code Automation for Everyday Work

There’s a reason so many people are turning to these tools. Here are some benefits I’ve personally experienced:

Time savings: I’ve probably saved 8–10 hours a week on average.
Fewer errors: Manual copy/paste work leads to mistakes.
More headspace: I can focus on higher-value work.
Scalability: I can reuse the same workflows or share them with my team.
Empowerment: I can build solutions without relying on developers.

Low-Code Tools Are Not Just for Non-Techies

I used to think these platforms were only for non-developers. I was wrong. Even if you code, there’s value in moving faster.

Sometimes it doesn’t make sense to spin up an entire backend, write serverless functions, or deploy a cron job. You just need a webhook and a way to move data around. Low-code makes that simple.

Plus, tools like Retool allow developers to build internal dashboards with just enough code where needed. It’s all about using the right tool for the job.

Common Mistakes When Automating Repetitive Tasks

Here’s where I’ve stumbled:

Over-automating: Not everything needs automation. Some things change too often.
Poor naming conventions: I once had 12 zaps named “New Data Thing.” Chaos.
No error handling: A single failure would break the whole flow.
Ignoring logging: Always add some way to know what ran and what didn’t.

How I Automate Repetitive Tasks With Low-Code Dev Tools: Final Thoughts

I never thought I’d get this into automation. But once you experience the mental freedom it brings, it’s hard to go back. The key is starting small. Pick one annoying task and automate it.

Then do another. And another.

Before you know it, your day starts to feel lighter, more intentional, and way less chaotic.

Low-code tools helped me do this without hiring anyone or writing complex scripts. It’s made me more productive — and honestly, a bit addicted to finding the next thing I can streamline.