We spend so much of our workdays doing rather arduous and tedious tasks, especially if you're working on a computer of any kind. Renaming files, converting PDFs; these are the things that can take way longer than they ought to. In 2005, Apple released Automator, which allows users to automate repetitive tasks easily, without the need for knowledge of programming. I once overlooked Automator as I thought it wouldn't be able to help in my day-to-day work, but these 5 workflows have done wonders to improve my productivity.

5 Bulk renaming of files

One of the most tedious tasks

Renaming a group of 3 or 4 files is one thing, but if you have any number above that, it becomes quite annoying to do. For my daily workflow, I take photos and screenshots quite often, and for organizational purposes, I prefer to have them named properly so I can find them later. For a while, I just manually renaming each file, which took up valuable time away from the primary part of my job, which is doing the actual writing.

With Automator, I'm able to create a workflow to rename a bunch of files all at once with two clicks by creating a Quick Action. You can configure it to save the files with the date and time or sequentially. I do wish I could provide some kind of input each time, so that when I do bulk sequential renaming, I don't have to go back into Automator and change the workflow. Even with this small inconvenience, it's super easy to set up and saves so much time.

4 Software kill switch

Great for eliminating distractions

One of the worst things about working from my personal computers is the distractions thrown at me from nonwork apps installed on my computers. A quick and easy way to shut down applications can be done through Automator. You can select which apps are exempt from shutting down as well, making it a great choice to combine with a focus mode automation. I've created one that closes everything besides my web browser, Slack, and other essential applications.

3 Combine and encrypt PDFs

An underrated automation

Dealing with multiple PDFs can be a huge pain, and while apps like Acrobat do provide the functionality to combine them into one file, they don't provide a great method to automate it. Natively on macOS, Automator allows you to not only combine a selection of PDF files into one, but you can also encrypt the file automatically with a password of your choice.

2 Convert image formats

No need for Photoshop (most of the time)

Converting images from one format to another can sometimes necessitate the use of a program like Photoshop, but in some cases, you can get away with using a very simple Automator workflow. It can work with BMP, JPEG, PNG, TIFF, and HEIC, which might be the most useful one of all. HEIC stands for High-Efficiency Image Container and is most commonly found on Apple devices.

Being able to quickly convert images from your iPhone taken in HEIC to PNG or JPEG is super useful, especially if you work with an application or website that doesn't natively support HEIC. Unfortunately, if you need to convert any kind of image outside of these formats, you'll have to use a more purpose-built application.

1 Quickly open a selection of URLs

Saves a click or two

Web browsers are getting pretty good at saving things like tab groups and enabling automation themselves, but a neat Automator workflow can take it a step further. You can create an Application workflow that sits on your dock, and when activated, will open your default web browser with your selection of URLs already open. This is great for when I want to launch instantly into work-mode with my websites already open and ready to go. You could take this a step further by combining it with the aforementioned software kill switch automation, making it a one-click solution for "locking in", as the kids say.

Don't spend more time doing repetitive tasks than you have to

The time spent creating and testing an Automator workflow will save you plenty of repetitive clicks and keystrokes down the road, and it's well worth the time to learn. I recommend going and exploring within Automator, as there's a ton of functionality that's baked right in. If you want to take it a step further, learning AppleScript and combining it with Automator is a cool way to take your automations to the next level.