Do you consistently launch specific apps and websites when you turn on your PC? Instead of repeating the same tasks over and over again, you can easily automate the entire workflow to save time and effort. Thankfully, you don’t need paid third-party tools to get the job done. You can use the built-in Task Scheduler and Microsoft’s Power Automate software to automate system and productivity-related tasks on your laptop.

Automate tasks using Task Scheduler

Don’t dismiss Task Scheduler as an outdated legacy software on your PC. The user interface isn’t intuitive and looks like something from the 2000s, but it gets the job done by efficiently scheduling tasks on your PC.

Windows system already uses Task Scheduler to automatically search for updates in the background and open specific apps at system startup.

1. Press the Windows key, search for Task Scheduler, and hit Enter.
2. Right-click on Task Scheduler Library, select New Folder, and give it a relevant name. Select Ok.
3. Right-click on a folder and select Create Basic Task. Give it a relevant name and description, then click Next.
4. Pick one of the task Trigger frequencies. You can schedule it for daily, weekly, monthly, when the computer starts, upon user login, or when a specific event is logged. Let’s select 'When I log on' for this example. Click Next.
5. Click Start a program.
6. Select Browse. Go to Program Files in the C:/ drive. Find your desired app and confirm it.
7. Check the task summary and select Finish.

Find your task in the Task Scheduler folder and select Run to check the automation. You can disable or delete it from the same menu.

In the example above, we selected Create Basic Task. You can also select Create Task to unlock more security options and complex conditions. For example, you can run a task only when a specified user is logged in. When you add a trigger, you'll have the option to enter date, time, and more conditions, too.

Create automation using Power Automate

Power Automate is basically a Task Scheduler on steroids. It looks modern and lets you create complex scripts as well. First, download Power Automate from the Microsoft Store and follow the steps below to create automation.

1. Launch Power Automate on Windows. The software offers a bunch of beginner templates to get started. We recommend exploring these examples to create an ideal flow in a short time.
2. For now, select New flow and give it a relevant name. Select Create.
3. It opens the Actions menu. Select Tools at the top, expand browser extensions, and select Microsoft Edge. Head to Microsoft Edge to install the Power Automate extension to your account. Go back to Power Automate.
4. Search for Launch at the top.
5. Drag and drop Launch new Microsoft Edge to the side pane.
6. You need to specify whether to launch a new instance of Microsoft Edge or attach it to an existing one. Select Launch new Instance.
7. Specify URL. I will add https://airtable.com/ here for my use case. Select Window state. Let’s keep it Normal.
8. You can expand Advanced and specify to clear cache and cookies and set timeout on webpage load. Click Save.
9. Search for Word, drag and drop Launch Word to the pane, and specify that you want to launch it with a blank document. Select Save.
10. Search for Outlook, drag the Launch Outlook action to the panel, and hit Save from the pop-up menu.

Similarly, you can search for Run application, drop it to the automation pane, mention the application path and window style, and click Save.

Your automation is ready to use. Select save at the top. Head to Power Automate home, run your script, and sit back and relax. The possibilities are endless here.

Microsoft also offers a long list of ready-to-use scripts in the Examples menu. They are neatly divided into Excel, Desktop, Web, PDF, and other categories. You can pick any automation and start editing it based on your requirements.

Among all the options, you will surely find several useful scripts under the Desktop Automation category. Let's glance over some of the popular ones.

• Open a folder: If you frequently open specific folders in the File Explorer to interact with files, edit this automation.
• Run an application: This lets you virtually run any application or file using the Run application action.
• Delete files of specific size ranges: This can help manage your PC storage efficiently by auto-deleting files that exceed the mentioned size. It saves a lot of manual labor.
• Print current week's calendar: As the name suggests, it prints your current week's calendar, making your workweek easier to plan.
• Add DateTime to file names: This flow renames all the local files in a specific folder by adding timestamps to the end of their names.

Exploring other automation options

Apart from system-level tools, you can also find automation options in Microsoft 365 apps like Excel, Word, and PowerPoint, as well as in third-party apps like Photoshop. As for Office apps, Microsoft refers to them as macros. You can write Excel, PowerPoint, and Word macros to automate specific actions with a single click.

You can also explore third-party apps to automate your PC. JitBit is one such macro recorder that saves your keyboard and mouse clicks to automate any task on the PC. But in most cases, you should be completely fine with Task Scheduler and Power Automate to establish an ideal workflow.

Get the best out of your Windows PC

In our quest for productivity, every second counts. That’s why harnessing the power of automation to manage your PC can be a game-changer. These unsung heroes not only streamline your workflow but also reclaim hours of your day. What are you waiting for? Go ahead, record scripts and macros so that you can focus on what truly matters.

Apart from these automation scripts, you can also make some of our recommended productivity tweaks and achieve peak efficiency in no time. Microsoft PowerToys is another useful tool to unlock more possibilities and elevate your Windows experience to the next level.