Let’s admit that we all have repetitive tasks we do on our Windows computers. For me, these involve adding the pitch template, common AI workflows when doing research, launching the same set of apps every day, rearranging them into my preferred layout, and, most boring of all, managing my messy desktop and download folders.
Instead of wasting my time doing all this manually, I decided to set up a few automations that take care of file management, text inputs, app launching, and even display settings for me. And no, this doesn’t involve fiddling with Power Automate or Task Scheduler, but only a few simple tools I use to automate my Windows PC.
Automate repetitive typing
Text expanders are a lifesaver
My work involves tons of repetitive typing. I must reuse pitching templates, add credits to images, fill forms with addresses and phone numbers, and copy-paste routines for disclaimers and warnings.
One way to handle this is to use an advanced clipboard manager like Ditto, which can save unlimited items in the clipboard history. However, you still need to access, search, and insert items from the clipboard. Instead, I use a text expander tool like aText.
You set up aText with abbreviations and their expanded texts. For example, to add image credit for every picture I upload to the CMS, I type “imc,” which expands to “Image credit—self-captured—no attribution required.“
You can use it to create routine emails and replies, or personalized templates with dynamic fields to include date, time, images, and everything you can think of adding manually. I’ve set up shortcuts for my commonly used phrases, email signatures, and even entire proposal templates.
Automatically organize your desktop
Keep your desktop tidy
One quirk of installing and experimenting with multiple apps is that it tends to mess up my desktop. I often use it as my workspace to store temporary files, zip archives, PDFs, and everything else for quick access.
While there are many ways to declutter your Windows desktop, I wanted something automatic. So, I set up DropIt to watch my desktop, sort files by type, and move them to predefined folders like Documents, Zips, Shortcuts, and Images.
Creating a DropIt flow is easy. After installing the app, create destination folders where you want to move the files automatically. For example, I move the files to E:Desktop FilesImages, PDF, Zip, etc.
Once done, right-click the down arrow icon on the desktop or the system tray and choose Association. Then, click Add (+ icon), type a name for the type of file you want to move, for example, PDF, then type the pattern, such as *.pdf , and choose a destination folder. Click Save to save the file association. Repeat this for all other files, such as images, PDFs, zip archives, etc. Now, we need to add the desktop as the monitoring folder. Right-click the DropIt icon and choose Options. In the Monitoring tab, click Add, choose your desktop location as the monitor folder, and click Save.
Under Folder Monitoring, select Enable scan of monitored folders, set the time interval, and click OK. By default, DropIt will monitor the folder every minute, but you can change it to a few minutes to a few hours as per your needs. It will check the desktop location for new files and move them to the specified location.
Automated disk cleanup
Enable storage sense
My primary NVMe drive never has enough space. While upgrading to a higher capacity drive is an option, periodically cleaning up junk files is a more sustainable way to manage storage. Instead of doing it manually, you can set up Storage Sense to clean up your files automatically.
Storage Sense is a built-in Windows 11 feature that can automatically clean up temporary files, your Downloads folder, old Windows backups, and even cloud files from your OneDrive account.
To enable and configure Storage Sense:
- Go to Settings -> System -> Storage.
- Toggle on Storage Sense.
- Click Storage Sense, then select Cleanup of temporary files to delete temporary files.
- Configure the Downloads folder to clear files older than a certain number of days.
- Set the Recycle Bin to empty on a schedule. I’ve set mine to run weekly and delete files in Downloads that are older than 30 days.
Auto-launch all work apps with a shortcut
PowerToys Workspace
I’ve always wanted an app that would save my desktop session and restore all apps exactly where I left them after a restart. While PowerToys Workspace isn’t perfect, it comes remarkably close.
Workspace captures your existing desktop environment and saves it as a workspace, letting you restore your entire setup with one keyboard shortcut. When you press Win + Ctrl + Backtick (`) and click Launch, all your apps spring back to their exact positions.
To set up a workspace, first arrange your applications exactly how you like them across your monitors. Then, save this arrangement as a workspace, removing any apps you don’t want to include. You can even create multiple workspaces for different tasks — one for writing, another for coding, maybe one for general browsing.
When it’s time to start your day, hit the shortcut and watch your entire work environment come to life in a jiffy.
Auto Dark Mode
Switch between light and dark themes
My eyes are sensitive to bright lights in dark environments. So sensitive that prolonged use of a smartphone, TV, or computer display means I wake up with irritated eyes the next day. While switching to dark mode helps with eye strain, Windows 11 lacks an auto-dark mode option, so I have to manually toggle it on and off.
Auto Dark Mode is a free app that automatically switches between dark and light modes based on sunset and sunrise times. It also lets you set custom wallpapers, choose accent themes, and prevent auto-switching while gaming.
I’ve configured it to switch at sunset and sunrise. During the day, a regular light theme with bright wallpaper. After sunset, dark mode with a darker wallpaper.
A smoother daily workflow
I have set up these simple automations to reduce repetitive manual work, such as form filling or writing the same set of text multiple times a day, organize my files from a cluttered mess into structured folders for easier access, and fix Windows 11 quirks like the auto-switching of light and dark mode.
Then there is quality-of-life automation, like Workspace, which makes it easy to open my apps in my preferred layout with a single click. More importantly, none of these tools took more than a few minutes to set up, and they’ve been working quietly in the background ever since.
