Repetitive tasks drain your time and energy—and they’re often done inconsistently. AI agents can now learn your workflows and execute them better than you ever could. This guide shows you how to train them, optimize results, and unlock serious productivity gains.
Why Tedious Tasks Keep Slowing You Down
You probably don’t think twice about the small tasks you do every day—until they pile up. Things like renaming files, copying data between tools, formatting emails, or updating spreadsheets seem harmless. But over time, they eat into your focus, energy, and ability to do meaningful work.
Let’s say you run a small business or manage a team. You spend 20 minutes every morning organizing incoming emails, forwarding the right ones, and flagging follow-ups. That’s over 80 hours a year—just on email triage. And that’s just one task.
Or maybe you’re a freelancer juggling multiple clients. You manually log hours, write invoices, and send reminders. It’s not hard, but it’s repetitive. You’ve probably made mistakes, missed deadlines, or forgotten to follow up at least once.
Here’s what makes these tasks especially frustrating:
- They’re easy but time-consuming: You know how to do them, but they interrupt your flow.
- They’re inconsistent: You might do them differently each time, which leads to errors.
- They’re mentally draining: Even simple tasks require switching context, which adds fatigue.
- They’re not scalable: As your workload grows, these tasks multiply—and slow you down.
Here’s a breakdown of how these tasks show up across different roles:
| Role | Common Tedious Tasks | Impact on Productivity |
|---|---|---|
| Business Owner | Scheduling, email sorting, CRM updates | Lost time, missed leads |
| Freelancer | Invoicing, client follow-ups, file management | Errors, delayed payments |
| Team Manager | Status reports, meeting prep, task tracking | Burnout, lack of visibility |
| Content Creator | Formatting posts, uploading assets, tagging | Workflow bottlenecks |
| Consultant | Research summaries, proposal formatting | Inconsistent client delivery |
You don’t need more discipline—you need better systems. That’s where AI comes in.
Tools like Bardeen, Make, and Notion AI are designed to take over these kinds of tasks. They don’t just automate—they learn your patterns, adapt to your workflows, and get better over time.
For example:
- You can use Bardeen to automatically save email attachments to Google Drive, rename them based on sender and date, and notify you in Slack—all without lifting a finger.
- With Make, you can build a visual workflow that pulls new leads from your website, adds them to your CRM, and sends a personalized welcome email.
- Notion AI can summarize meeting notes, generate action items, and even draft follow-up messages based on your tone and style.
These tools don’t just save time—they reduce errors, improve consistency, and free you up to focus on higher-value work.
Here’s a quick comparison of what manual vs AI-powered task handling looks like:
| Task Type | Manual Workflow | AI-Powered Workflow (Using Bardeen, Make, Notion AI) |
|---|---|---|
| File Renaming | Open email → download → rename → upload | Auto-download → smart rename → cloud sync |
| Lead Follow-Up | Check CRM → write email → send manually | Auto-trigger → personalized email → tracked send |
| Meeting Summaries | Listen → type notes → format → email team | Auto-transcribe → summarize → email draft ready |
You don’t have to overhaul everything at once. Start with one task you repeat often. Record how you do it. Then train your AI agent to take it over. You’ll be surprised how quickly it learns—and how much time you get back.
How to Spot the Tasks AI Should Take Over First
You don’t need a full audit to know which tasks are dragging you down. You just need a simple filter: if it’s repetitive, rule-based, and doesn’t require judgment, it’s a candidate for automation. Think of the things you do often that follow a predictable pattern. That’s where AI shines.
Here’s a quick way to identify what to delegate:
- Repetition: You do it daily or weekly, and it always looks the same.
- Rules: You can explain how to do it in a few clear steps.
- Low stakes: Mistakes are annoying but not catastrophic.
- No creativity needed: It’s about execution, not innovation.
Examples you might recognize:
- Renaming files based on client name and date
- Copying data from one tool to another (CRM to spreadsheet, for instance)
- Sending reminder emails for meetings or invoices
- Formatting blog posts or reports before publishing
Use this table to quickly assess your own tasks:
| Task Example | Frequency | Complexity | Automation Potential |
|---|---|---|---|
| Email sorting and tagging | Daily | Low | High |
| Lead data entry | Weekly | Medium | High |
| Meeting scheduling | Ad hoc | Low | High |
| Social media post formatting | Weekly | Low | High |
| Proposal formatting | Monthly | Medium | Medium |
Once you’ve listed out 5–10 tasks, rank them by how much time they take and how annoying they feel. Start with the top one. That’s your first automation win.
How to Train AI to Work Like You (But Better)
Training AI doesn’t mean coding or building models. It means showing the tool what you do, how you do it, and letting it take over. You’re not replacing yourself—you’re replicating your best habits.
Start by recording your workflow. Use tools like Tango or Loom to capture your screen while you perform the task. Narrate what you’re doing and why. This becomes your training material.
Then, feed that into an automation platform. Bardeen lets you build browser-based automations using natural language and drag-and-drop logic. You can say things like “When I get an email from X, save the attachment to Drive and notify me in Slack.” It’s intuitive and fast.
If your workflow spans multiple apps—like pulling data from a form, updating a CRM, and sending a follow-up email—Make is your go-to. It’s a visual automation builder that connects hundreds of tools. You can set conditions, delays, filters, and even error handling.
For writing, summarizing, or organizing content, Notion AI is powerful. It learns your tone, helps you structure notes, and can even generate drafts based on your previous inputs. It’s not just a writing assistant—it’s a thinking partner.
Tips to make your AI training stick:
- Be specific: “Rename file to clientname_date” is better than “organize files”
- Use examples: Show the tool what a good output looks like
- Iterate: Review the results and tweak the instructions weekly
- Document exceptions: If there’s a case where the rule breaks, note it
You’re not aiming for perfection on day one. You’re building a system that improves with use.
How to Get Better Results from Your AI Systems
Once your AI tools are running, the real gains come from refinement. Think of it like onboarding a new team member—you don’t just hand them a task and walk away. You check in, give feedback, and improve the process.
Here’s how to make your AI systems smarter over time:
- Review outputs regularly: Set aside 15 minutes each week to check what your automations did. Were the emails accurate? Did the files land in the right folder?
- Use conditional logic: Tools like Make let you say “If X happens, do Y, unless Z.” This adds nuance and prevents errors.
- Create reusable templates: For emails, reports, or outreach, build templates that your AI can fill in. This keeps tone and structure consistent.
- Integrate with your calendar and CRM: The more context your AI has, the better it performs. Connecting tools gives it a full picture.
You’ll start to notice fewer mistakes, faster execution, and more time for strategic work.
3 Actionable Takeaways
- Pick one task this week that you repeat often and automate it using Bardeen or Make.
- Record your workflow using Tango or Loom and use it to train your AI tools with clarity.
- Review and refine weekly to improve accuracy and expand what your AI can handle.
Top 5 FAQs About Training AI for Tedious Tasks
1. Do I need to know how to code to use these tools? No. Tools like Bardeen and Make are built for non-technical users. You can automate tasks using drag-and-drop interfaces and plain language.
2. What if my tasks are too complex for automation? Break them down. Most complex tasks are a series of simple steps. Start with the repeatable parts and build from there.
3. How long does it take to set up an automation? Most basic workflows take under 30 minutes to set up. You’ll spend more time refining than building.
4. Can these tools work across multiple apps I use? Yes. Make connects hundreds of apps, and Bardeen works directly in your browser. You can automate across email, calendars, CRMs, and more.
5. What if the AI makes mistakes? That’s normal early on. Review outputs regularly, give feedback, and adjust your instructions. The system improves with use.
Next Steps
- Start with one task: Don’t try to automate everything at once. Pick the task that drains you most and build a simple workflow around it.
- Use Bardeen or Make: These tools are designed to help you automate without friction. They’re intuitive, powerful, and integrate with the apps you already use.
- Build a habit of refinement: Automation isn’t set-and-forget. Schedule a weekly 15-minute review to catch errors, improve logic, and expand your system.
You don’t need to be a tech expert to train AI. You just need to know your own workflow—and be willing to hand it off. The payoff isn’t just saved time. It’s better consistency, fewer mistakes, and more space to focus on what actually moves the needle.