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How to inject joy in your day with automation

By Krystina Martinez · September 7, 2021
Two grinning children sit at a table wearing goggles with colanders on their heads.

You work hard, so you deserve a little play. Amid the project deadlines, emails, and never-ending to-do lists, you need some fun in your workday to break up the monotony—and prevent burnout. 

But it can be hard to make time for a break. We often jump from one task to the next, running on the work hamster wheel until our joy is sucked dry, or worse—we skip lunch. (You should always feed yourself first.)

Certainly, automation helps with the work tasks. It can also add delight to your day.  

Easily create automated workflows that make you smile

With Zapier, you can automate recurring tasks—giving you back valuable time to focus on higher priority items. The workflows you build in Zapier—we call them Zaps—can automate many common tasks, such as adding new leads to a spreadsheet. (But since we're talking about fun, you can do other things too.)

Every Zap follows the same structure: When this happens, do that.

A Zap always consists of two parts: 

  1. The trigger, which is an event that starts a Zap. For example: Every weekday at 10 a.m. (Think of this as the when.)

  2. The action, which is an event a Zap performs after it's triggered. For example: Find a random GIF from the television show The Office. (This is the do.)

A graphic flowchart explains the functionality of triggers and actions in a Zap. The trigger is "every Thursday at 2 p.m." and the action is "post GIF in Slack."

To help you get started, we rounded up a few Zaps that are purely fun in nature.  Click the button on any Zap template to get started. 

Post GIFs from GIPHY when keywords are mentioned in Slack

Post GIFs from GIPHY when keywords are mentioned in Slack
  • Slack logo
  • Slack logo
Slack + Filter by Zapier + Giphy

Post a random GIF from GIPHY every week on Microsoft Teams

Post a random GIF from GIPHY every week on Microsoft Teams
  • Schedule by Zapier logo
  • Giphy logo
  • Microsoft Teams logo
Schedule by Zapier + Giphy + Microsoft Teams

What Day Is It? By Zapier (Slack Edition)

What Day Is It? By Zapier (Slack Edition)
  • Schedule by Zapier logo
  • Slack logo
Schedule by Zapier + Slack

We can only make an educated guess at what makes you happy. We like random GIFs—especially out-of-context— but you might get your chuckles from something else. 

You can create your own Zap that will give you a pick-me-up when you need it. You can also add more than one action, such as sending a direct message notifying you that your coworker was GIF-bombed for quoting Jurassic Park again.

Some of these ideas use up a lot of tasks, so check your Zapier plan first. 

Need help with more complex automation? Zapier Experts are certified consultants, freelancers, and agencies that can help you do more with automation. Visit our Experts directory to help you find the right Expert to work with.

Zapier makes you happier

With thousands of integrations, there's no shortage of what you can automate to bring you joy—breaking up the monotony of your workday. Will it make you more productive? Probably not. But if you're already automating tedious tasks, why not use that valuable time you've gained back for a little happiness? You deserve it. 

New to Zapier? It's workflow automation software that lets you focus on what matters. Combine user interfaces, data tables, and logic with thousands of apps to build and automate anything you can imagine. Sign up for free.

Related reading:

  • Introducing 'What Day Is It? By Zapier

  • How to create a 'You're Awesome' bot

  • Use a "question of the week" team chat bot to keep your team connected

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A Zap with the trigger 'When I get a new lead from Facebook,' and the action 'Notify my team in Slack'