DEV Community: Daniel Automation

The 5-Minute Weekly Review: A Notion Template for Developers

Daniel Automation — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 16:47:30 +0000

I used to dread Sundays. Not because of Monday coming—but because I'd spend 2+ hours "catching up" on what I didn't track during the week.

Then I built a 5-minute weekly review system in Notion. Now Sunday evenings are actually relaxing.

The Problem with Traditional Weekly Reviews

Most productivity advice tells you to:

Review all your goals
Check every project
Analyze your metrics
Plan the next week in detail

That's not a review. That's work.

The 5-Minute Developer Version

I stripped mine down to 4 questions:

1. What shipped this week?

Quick scan of merged PRs, closed tickets, deployed features. 30 seconds. No overthinking.

2. What blocked progress?

One technical debt item, one process friction, one tool limitation. Note it. Move on.

3. What's one technical win?

Refactored that messy function? Fixed a tricky bug? Optimized a query? Acknowledge it.

4. What's one priority for next week?

Not ten. One. The rest goes to the backlog.

The Notion Template Structure

📊 Weekly Review Database
├── Date (title)
├── Shipped (checkbox list)
├── Blockers (single select)
│   ├── Technical Debt
│   ├── Process Issue
│   ├── Tool Limitation
│   └── External Dependency
├── Technical Win (text)
└── Next Priority (text)

📈 Patterns Database
├── Recurring Blockers
├── Weekly Wins Feed
└── Priority History

Automation Ideas

New entry auto-creates: Every Sunday 6pm via Notion API
Blocker flagging: Items that appear 3+ weeks get auto-tagged "ATTENTION"
Wins feed: Monthly view aggregates all wins for 1:1s and performance reviews
Integration: Connect to GitHub to auto-populate "Shipped" from merged PRs

Why Developers Need This

We track sprints, story points, and velocity. But we rarely track our own patterns.

After 3 months of 5-minute reviews, I noticed:

70% of my blockers were the same recurring deployment issues
I was "fixing" the same code patterns every month
My "priorities" rarely matched what actually got done

So I automated the blockers. Fixed the patterns. Aligned priorities with reality.

The Template

Want the full template? Grab it here.

Or build your own using the framework above. The key isn't the tool—it's the 5-minute constraint.

Questions?

What's your review system? Do you track your own productivity patterns, or just your team's?

Originally published on Buy Me A Coffee. Follow for more automation and productivity tips.

notion #productivity #automation #developer #workflow

The 15-Minute Automation Audit: Find Your Biggest Time-Wasters

Daniel Automation — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 17:57:01 +0000

This is the audit I run every quarter. It takes 15 minutes and always reveals at least one task I should have automated months ago.

The Audit Framework

Step 1: List Your Daily Tasks (5 minutes)

Grab a piece of paper or open a blank doc. List everything you did yesterday:

Checked email ___ times
Updated spreadsheets
Posted to social media
Sent follow-up messages
Copied data between apps
Generated reports
Scheduled meetings
Filed expense receipts

Don't filter. Write it all down, even the "quick" 2-minute tasks.

Step 2: Mark the Repetitive (3 minutes)

Go through your list and highlight anything that:

Happens on a schedule (daily, weekly, monthly)
Follows the same pattern every time
Involves copying the same data to different places
Requires you to remember to do it

These are your automation candidates.

Step 3: Calculate the Hidden Cost (4 minutes)

For each highlighted task, estimate:

Frequency: How often per week?
Duration: How long each time?
Error rate: How often do you forget or mess it up?

The formula: Weekly hours = (Frequency × Duration) ÷ 60

Example:

Manual expense reporting: 3× per week, 20 minutes each
Weekly hours: (3 × 20) ÷ 60 = 1 hour/week
Annual cost: 52 hours — more than a full work week

Step 4: Pick Your First Target (3 minutes)

Sort your list by weekly hours. The winner is usually obvious.

But here's the twist: Don't pick the biggest one first.

Pick the task that:

Is the most annoying
Has a clear trigger ("when X happens, do Y")
Has predictable steps
You can test quickly

Quick wins build momentum.

5 AI Tools That Save Me 10+ Hours/Week

Daniel Automation — Sun, 12 Apr 2026 17:34:11 +0000

1. ChatGPT + Custom GPTs

What I use it for: Drafting emails, brainstorming, summarizing long documents, code review

The workflow: I created custom GPTs for specific tasks — one for professional emails, one for technical explanations, one for content editing. Each has context about my tone and preferences baked in.

Time saved: ~3 hours/week

Pro tip: Spend 10 minutes setting up a custom GPT with your writing examples. The return on that investment is massive.
— -

2. Notion AI

What I use it for: Meeting notes, project planning, content outlines

The workflow: During meetings, I take rough bullet points. Notion AI cleans them up, extracts action items, and even suggests follow-up tasks. For content, I brainstorm in bullet form and let it expand into structured drafts.

Time saved: ~2 hours/week

Pro tip: The “Continue writing” feature is underrated. Start with a sentence, let it build the paragraph.
— -

3. Make (formerly Integromat)

What I use it for: Connecting apps, automating data flows, building workflows

The workflow: Social media posts automatically draft from my content calendar. Form responses populate my CRM. Daily reports compile themselves. I set it up once, it runs forever. Time saved: ~3 hours/week

Pro tip: Start simple. One connection. One trigger. Build from there.
— -

4. ElevenLabs

What I use it for: Voiceovers, audio content, accessibility

The workflow: I write scripts, choose a voice that fits the content, and generate professional-quality audio in minutes. Great for turning blog posts into podcasts or adding voice to video content.

Time saved: ~1 hour/week Pro tip: Their “Professional” voice cloning is worth it if you create consistent audio content.
— -

5. Claude (Anthropic)

What I use it for: Long-form writing, analysis, complex reasoning tasks

The workflow: When I need deep analysis or thoughtful long-form content, Claude is my go-to. It handles context better than anything else I’ve tried. I use it for research summaries, detailed documentation, and anything requiring nuanced understanding.

Time saved: ~2 hours/week
Pro tip: Upload documents and ask specific questions. Its context window is huge.

— - 

The Real Secret

It’s not about having the best tools. It’s about having a system.

Each tool serves a specific purpose in my workflow. They talk to each other. They eliminate decision fatigue. The 10+ hours I save aren’t from one magic tool — they’re from never doing the same repetitive task twice.
Want the templates I use with these tools?

Support my work and unlock the full toolkit:
https://buymeacoffee.com/danielautomation

Members get access to my complete Notion workspace template, Make scenario blueprints, and prompt libraries for all five tools.