Top 4 Automations Every Solopreneur (and Smart Professional) Should Set Up Now

BurnoutSystems
Written By Ellyn | Burnout Coach & Speaker

Listen on Spotify / Apple Podcasts

You’re Still Doing What Manually?

Tell me why we’re still sending invoices one by one, playing calendar Tetris with clients, and rebuilding the same weekly to-do list like it’s our personal ritual. That’s not hustle—that’s chaos. And around here, we don’t do chaos.

I’m Ellyn Schinke—former scientist, your no-bullsh*t burnout coach, and the voice behind the Burnout Proof Podcast. I don’t believe ambition burns you out. Broken systems do. This is your permission slip to do success differently—whether you’re building a business or climbing the corporate ladder.

Today we’re fixing the time leaks that are quietly draining you with the Top 4 Automations Every Solopreneur (and Smart Professional) Should Set Up Now. These are the exact automations I use (and install for clients) to reclaim hours each week, reduce errors, and keep your energy for the work only you can do.

Why Automate? Because Your Brain Isn’t a Clipboard

When I say “automation,” I don’t mean turning your life into a robotic hellscape. I mean delegating to technology so you stop paying attention to things that don’t deserve it.

  • Time back: Hours per week saved from busywork you should never touch again.

  • Fewer dropped balls: Consistency happens when steps are triggered, not remembered.

  • Energy protection: Decision fatigue plummets when routine steps run themselves.

  • Built-in boundaries: Tools enforce your availability even when you’re tempted to bend it.

Can’t afford to hire? Same. Delegate to tech first. Then hire to uplevel—not to plug leaks.

Automation #1: Client (or Stakeholder) Onboarding

Pain: Chasing contracts. Chasing invoices. Chasing information. Balls, dropped.

Promise: A first-class, on-brand experience that kicks off automatically and never forgets a step.

Your Minimal Workflow

  1. Trigger (payment or booking)

  2. Contract/Terms sent

  3. Welcome email (what to expect + next steps)

  4. Client portal (resources, links, forms)

  5. Kickoff scheduler (no back-and-forth)

Tools that play nice:

  • All-in-one CRMs: Dubsado, HoneyBook, Bonsai

  • Scheduling with payments: Acuity, Calendly, TidyCal

  • Automators: Zapier, Make

  • Ops hub: Notion (now with actually useful automations + buttons)

How I do it now: I’m consolidating in Notion to cut tool bloat. When a payment hits my Notion CRM, an AI-assisted automation ties it to the client record and fires the onboarding email with next steps + portal access. Terms are surfaced at checkout, then finalized in the portal for clarity and compliance.

Corporate Translation: No clients? Same principle. Anytime you loop in a new stakeholder, vendor, or hire, trigger a repeatable onboarding packet: goals, timelines, key links, and a kickoff scheduler. It’s not just “nice”—it’s how work starts clean.

Keep it human: Automation ≠ generic. Write your welcome email like a person. Use plain language, confirm expectations, and offer a clear path to ask questions.

Automation #2: Recurring Tasks & Reusable Workflows (Templates)

Pain: Rebuilding the same checklists and projects every week by hand. Exhausting.

Promise: One-click creation of your repeat work—so you start in momentum, not confusion.

What to Template

  • Weekly review, content planning, podcast/video workflow

  • Client dashboards, meeting agendas, post-meeting follow-ups

  • Project “starter kits” (scope, milestones, deliverables, comms plan)

Tools that make this easy:

  • Notion: Buttons + database templates + recurring task formulas (yes, it can be low-/no-code—promise)

  • Asana, ClickUp, Monday: Native recurring tasks + templates

  • Airtable: Buttons, automations, interfaces

Pro tip: Treat “parent content” (podcast or YouTube) as the source of truth. Auto-spawn the downstream assets: blog, newsletter, carousel, LinkedIn post, pin, email CTAs. Same for corporate: parent project spawns workstreams, RACI, status cadence, and brief templates.

Why it matters: Your CEO brain should not be occupied with “what’s step one?” Tap a button. Get to work.

Automation #3: Email List & Nurture (Yes, Even for Internal Teams)

Pain: Leads ghost because they don’t hear from you. New members join and feel lost. You intend to follow up…and don’t.

Promise: Trust built on autopilot. Consistent education, value, and next steps—without you rewriting the same email 12 times.

Entrepreneur Setup (Baseline)

  • Trigger: Opt-in to your lead magnet/newsletter

  • Days 0–10: 4–6-email welcome sequence

    • Deliver the freebie + how to use it

    • Share your method and proof

    • Present a small next step (quiz, workshop, low-lift offer)

    • Invite questions and reply prompts (deliverability + relationship win)

  • Tag by interest and continue with relevant drips

Corporate Translation: Build onboarding drips for new team members or project stakeholders: “start here,” key docs, how to escalate, meeting cadence, and a “90-day wins” roadmap. Automate scheduled nudges before milestones.

Tech that just works: ConvertKit, Flodesk, ActiveCampaign, Klaviyo, MailerLite (I personally don’t recommend it; YMMV), Squarespace Campaigns.

Keep it human: Write like you talk. Invite replies. Segment so people only get what they actually care about.

Automation #4: Scheduling (Protect Your Boundaries by Default)

Pain: “Does Tuesday at 2 work?” hell loop. Missed time zones. Double-bookings. Resentment.

Promise: Frictionless booking that respects your availability—even when you don’t.

Non-Negotiables

  • A single link for each meeting type (i.e., 20-min intro, 50-min session, VIP Day consult)

  • Built-in buffers, lead time, and max meetings per day

  • Timezone conversion + reschedule/cancel links

  • For paid sessions: collect payment upon booking (or via invoice trigger)

Tools: Calendly (great free plan), Acuity (power user), TidyCal (low one-time fee), SavvyCal (nice for “overlay” scheduling).

Corporate Translation: Use a scheduler for performance reviews, cross-functional touchpoints, and office hours. Your calendar will thank you—and so will your team.

Quick-Start: Your 90-Minute Automation Sprint

If you’re overwhelmed, don’t be cute—pick one high-friction area and fix it today.

0:00–0:15 — Pick the leak
Which drains you the most: onboarding, recurring tasks, nurture, or scheduling?

0:15–0:45 — Draft the bones

  • Onboarding: List your 5 steps + write a single welcome email.

  • Recurring: Create one template for your most common project.

  • Nurture: Outline a 4-email welcome sequence with one CTA.

  • Scheduling: Create one bookable link with buffers + boundaries.

0:45–1:15 — Wire it up
Use Zapier/Make or native automations to trigger your steps. Test it once.

1:15–1:30 — Personalize the human touch
Add the tone, examples, and links that make this feel like you.

Done is better than duct-taped. And duct-taped is still better than doing it all manually.

“But Won’t Automation Feel…Cold?”

Only if you write it that way. Automation handles delivery, not voice. Use names, context, and clear next steps. Add a short Loom video in your welcome email. Drop a “hit reply and tell me your #1 goal this month” prompt. Small touches, big trust.

What to Do Next (Choose Your Adventure)

  • Want the full systems backbone for proud solopreneurs? Join Burnout-Proof Business—my signature program for solopreneurs who want a business that scales without frying their energy. You’ll build the exact automations, dashboards, and boundaries we covered here. 👉 https://www.coachellyn.com/bpb

  • New to systems and want plug-and-play? Systems School gives you the frameworks and templates to make your backend run like a dream—without a team. 👉https://www.coachellyn.com/systems

  • Not sure where your burnout leaks are? Take my quick Burnout Quiz and get a personalized game plan.
    👉 https://www.coachellyn.com/quiz

  • Crave a monthly reset with me? Join Sunday CEO Reset—a behind-the-scenes session where I audit my systems, schedule, and mindset for the month ahead. 👉https://www.coachellyn.com/reset

  • Come hang in the free community: Events, challenges, resources, and the accountability you’ve been missing. 👉 Join free: https://www.coachellyn.com/community

The Bottom Line

Automation isn’t about being less human. It’s about stopping the energy bleed so you can show up more human where it matters—strategy, service, creativity, and your actual life.

Start with one: onboarding, recurring templates, nurture, or scheduling. You’ll feel the shift this week. Then stack the rest.

From sh*t show to Sunday CEO—that’s not a tagline. That’s the plan.

Stay real, High-Achiever.

Ellyn | Burnout Coach & Speaker

Helping overwhelmed high-achieving women in business to work less and live more. Since 2017, I’ve become a burnout and stress management specialist and expert helping clients to create more sustainable routines, more supportive systems, and the clarity and fulfillment they want in their lives so that they can finally heal from their hustle and take back their lives. As a former research scientist myself, I bring a healthy dose of evidence-based strategies to the notion of burnout. I’m a certified coach, have multiple stress certifications, am a certified Hell Yes podcast guest, and am a Senior Contributor for Brainz Magazine. Hiya!

https://coachellyn.com
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When Your Nervous System Just Says “Nope” (Stress vs. Burnout)