I just started using n8n to automate my workflow, and I wish I had sooner

I’m very new to automation. I might have tried to automate a task or two using IFTTT on my phone, but that’s about it. I’ve wasted so much time manually doing things I didn’t realize could be automated in minutes, but recently, I decided to give it a shot. A lot of Reddit posts and some automation freaks I know recommended n8n, so I looked no further.

For the unaware, n8n is an automation platform that lets you design workflows to perform predefined tasks across multiple apps. Recently, they’ve added a ton of new features, including a native AI Agent. After trying it out, I am hooked and, honestly, in awe of how powerful and easy to use the tool is.

What makes n8n great

It’s open-source and self-hostable

One of the best parts of n8n is that it’s open-source and self-hostable. That means I can run it on my own computer or server for free and keep my data completely under my control. n8n’s visual workflow builder is impressively intuitive. You can literally drag and drop blocks (called “nodes”) for Gmail, Notion, Google Analytics, ad platforms, social media, and more, then connect them to create automations. If you ever need to customize something, you can switch to a code node and write JavaScript or Python.

For example, I connected my website’s contact form (via a webhook) to n8n so that every new client inquiry automatically creates a task in my Notion database. When filtering form answers, I added a small JavaScript snippet to format dates just the way I needed, which saved me a couple of clicks.

Beyond that, n8n has nodes for almost every tool a professional might use. Gmail and Outlook for email, Notion for organizing information, Google Sheets for simple databases, Slack or Discord for chat, even Markdown processors, RSS feeds, and webhooks. I was delighted to see that my usual apps were already covered.

Automating via n8n is fun

And there are virtually endless possibilities

There are virtually endless possibilities for what you can automate with n8n. For instance, I follow a few freelance job boards that have RSS feeds. I set up n8n’s RSS Feed node to check those every morning. I added a filter to only catch listings with my preferred keywords, such as “remote.” If a new gig matches, n8n emails me with the details.

Another particularly useful automation is an expense tracker. You can use n8n’s integrations to automatically grab receipts from your emails and store them in Notion, Excel, Google Sheets, Firefly III, or other applications. You can also include Telegram, Discord, or Slack integrations to stay notified of every transaction to and from your account.

N8n can also help automate social media posts. Instead of manually posting content across multiple platforms, a workflow can pull content from a Google Sheet or a content management system, format it for each platform, and publish it automatically. This can be set up using direct API connections to various social media platforms.

What I wish I knew about n8n

It was easier to use than I thought

I used to think automation was either too complicated or only meant for tech companies. I felt like I wasn’t “technical” enough. But n8n’s learning curve turned out to be much gentler than I expected. The visual interface guides you through building a workflow step by step, and there are plenty of templates and examples available online.

In fact, I found templates for almost everything I needed to automate. While many of the community-created workflow templates are geared toward businesses and CRM platforms, there are still countless ways to use them in your daily life.

You can start with one small workflow and see the benefits immediately. I saved an hour in my first week just by automating my lead form and email alerts. If you get stuck, there are lots of community guides and pre-made flows available in n8n’s documentation and forum.

I also tried Zapier, but n8n works better for me because it offers more flexibility and allows self-hosting. It has its quirks, which you start to notice only after spending some time with it and searching for solutions in the community forums. The only thing I wouldn’t recommend is their Cloud offering. It seems buggier and unstable compared to my self-hosted instance, with more timeouts, probably due to shared resource limitations. Still, I would recommend n8n to anyone looking for a low-cost, open-source alternative to Zapier.

Automation can save you a lot of time

n8n really shines when automating redundant tasks, and now, since AI is all the rage, you can even create AI automations for a lot of things. You might also want to check out these 5 Home Assistant automations that can make your life easier without extra hardware. While you are at it, check out these four must-have n8n automations for your home lab.