Floofcode over that the Emacs subreddit asks a question that resonates with me. He notes that he often has a repetitive task and wonders whether it would be worthwhile writing some Elisp to automate it. Usually, he has to repeat the task several times before he gets fed up and fixes it for good. He wonders how other people deal with this. Do they have to repeat the task a certain number of times before automating it or is the criterion more subjective.
I can relate. This happens to me all the time. I keep doing the same task over and over until one day I realize that I’m being stupid and spend a few minutes dashing off a bit of Elisp that solves the problem once and for all. Every time, I tell myself, “Well, I won’t that mistake again. Next time I’m going to get this type of task automated right away.” Of course, the next time the same thing happens.
As to floofcode’s question, I would guess that it depends on the person. For me, it’s a subjective matter. The amount of time I’ll spend repeating the same boring task over and over varies but it always ends in a fit of anger when I ask myself why I’m still doing things manually. The thing is, when I’m repeatedly doing the task manually, I’m not wondering whether I should automate it. That happens at the end when I realize I’ve been stupid.
I guess the answer is something of the sort that after you’ve repeated the task twice, just automate it. Sure sometimes you’ll lose and waste time but in my experience it will most often be a win. I wish I could learn this.