Simple AI Tools to Save Time: Get Back 10 Hours a Week
There’s a particular kind of tired that doesn’t come from hard work.
It comes from tiny work. The kind that arrives in your inbox wearing a polite smile. The kind that says, “Quick question,” and means, “Please donate the rest of your afternoon.” The kind that turns your best intentions into seventeen browser tabs, three half-written drafts and a meeting you’ll pretend you remember.
And then (one day) you watch someone else do it differently.
They don’t type everything from scratch. They don’t reformat the same update for the fourth time. They don’t leave a meeting clutching a legal pad like it’s the last raft off the Titanic.
They let the machines do the small stuff.
This is not about replacing your brain. It’s about returning it to you. Like a set of keys you thought you’d lost.
Below are simple AI tools to save time that, used together, can realistically buy back 10 hours a week. Especially if your week is made of emails, meetings, documents and “Can you just…?” requests.
The 10-hours-a-week rule (so you actually feel it)
You don’t need 17 tools. You need 7 tools that each save 30 – 90 minutes, stacked like good habits:
- Meetings: stop taking notes by hand
- Email: stop rewriting the same message
- Docs: stop starting from a blank page
- Automation: stop copy/pasting between apps
- Design: stop wrestling layouts that hate you
- Writing polish: stop doing tone-control at midnight
- Search: stop digging through your own chaos
Let’s do the ones that are simple…meaning: you can set them up in a lunch break.
1) Microsoft Copilot in Outlook (email summaries and drafts)
If your inbox is where time goes to disappear, start here.
What it’s great for:
- Summarising long threads into decisions and next steps
- Drafting replies in your voice
- Cutting the “read, reread, sigh, reread again” loop
Microsoft documents “Summary by Copilot” and “Draft with Copilot” directly inside Outlook, built specifically for the two things that steal your day: threads and replies.
A realistic time save: 2 – 3 hours/week (for anyone who lives in email)
Try this prompt style (fast, specific, human):
“Summarise this thread in 5 bullets and list the open decisions.”
“Draft a reply that’s firm, friendly and under 120 words. Ask for a date by Friday.”
10 – minute setup:
Open a thread → choose Summarize (or the Copilot option) → use the summary as your “top of thread” memory.
2) Notion AI (turn messy notes into usable documents)
Notion’s pitch is basically: stop losing your thinking to scattered text.
What it’s great for:
Summaries and key themes from long notes
Drafting outlines, project docs, meeting recaps
Pulling answers from your workspace instead of hunting
Notion describes using AI to summarise highlighted text, extract themes and help you work “right where you work.”
A realistic time save: 1 – 2 hours/week
Use it like a blank page killer:
Paste rough notes → “Turn this into a structured brief with headings and action items.”
“Write an executive summary for a non-technical reader.”
10 – minute setup:
Create one page called Weekly Operating System with sections:
Inbox (dump text here)
Decisions
Action Items
Waiting On
Then let Notion AI turn the dump into order.
3) Zapier AI (automation you can describe in plain English)
Automation used to be for people who enjoyed suffering.
Now it’s increasingly: “Tell Zapier what you want,” and it builds the outline.
Zapier’s own help docs describe generating Zap outlines using natural language and Zapier also offers AI steps that can use major LLMs inside workflows.
What it’s great for:
Auto-saving attachments, leads, forms, notes
Creating a “pipeline” so things land where they belong
Turning repetitive admin into background electricity
A realistic time save: 2 – 4 hours/week (once set up, it keeps paying rent)
Three starter automations that feel like magic:
- “When I star an email, create a task in my to-do app and include the email text.”
- “When a form is submitted, create a Notion page and Slack me the summary.”
- “When someone books a meeting, create a prep checklist.”
10 – minute setup:
Pick one pain you repeat weekly → describe it in Zapier’s AI builder → test with one real example.
4) Fireflies.ai (meeting notes without the meeting hangover)
There are two kinds of meetings:
- The ones that could’ve been an email
- The ones that become five emails because nobody wrote down what happened
Fireflies markets itself as an AI notetaker that transcribes, summarises and turns conversations into searchable knowledge.
What it’s great for:
- Transcripts + summaries + action items
- Searchable “what did we decide?” memory
- Following up without re-listening to anything
A realistic time save: 1 – 2 hours/week (more if you’re meeting-heavy)
The move that saves your life:
After each meeting, send the AI summary as the follow-up email. No novel. Just:
- Decisions
- Action items (owners and dates)
- Risks / open questions
Privacy note (don’t skip this):
Always get consent before recording/transcribing meetings and follow your org’s policies. There’s been recent legal controversy in this category, so be extra careful.
5) Otter.ai (another strong option for summaries and action items)
Otter positions itself around meeting notes, summaries and automated action items.
What it’s great for:
- Real-time notes and post-meeting summaries
- Action items you can actually assign
- Quick recaps for people who missed it
A realistic time save: 1 – 2 hours/week
Pick Fireflies or Otter, not both:
Using two meeting tools is like buying two refrigerators because you’re afraid of leftovers.
Again: consent is important.
6) Canva’s Magic Studio (design that stops being a weekend project)
You shouldn’t need a design degree to make one decent slide.
Canva’s Magic Studio includes Magic Write and Magic Design to help generate copy and layouts quickly.
What it’s great for:
Social graphics, one-pagers, decks, simple visuals
First drafts you can edit, instead of staring at a blank canvas
Turning text into something presentable
A realistic time save: 30 – 90 minutes/week (more if you create content)
Try prompts like:
“Create a 6-slide mini-deck outline for a project update: problem, progress, metrics, risks, next steps, ask.”
“Turn this paragraph into three headline options and five sub-bullets.”
Bonus (useful if you’re already in the Microsoft ecosystem):
There are recent reports of Copilot integrating more directly with Canva workflows, which can reduce app-hopping.
7) Grammarly (now part of a bigger “Superhuman” suite)
Yes, spellcheck is old news. This is about the tone tax: the hours you spend trying not to sound annoyed, uncertain or accidentally cold.
Grammarly offers tone detection and rewrite suggestions aimed at clarity and audience fit.
And in a very 2025 plot twist, Grammarly has reportedly rebranded its broader company/product direction under “Superhuman,” following acquisitions and a push toward a wider work assistant.
What it’s great for:
- Fast rewrites that keep your voice but reduce friction
- “Make this sound confident, not harsh”
- Turning a messy draft into a clean one in minutes
A realistic time save: 30 – 60 minutes/week (often more for client-facing work)
Use it where it hurts most:
Email. Proposals. Performance feedback. Any place tone can cost you relationships.
The simple weekly stack that gets you to 10 hours
If you want the “just tell me what to do” version, do this:
Daily
Copilot: summarise threads + draft replies (15–30 min saved/day)
Grammarly: quick tone polish (5–10 min saved/day)
Meetings
Fireflies or Otter: summaries and action items (30 – 60 min saved per meeting-heavy day)
Twice a week
Notion AI: turn notes into plans (30–60 min saved/session)
Once a week
Zapier: automate one repeated annoyance (this is your compounding interest)
Canva Magic Studio: ship a decent visual without drama
Do that for two weeks and you’ll feel the difference in your shoulders.
Common mistakes that make AI tools not save time
- Using AI like a toy, not a workflow
If it doesn’t replace a repeated task, it’s entertainment. - Not giving the tool enough context
Good prompts are not poetic; they’re specific. - Collecting tools like souvenirs
One meeting tool. One writing tool. One automation tool. Calm. - Ignoring privacy and consent
Especially with transcription/recording. Protect people first.
FAQ: Simple AI tools to save time
What are the best simple AI tools to save time at work?
For most people: an email assistant (Copilot), a notes/workspace assistant (Notion AI), a meeting summariser (Fireflies or Otter), an automation tool (Zapier) and a design assistant (Canva).
Can AI really save 10 hours a week?
It can. If you apply it to repeatable work: email threads, meeting notes, drafting and copy/paste admin. Automation is usually the biggest “compounding” saver.
What’s the easiest AI tool to start with?
Email summarisation. If your inbox is heavy, Copilot-style summaries are an immediate win.
Hope this helps!
