A huge +1 for automating all the things as a form of practice! I don’t even think that you have to (strictly speaking) end up saving time on a particular task for a lot of automation to be worth it. The act of practicing automation makes you more efficient at future automation. Even a failed attempt at automating something can teach you stuff about why certain things are hard to automate that can make you a better engineer.
Getting in the habit of automating stuff in your editor and environment can also have a real snowballing effect. Yes, you end up “wasting” some time with yak shaves that don’t work out. But it doesn’t take long before the scope of what you can tackle in a day grows. It’s really profound how much friction you can remove, and how much friction there is in fresh environments.
Also, and ymmv, but a lot of repetitive tasks can be pretty soul crushing. Too much toil and you can come to dread your job. Automating something away almost always feels rewarding to me. Keeping yourself happy and motivated in your work should also count for something.
Getting in the habit of automating stuff in your editor and environment can also have a real snowballing effect. Yes, you end up “wasting” some time with yak shaves that don’t work out. But it doesn’t take long before the scope of what you can tackle in a day grows. It’s really profound how much friction you can remove, and how much friction there is in fresh environments.
Also, and ymmv, but a lot of repetitive tasks can be pretty soul crushing. Too much toil and you can come to dread your job. Automating something away almost always feels rewarding to me. Keeping yourself happy and motivated in your work should also count for something.