✨ the SPARK 244 ~ My Time Freedom Experiment with AI - Week 1
I built a time-tracker and mapped out six automations. Here's what comes next.
Yesterday, I told you about my realization that I’m done optimizing for platforms that don’t optimize for me. I want to use AI to buy back my time so I can focus on what actually matters.
Today, I’m showing you what I’m planning to build—and the first thing I’ve already made.
What I started with, i.e., a little proof
Before I begin building my automations, I created a tool to track my experiment and assess its effectiveness.
I call it Reclaim Timer—a time-tracking app that measures the dollar value of my time ($300/hour for me, but you set your own rate), and most importantly, tracks whether each task was “Before Automation” or “After Automation.”
I haven’t published this yet, but I think this MVP, version 1, is good for me (I think it might be a great free tool).
The data from this will be stored in Notion (via an automation), where I can utilize Notion’s AI agents to help me understand how things are progressing.
*NOTE* I am not a data person, but I understand the value of tracking and measuring things. AI makes this 100% easier once things are set up and created.
Everyone talks about automation saving time, but it can feel daunting if you’re not a tech-savvy person or haven’t ever set up automations (think even a simple Zap).
I want real numbers. I want to see exactly how many hours I’m buying back each week and what that’s worth in actual dollars.
This isn’t just a tracking tool—it’s the proof point (nothing like being your own guinea pig).
The 3 Automations I’m Starting with This Week
I’m starting with six automations, and decided that these three below will have the most significant impact. As a solopreneur, I’ve gone back & forth on automations (mainly because it felt like more work than it was worth… until AI).
1. YouTube → Content Everywhere (Saves ~3 hours per video)
When I publish a YouTube video, one automation pulls the transcript, generates a blog post in my voice, creates a Substack newsletter draft, generates 5-10 social posts, pushes everything to my scheduler, creates an email draft, updates my content calendar, and sends me a “ready!” notification.
I create the video once—the thing only I can do—and automation handles turning it into 10+ pieces of content. That’s three hours back for every single video.
The takeaway for you: Create once in your zone of genius, automate the repurposing. Pick ONE content type you love and automate everything downstream.
Note: I already have a few tools for video repurposing, so creating this workflow will be interesting.
2. Client Onboarding That Makes You Look Like You Have a Team (Saves ~2 hours per client)
When I tag someone as “New Client” in Notion, they automatically receive a welcome email, a scheduled kickoff meeting, a project folder in Google Drive, a personalized dashboard, and a task list—all without me having to lift a finger.
When clients see this level of organization, they think I have a whole team behind me. It’s just me and really good automation.
The takeaway for you: What happens when someone buys your product or joins your community? Can you automate the “wow” moments that make people feel truly cared for?
Note: Why Notion? (a tool I went kicking & screaming into, lol). Because I can do everything easily in one place, the new AI agents are pretty dang impressive, and their ability to integrate with so many other tools.
3. Social Content Curation for Women in AI (Saves ~1 hour/week, builds community)
This one’s my favorite because it’s not about ME creating more—it’s about championing other women.
It monitors RSS feeds of women creators I want to highlight, generates posts with my commentary, and schedules everything automatically. I’ve been wanting to champion other women in AI consistently, but it always falls to the bottom of my list. Now it’s automated.
This will be super easy with WePost.ai. I can pull in the RSS feeds of the newsletters I want to share consistently, then WePost will do the majority of the heavy lifting.
The takeaway for you: What relationship-building activity do you keep meaning to do but never have time for? You can probably automate the groundwork and add your personal touch.
The Other Three (Quick Version)
Weekly Content Batch Automation - Every Monday at 6 am, generates my weekly content plan and draft posts. No more “what should I create?” paralysis. (~2 hours/week)
AI Intelligence Digest - Every morning at 6 am, scans dozens of AI sources, filters for business owners (not developers), and delivers five relevant tools/news items with content ideas already generated. (~12 hours/week)
Substack → Kit Segmentation Flow - New subscribers automatically tagged based on engagement. (~30 min/day) This is already set up with Make, but I think I can use ChatGPT’s new Agent Builder and eliminate the extra fee.
What I’m Using
N8N (self-hosted on Railway) - automation engine
ChatGPT Agent Builder: Just released, I'll set up the easiest one here to test it.
Notion - command center with AI Agents
Claude API - content generation in my voice
Kit (ConvertKit) - email platform
WePost.ai - social media distribution
Mocha - where I built Reclaim Timer
But honestly? The tools matter less than the system. You could do versions of this with Zapier, Make, or whatever you’re comfortable with.
The Weekly Plan
Week 1 (this week): ✅ Built Reclaim Timer, set up N8N, designed Notion structure
Weeks 2-4: Building out the six automations, tracking time saved, sharing the actual numbers
I’ll show you everything—wins, mistakes, actual time saved, dollar value reclaimed.
The Proof I’m Building Toward
By the end of this experiment, I’ll have real data: hours saved per week, dollar value reclaimed, specific ROI on each automation, and before/after comparisons.
This isn’t theory. It’s not a course I’m selling. It’s my actual business, and I’m showing you everything as I build it.
Why I’m Doing This
I’m done feeding algorithms. I’m done spending hours on content that platforms extract value from while I get breadcrumbs.
But I still want to create. I still want to connect. I still want to build community.
So, I’m using AI to handle the algorithm-feeding—the repurposing, scheduling, and posting—so I can spend my time on what only I can do: creating work I’m proud of, having real conversations, and building genuine relationships.
This is Week 1. I have no idea how it’ll turn out. I know I’m tired of dancing to the algorithm’s tune, and I’m ready to reclaim my time.
If you’re thinking, “I want my time back,” come along for the ride. I’ll keep sharing what I build, what works, what doesn’t, and the actual numbers.
Because the goal isn’t to do more, it’s to reclaim our lives.
Next week: How the YouTube automation performs and the time savings in real dollars.
SPARK Spotlight 🔥
Speaking of automations, OpenAI had its DevDay this week, and it may have just killed a lot of other automation tools. I’m going to test it with one of the automations I mentioned above.
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A Little Brainpower 🧠
Speaking of not creating for algorithms… The future is pointing toward smaller, more intentional, and human-centered digital communities that prioritize trust and meaningful connections over scale and virality. Read “The Last Days of Social Media.”
Maximize visibility on YouTube. “YouTube SEO: How to Optimize Your Channel for Visibility.”
AI is already reshaping how buyers discover and choose brands. “AI Search Strategy: The Seen & Trusted Brand Framework.”
Tool Time ⚒️
This stuff is moving so fast it’s nuts. My focus is on tools that I think would be most helpful for solopreneurs, small businesses, marketers, and creators.
Some of these tools provide a more intuitive way to do something you can do directly with one of the LLMs (ex, ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini), but if you don’t know the process or the order you should do things in, they can be beneficial.
Building products: Work with your AI through structured phases, taking you from idea to product. Try AICoFounder free here.
Advertising: The world’s first tool that builds and grows your Google Search ads (their words, not mine, lol). Try Rudys.ai free here.
Substack Digest: OMG I needed this! StackDigest turns inbox chaos into organized, digestible insights. Thank you
for creating this. Join the StackDigest beta free here.Videos: Transform your ideas into captivating story videos with AI-powered script generation and consistent character creation. Try MagicLight.ai free here.
A gentle reminder this week 🥰
Whew!
I know this was pretty meaty this week… I plan to post more frequently between the weekly newsletters (once I’ve caught up a bit and have the energy).
I’m also trying to go more with the flow of nature, so I’ll let fall ‘lead the way’ so to speak. 🍁 🍂
Have a wonderful day.
With coffee & kindness,
Kim
p.s.
Have you taken my “SPARK AI Archetype” quiz?
