Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about how to use ChatGPT—and other tools—to make life easier. I’m constantly on the lookout for ways to automate parts of my day or business that don’t need to be manual anymore. Not because I’m lazy, but because burnout is real, and our energy is too valuable to waste on repetitive tasks.
Here’s a small example from our yoga studio, Reach Power Yoga.
The Daily Instagram Routine
Every single morning, my wife posts a story to our Instagram account. It’s a consistent, useful touchpoint for our students. But here’s what it takes:
- Pick 1 of 12 rotating stock photos
- Screenshot today’s class schedule
- Add the schedule image to the story
- Insert a tappable link to book
- Align everything correctly
- Post
All of this happens before 9am. Every day.
It’s simple, but time-consuming. And mentally, it’s one more thing she has to do before the day even starts.
Enter: ChatGPT
So I gave GPT a prompt and said:
“This is a story my wife makes daily on Instagram. She posts 1 of 12 stock photos we have and then links to the daily schedule of our classes. We host our schedule on our website and through Mindbody. It is important that students see the date, times of classes and instructor on the story she posts and also have a clickable link. I would love to automate this post so she doesn’t have to do it manually each day. Give me step-by-step instructions.”
Here’s what GPT came back with.
🛠 The Automation Plan (From GPT)
Goal: Automatically post a daily Instagram Story that shows:
- Today’s yoga class schedule (time + instructor)
- The correct date
- A clickable link to book
- A rotating stock photo background
Tools Needed:
- Mindbody API (or scrape the schedule from our website)
- Zapier or Make.com to automate the workflow
- Bannerbear or Canva to generate the story graphic
- Buffer, Later, or Metricool to schedule & post the story with a clickable link
- (Optional: Google Sheets or Airtable to hold the schedule)
✅ Step-by-Step Breakdown
1. Get Today’s Schedule
Use Mindbody’s API (or scrape our site) to pull today’s class info:
- Time
- Instructor
- Class type
2. Generate the Story Image
Use Bannerbear or Canva to overlay the schedule on a rotating stock photo (we have 12). The image is sized perfectly for Instagram Stories and updated daily.
3. Add the Clickable Link
Use Buffer or Later (linked to our Instagram business account) to schedule the Story and include the “Book Now” sticker.
4. Automate It All
Set it all to run automatically every morning around 6am using Zapier or Make. No more daily story creation by hand.
Why This Matters
Could I have figured this out without ChatGPT? Yeah, probably. But that’s missing the point.
The point is: now I have an AI assistant.
It gives me a game plan in seconds. I just have to decide if I want to build it.
This isn’t just about one Instagram story. It’s about freeing up time, energy, and mental space to focus on what actually matters—showing up for our students and growing the studio.
What’s Next
I’m working on building this automation today. Eventually, I imagine having a full team of AI agents handling tasks like this in the background. I’ll let you know how it goes.
In the meantime, I’d love to hear from you:
→ How are you using ChatGPT or automation tools in your life or work?
Drop a comment or send me a message—especially if you’ve built something cool. I’m always curious.
