You've probably written a script or two in Python and thought, "Nice, I'm automating my life." But let's be real — most of those scripts are either half-baked or buried in your Projects folder, never to be touched again.

This weekend, I've got something better for you: 8 Python automation projects that range from beginner-friendly warmups to advanced flexes. Not the usual "Hello World with a twist," but scripts that will genuinely make your life easier and maybe even impress that one colleague who always asks, "But can you do it in Bash?"

Let's dive in.

1. Automate Zoom (or Google Meet) Meeting Attendance

(For when you're "working from home")

You know those recurring meetings where you only need to say "Yes, I'm here" once? This script joins the meeting at the right time, mutes you, and even turns off your camera automatically.

import pyautogui
import time
import webbrowser
import schedule

MEETING_URL = "https://zoom.us/j/123456789"
JOIN_TIME = "10:00"

def join_meeting():
    webbrowser.open(MEETING_URL)
    time.sleep(10)  # wait for browser to load
    pyautogui.press('enter')  # click "Join"
    time.sleep(5)
    pyautogui.hotkey('alt', 'a')  # mute
    pyautogui.hotkey('alt', 'v')  # turn off camera
    print("Meeting joined successfully.")

schedule.every().day.at(JOIN_TIME).do(join_meeting)

while True:
    schedule.run_pending()
    time.sleep(1)

According to Atlassian, the average worker attends 62 meetings per month, and about half of them are pointless. Automating them might actually save your sanity.

2. Auto-Reply to Emails with AI

(Yes, ChatGPT can be your secretary)

Forget "I'll get back to you soon." This script connects to Gmail, reads incoming emails, and drafts replies using OpenAI's API. Perfect for inbox-zero warriors.

import imaplib
import email
import openai
import smtplib

openai.api_key = "your_api_key"

def get_latest_email():
    mail = imaplib.IMAP4_SSL("imap.gmail.com")
    mail.login("youremail@gmail.com", "yourpassword")
    mail.select("inbox")
    _, data = mail.search(None, "UNSEEN")
    mail_ids = data[0].split()
    if not mail_ids:
        return None, None
    latest_id = mail_ids[-1]
    _, msg_data = mail.fetch(latest_id, "(RFC822)")
    raw_email = msg_data[0][1]
    msg = email.message_from_bytes(raw_email)
    return msg["From"], msg.get_payload()

def draft_reply(sender, body):
    response = openai.Completion.create(
        model="text-davinci-003",
        prompt=f"Reply professionally to this email:\n{body}",
        max_tokens=150
    )
    return response.choices[0].text.strip()

def send_reply(to_addr, reply):
    with smtplib.SMTP("smtp.gmail.com", 587) as server:
        server.starttls()
        server.login("youremail@gmail.com", "yourpassword")
        server.sendmail("youremail@gmail.com", to_addr, reply)

sender, body = get_latest_email()
if sender and body:
    reply = draft_reply(sender, body)
    send_reply(sender, reply)

Caution: Use wisely, unless you want AI accidentally scheduling lunch with your boss.

3. Auto-Generate Daily Journal from Browser History

(Your digital diary writes itself)

Every tab you open tells a story. This script scrapes your Chrome history and compiles a daily summary in Markdown.

import sqlite3
import datetime

def get_chrome_history():
    history_db = "C:\\Users\\YourUser\\AppData\\Local\\Google\\Chrome\\User Data\\Default\\History"
    conn = sqlite3.connect(history_db)
    cursor = conn.cursor()
    cursor.execute("SELECT url, title, last_visit_time FROM urls ORDER BY last_visit_time DESC LIMIT 50")
    rows = cursor.fetchall()
    conn.close()
    return rows

def generate_journal():
    today = datetime.date.today().strftime("%Y-%m-%d")
    entries = get_chrome_history()
    with open(f"journal_{today}.md", "w", encoding="utf-8") as f:
        f.write(f"# Journal for {today}\n\n")
        for url, title, _ in entries:
            f.write(f"- [{title}]({url})\n")
    print("Journal generated!")

generate_journal()

Run this script daily via cron or Task Scheduler. Future-you will thank you.

4. Automatically Turn Articles into Podcast Episodes

(Text-to-speech, but make it useful)

Instead of "read later," why not "listen later"?

import requests
from bs4 import BeautifulSoup
import pyttsx3

def article_to_audio(url):
    response = requests.get(url)
    soup = BeautifulSoup(response.text, "html.parser")
    text = " ".join([p.text for p in soup.find_all("p")])
    engine = pyttsx3.init()
    engine.save_to_file(text, "article.mp3")
    engine.runAndWait()

article_to_audio("https://medium.com/some-interesting-article")

Now you can "read" Medium articles while jogging.

Quick Pause

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5. Automate Grocery Shopping with Price Comparison

(Save money while you sleep)

This script checks prices for your grocery list across multiple online stores and alerts you where it's cheapest.

import requests

groceries = ["milk", "eggs", "coffee"]

def check_price(item):
    url = f"https://api.fakegrocerystore.com/search?q={item}"
    r = requests.get(url).json()
    return min([p["price"] for p in r["results"]])

for item in groceries:
    print(f"Best price for {item}: ${check_price(item)}")

A McKinsey report showed automation saves consumers up to 30% on online shopping by optimizing price hunts.

6. Automate WhatsApp Messages

(Birthday wishes, reminders, or just trolling your friend at 3 AM)

import pywhatkit as kit

kit.sendwhatmsg("+1234567890", "Happy Birthday! 🎉", 15, 0)  # sends at 15:00

Because remembering birthdays is hard, but Python isn't.

7. Auto-Generate Meeting Notes with Speech Recognition

(Stop typing, start listening)

import speech_recognition as sr

recognizer = sr.Recognizer()
with sr.Microphone() as source:
    print("Listening...")
    audio = recognizer.listen(source)
    text = recognizer.recognize_google(audio)
    with open("meeting_notes.txt", "w") as f:
        f.write(text)

print("Meeting notes saved.")

Next time your boss asks, "Who took notes?" — you did.

8. Automate LinkedIn Connections (Careful with this one)

(Build your network without spamming)

from selenium import webdriver
from time import sleep

driver = webdriver.Chrome()
driver.get("https://www.linkedin.com/login")
sleep(2)

username = driver.find_element("id", "username")
password = driver.find_element("id", "password")

username.send_keys("your_email")
password.send_keys("your_password")
password.submit()

sleep(5)
driver.get("https://www.linkedin.com/search/results/people/?keywords=python")

buttons = driver.find_elements("xpath", "//button[text()='Connect']")
for btn in buttons:
    try:
        btn.click()
        sleep(1)
    except:
        pass

print("Connection requests sent.")

Disclaimer: Automating LinkedIn is against their terms. Use at your own risk (and maybe only for testing).

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