Ways to automate tasks or generally reduce timesinks

So I thought a good topic for the forum would be tips and tricks to reduce the amount of time you need for repetitive tasks or other time sinks.  Whether it be copying and pasting the same graphic across multiple slides, altering images multiple times, or removing background noise from audio, each person has something that takes a lot more time than they would like to spend. 

I'll open it up with a short Screenr on using Smart Objects in Photoshop to speed up image creation.  It's a basic overview, but examples of how it could be used, is creating a skewed perspective photo and then just having to alter one layer to change it for 30 different people.