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Volunteer at a meaningful organization (e.g., your kids' school or a local…

2026-08-05 · 16:14 UTC ·@kyle_e_walker ·1 min read

Brief

Kyle E. Walker recommends volunteering at a meaningful organization (school, local nonprofit) to learn and document manual spreadsheet workflows, use Claude/Codex to draft an automation spec, then implement and ship the automation with professional practices (tests, error handling, future-proofing). The result saves time for staff and produces a tangible portfolio project.

Why it matters

Volunteer at a meaningful organization (e.g., your kids' school or a local nonprofit) to find convoluted, manually managed spreadsheet workflows; learn and document the exact steps and logic before automating.

Key details

  • Use Claude or Codex to draft an automation spec and implement the automation with your LLM of choice, structuring it like a professional software project (full test suite, error handling, future-proofing) so it saves real time and becomes a tangible portfolio piece for clients/employers.
Source evidence

A great way to get started if you're looking to build expertise in AI / automation:

Find an organization meaningful to you where you can volunteer - could be your kids' school, a local nonprofit, etc.

They likely have a convoluted spreadsheet workflow that someone manages manually with very specific steps / logic.

Learn the workflow, take careful notes. Use Claude / Codex to build out an automation spec.

Then, build the automation with your LLM of choice. Structure it like a professional software project: full test suite, error handling, etc.

Take careful steps to make the organization's work easier, not harder. Your job is not to create makework / complex tech debt for them. Future-proof as best as possible.

When you're done, you've created something that will save meaningful time (for people who are probably already stretched thin) and you'll have a tangible project that you can show to potential clients / employers.