When we use a PC with Windows 10, many operations become so repetitive and monotonous that it becomes frustrating to use the machine, having to always make the same gestures to do something simple.Fortunately, Windows 10 lends itself very well to planning and, with the right instructions, we will finally be able to automate some of the operations we carry out regularly, so that the operating system itself can take care of it when the computer starts or at any time of the day. , of the week or month.
Let's see in this guide then how to schedule tasks on windows 10, so as to have fewer things to think about and focus solely and solely on productivity or study.
READ ALSO: Automate repetitive tasks and automated operations on Windows PCs
How to use Windows Task Scheduler
Before showing you some concrete planning examples, it's worth finding out how it works in detail Scheduler, the tool dedicated to schedules in all versions of Windows. For the guide we will show you how this tool works on Windows 10, but the suggestions proposed are also good for older versions of Windows, since very little has changed.
How to create a generic schedule
To open the tool dedicated to planning on Windows, open the Start menu at the bottom left, type Scheduler and open the first app that will show up in the list.
On the left there is the library with all the activities already present on the system and which we can view at any time; on the right instead we can find a series of useful functions to manage or create new planned activities.
In this section we will find the item Create activity, to be pressed whenever we decide to make our repetitive activity automatic.
In the card General we can choose the name of the activity and decide the permissions that the schedule will have to use when it runs. In most cases it is enough to leave everything as it is, but if we need administrator permissions make sure that the item is checked Run with the highest privileges; if we do not want any visual feedback of the activity, we also check the item Hidden.
To continue carrying out the planned activity, click on the card Activation, then on the button New.
In the window that opens we will be able to choose in which conditions to start the planning. In most cases it is sufficient to select the item On startup, so that it can be started every time the computer starts; if, on the other hand, we have other needs, we can choose a specific day of the week or a recurring date (every month or every year) to perform the requested activity.
After pressing on OK let's go to the card Actions and press on New, so as to open the most important window of all.
In this window we will have to enter the program, script or terminal command that we want to plan, so as to obtain the automation of a repetitive and boring operation. While it may seem very difficult at first glance, the planning process is very simple and within everyone's reach.
After pressing on OK we can analyze the last two cards, that is Conditions is Settings.
In these two screens we can decide some of the conditions that must occur to perform the activity, such as the presence of the power supply or the presence of the battery (on laptops), if it is necessary to stop the planning after a certain amount of time or if activate the activity only a few minutes after starting.
Obviously it is up to us to customize this type of settings according to the needs required by the planning.
Planning examples
Below we have collected some good planning examples that we can create on any PC running Windows 10 or lower and which can be very useful.
Automatic TRIM
If we have a PC with an SSD as a storage unit, we recommend that you plan the TRIM (i.e. the process that restores the functioning of the SSD cells used) on a weekly basis, using the commands from the terminal as visible in the window below.
Specifically, the commands are:
- Program or script: % WINDIR% / System32 / Defrag.exe
- Add topics: C: -O -H
Let's not forget to schedule the task as weekly and to start it as soon as possible if we miss the scheduled date. The process takes just one second and the window that opens will not cause any discomfort, as it will close very quickly.
Schedule Windows Defender updates and scans
If we want to get maximum security from Windows Defender (the antivirus built into Windows 10), make sure to use the following terminal commands on the screen Edit action (as seen above):
- Program or script: C: Program Files Windows Defender MpCmdRun.exe
- Add topics: SignatureUpdateAndQuickScan
Once these parameters have been configured, make sure to add as run time every day (in the screen Activation), to set the highest privileges and to hide the activity from the user's view (in the screen General).
Start a minimized program
If we want Windows 10 to start our minimized favorite programs, maybe 2 or 3 minutes after starting the computer, just act on the screen Edit action as follows:
- Program or script: start / min
The program path can be retrieved by pressing the key Browse and looking for it inFile Explorer; obviously remember to set at least a few minutes of waiting after Windows starts, to avoid that it can slow down the PC startup too conspicuously.
Conclusions
With Scheduler we will be able to make our life in front of the PC less repetitive, since we can schedule the execution of any recurring event so that the computer remembers to do it.
Always on the subject of planning, we invite you to read our guides Schedule PC shutdown or restart at a specific time is Schedule maintenance activities for the Windows PC by automating operations, so as to find other interesting material with which to plan activities.
To follow precise actions based on an event we can also rely on our article on how Perform actions on a pc with a timer or based on an event.