Built 3 full n8n workflows from scratch

My goal is to automate key parts of my business from lead gen to internal ops, while learning how to think in systems

Here’s what I’ve shipped so far

Workflow 1: Daily Quote Email

A lightweight morning ritual delivered via automation

- Triggers every morning
- Pulls a random quote from an open API
- Formats & emails it to me using Gmail

Learned:

- Cron triggers
- HTTP Request node
- Data formatting via Set node
- Gmail integration & auth

Cross-cutting skills I picked up:

- Trigger design (cron, email, manual)
- API calls & authentication
- Building clean, dynamic messages
- Debugging rate limits & data issues
- Integrating Gmail, Google Sheets, & Slack
- Writing real logic in n8n expressions

Workflow 3: Daily Weather to Slack

Posts a clean, emoji-enhanced weather summary to Slack every morning

- Fetches forecast via OpenWeatherMap
- Parses out temp, city, condition
- Capitalizes text & adds emoji based on weather type
- Posts to Slack

Learned:

- Working with API query params
- Switching units (Fahrenheit)
- Conditional logic in expressions
- Slack OAuth setup & error handling
- Fixing undefined/missing fields

Workflow 2: Starred Email Tracker

Turns Gmail stars into structured signals

- Watches my inbox for new starred emails
- Logs sender, subject, & date to a Google Sheet

Learned:

- IMAP Email Trigger (w/ JSON filters)
- Google Sheets OAuth2 flow
- Mapping fields with Set node
- Using Wait node to avoid rate limits