When I was using my all-analog set up (Fostex 8 channel reel-to-reel to mixer to Teac 2 track reel-to-reel) I used to pretty much set and forget, only riding a fader to fix a problem.
Now the mixer is only used when tracking, all mixing down is done inside the PC via Cakewalk, so I've been getting much more twitchy about playing with the (virtual) faders. Automation is a wonderful thing.