Choosing a first language for automation rather than for a future career

I want to automate boring work: rename files, clean spreadsheets, read CSVs and maybe call an API later. I'm not choosing a language to maximize future salary or prepare for interviews. Python looks like the obvious practical option, but browser-related tasks keep pulling me toward JavaScript. If you started from zero with this exact goal, what first project would you use to learn the basics without spending months comparing languages?