As a professional organizer I am always on the lookout for ways to help make my own life and home more organized, – so I can get more work done helping others to get organized – and over the past few years I’ve found that a smart digital assistant is an amazing tool that I would not ever be without.
I personally prefer Alexa, but the best digital personal assistant for you is subjective and depends on individual needs and preferences. Some other popular options are Google Assistant, Apple Siri, and Microsoft Cortana.
Amazon Alexa is known for its wide range of compatible smart home devices, while Google Assistant excels in voice recognition and search capabilities. Apple Siri integrates well with Apple products, and Microsoft Cortana is designed to work seamlessly with Windows devices.
Ultimately, the best digital personal assistant for you will depend on the type of devices you use, the functionality you need, and the type of smart home setup you have. Before choosing, it may be helpful to research and compare the features of each option to determine which is the best fit for your specific needs.
Top 10 Benefits of Using Smart Digital Assistants
A digital personal assistant, such as Amazon’s Alexa, Google Assistant, Apple’s Siri or Microsoft’s Cortana, can bring many advantages to your life and home. Here are 10 of the top benefits:
- Voice control: With just your voice, you can control your smart home devices, play music, set reminders, and perform other tasks.
- Hands-free: Digital assistants allow you to control your home or get information without having to physically touch a device.
- Customizable: Digital assistants can be customized with different skills and capabilities to fit your individual needs and preferences.
- Convenient: You can access your digital assistant from anywhere in your home, making it easy to get the information you need or perform tasks without having to physically interact with a device.
- Multiple devices: You can access your digital assistant on multiple devices, including smart speakers, smartphones, and laptops.
- Time-saving: Digital assistants can automate many of your daily tasks, such as setting reminders, creating shopping lists, and controlling your smart home devices.
- Organization: Digital assistants can help you manage your schedule, to-do list, and other tasks, making it easier to stay organized and on top of your responsibilities.
- Enhanced accessibility: For those with disabilities or mobility issues, digital assistants can offer a more convenient and accessible way to perform tasks and control their environment.
- Entertainment: Digital assistants can provide entertainment, such as playing music, providing trivia answers, and telling jokes.
- Integration: Digital assistants can integrate with a wide range of other smart devices, apps, and services, making it easy to control your home and get the information you need.
Overall, a digital personal assistant can make your life more convenient, organized, and efficient.
Here are some specifics about the great things you can do with Alexa that will save you time and help keep your life more streamlined and organized.
Play Music or Audiobooks
Using a smart assistant to play music or listen to the latest bestsellers allows you to listen to your favorite tunes without the need for additional speakers and extra wiring. So if you like to sing along while you shower, Alexa in your bathroom, for example, makes it easy to do so.
Set Reminders and Alarms
Setting an alarm with Alexa is as easy as asking it to do so, and you can set as many as you need, and it will remember them all. Alarms and reminders can be set days, weeks or even months ahead, so you can add a reminder as soon as you think of something and your personal digital assistant will remember the details even if you don’t.
Create Shopping and To-Do Lists
Shopping with a list always makes the process more efficient and will usually help you save money too. As most smart assistants – its certainly the case for Google Home and Alexa – can be used on your smartphone too, simply by accessing an app – you can add items to your list throughout the day/week at home and you’ll then be able to access it immediately on your phone when you get to the store. If you name the list and share its name, others in your home will be able to add to the list too.
If you use Alexa, and like shopping on Amazon, you can even have it place an order based on your list for you, no need to stop what you are doing to shop Amazon (which might be a great way to cut down on those impulse purchases its easy to make when browsing the site yourself!)
Control Smart Home Devices
From lights to coffee makers and microwaves, smart doorbells to smart thermostats and even things like your PC or gaming consoles there are all kinds of things that your smart assistant can interact with and be used to control. This will save you time and hassle, and can be a great way to cut your energy bills too.
Get News Updates and Weather Forecasts
No time to read the newspaper but want to stay informed? Your smart assistant can read you a news summary at any time. Most of them allow you to choose several news sources to get your updates from, but you can always also ask it to access even more.
Find Recipes and Cooking Tips
Not sure what to make for dinner? Ask Alexa for help. It can offer you recipes based on the ingredients yo tell it you have on hand, what you are in the mood for or how much time you have. If you opt for a smart visual assistant with a video screen – like this one – it will even show you instructional videos you can ‘cook along’ with. A smart digital assistant can also be a huge help with more formal meal planning efforts too.
Listen to Podcasts
I love listening to podcasts as they are a great way to learn new things, and you can find great ones that cover almost any niche. Not only will smart assistants play your favorites when asked but they will also help you find new ones based on your interests and the things you tell it you want to hear.
Make hands-free calls and send messages – Rather than having to stop what you are doing to get to your phone to answer it or send a message you can have our smart assistant do it for you.
Get Traffic and Travel Information
Nothing ruins your morning like getting stuck in unexpected traffic. Smart assistants will give you real time traffic information and even offer you alternate routes so that you avoid getting stuck in a traffic snarl.
Find Your Way Around in a New Place
Alexa can be your best friend when traveling to new places. It can help you find somewhere to eat, somewhere to pick up a few groceries, give you turn by turn – or even step by step – directions and offer all kinds of suggestions about the best places to go and things to do in a place that unfamiliar to you. Asking Alexa saves me hours of Googling time and it’s sent me off on some very exciting adventures!
Manage your Calendar
I really get a lot of use out of my Alexa devices when it comes to managing my calendar and ensuring that my day goes as planned (yes, even professional organizers need organizing help)
Managing your calendar with Alexa is a convenient and effortless process. Alexa – and other smart assistants- can be integrated into your daily life to make it more efficient and organized. Here are some of the ways you can manage your calendar with Alexa:
- Adding events and reminders: Alexa allows you to add events and reminders to your calendar with voice commands. You can say something like “Alexa, add a doctor’s appointment to my calendar on Friday at 2 PM” and the event will be added to your calendar.
- Checking your schedule: To check your schedule, you can simply ask Alexa. For example, you can say “Alexa, what’s on my calendar for today?” and Alexa will respond with your schedule for the day.
- Editing events: If you need to make changes to an event, you can use Alexa to edit it. Simply say “Alexa, change my doctor’s appointment to 3 PM” and Alexa will update the event in your calendar.
- Deleting events: You can also delete events from your calendar using Alexa. Say “Alexa, delete my doctor’s appointment” and Alexa will remove it from your calendar.
- Setting reminders: Alexa can help you set reminders for important tasks and events. For example, you can say “Alexa, remind me to pick up the kids at school at 3 PM” and Alexa will set a reminder for you.
- Checking reminders: To check your reminders, simply ask Alexa. For example, you can say “Alexa, what reminders do I have today?” and Alexa will list all of your reminders for the day.
- Setting recurring events: Alexa also allows you to set recurring events. For example, you can say “Alexa, add a weekly meeting to my calendar every Monday at 10 AM” and Alexa will add a recurring event to your calendar.
With Alexa, managing your calendar is as easy as speaking a few voice commands. By using Alexa to manage your calendar, you can save time and make sure you never miss an important event or task again.
Working with Taya and her team is easy. You can book an appointment easily on her website, or contact her directly at 832-271-7608
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