Amazon Alexa is a voice assistant that can make your life smarter, comfortable and easier, but only if you know the right commands.
Here are some of the commands you may want to know for your daily life activities.
To start with; With your Echo or other Alexa device, use the activation word “Alexa” to trigger the device to listen for commands. Simply saying “Alexa, open ____” will initiate a skill.
The following is a little overview of some of the commonly used Amazon Alexa skills by category:
Weather:
Once your address has been added to the Alexa app, you can ask Alexa to tell you about your local weather conditions. Simply say “What’s the weather?” or specify by weekend, day of the week and even location. You can also ask “Will it rain/snow/be windy tomorrow?” so you know whether to bring an umbrella or rain boots along. Whenever you ask about the weather, a card showing the 7-day forecast will open in the Alexa app.
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Traffic:
To have Alexa give you details on your “long-drive”, you first have to set the starting point and destination addresses in Settings > Accounts > Traffic.
Then, you can ask for a traffic update by saying one of a few possible phrases, including “Alexa, how is traffic?”, “Alexa, what is my commute?” or “Alexa, what is traffic like right now?”
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Smart Home:
Alexa’s smart home capabilities are really impressive. You can use skills for Tile Bluetooth trackers, Bose SoundTouch speakers, Philips Hue lights, Logitech Harmony remotes, TP-Link smart plugs, iRobot Roomba vacuums, Nest thermostats and more. Of course, you have to own the accompanying devices for these skills to work. Without even the touch of a button, you can turn your lights on by saying “Alexa, turn on Living Room lights” or clean your floors by saying “Alexa, ask Roomba to start cleaning.”
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Health and Fitness:
Alexa can also take on the role of personal trainer in a pinch. The voice assistant can take you through the popular seven-minute workout format with “Alexa, start seven-minute workout.” For something more specialized, ask “Alexa, start pilates class”. If you’ve already got a Fitbit, you can also check your progress with “Alexa, ask Fitbit how I’m doing today”.
If you’re more interested in your mental well-being, but don’t have a lot of time, then say “Alexa, ask Mindfulness for a minute meditation.” to get a quick meditation session with encouragement from Alexa. For something deeper, try the Guided Meditation skill (“Alexa, open Guided Meditation”).
Then “Alexa, ask Guided Meditation to play meditation”. If you’re not into the vibe and soundtrack of the currently playing meditation, then say “Alexa, play next”.
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News:
There’s no better way to start your day than with a little update from Alexa on the essentials. Alexa will give you a Flash Briefing full of news from top sources, and even local weather information. A card will appear in the Alexa app, and sometimes video content is available. Source include the BBC, Reuters, the New York times,ESPN and more.
To get the briefing read to you by Alexa, ask “Alexa, What’s the news?” or “Alexa, What’s my flash briefing?” and flip through stories with your voice by saying “Next”, “Previous” or “Cancel”. To add more content sources to the briefing (or remove them), go to the Settings, then Accounts > Flash Briefing > On, then select Get more Flash Briefing content.
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Sleep and Waking:
Alexa can lull you to sleep with a repertoire of relaxing sounds. Just say “Alexa play [sound]”. Sample sounds you might want to try including Ambient Sounds or Sleep Sounds (a bit of everything), Thunderstorm Sounds, Ocean Sounds, Rain Sounds, Wind Chimes, Fireplace Sounds and more.
Of course, you probably don’t want to have that going all night, relaxing or not. Just ask “Alexa, turn this off in 10 minutes” (or however long you want) to get her to quiet down once you’re safely asleep.
And when it’s time to wake? You can rise up to your favorite motivational jam, radio station or news brief. For example, you set regular or one-off alarms using commands like:
“Alexa, wake me up at 7 am every day to rock music”
“Alexa, set an alarm for 8 am using BBC news on TuneIn”
“Alexa, wake me up to the Beyoncé at 8 am”
