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This blog post is sponsored by my favorite in-house virtual assistant, Amazon Echo, aka Alexa.
One of my intentions for this year was to unplug. And when I say unplug, I mean not so much spending time completely off the grid away from technology (let’s be real!) but spending less time on my phone in everyday life. If there’s one device that helps me get off my phone the most, it’s my Amazon Echo.
Here are the 3 ways Amazon Alexa Skills Life Hacks to make my life easier without picking up my phone.
Cooking: Eco Hacks
Ever since I moved into a place with a bigger kitchen, I’ve been cooking at home most days of the week. Especially after buying a pressure cooker! My two biggest reasons for cooking more at home are:
- Knowing what goes into my food and cooking it with care.
- Reducing takeout food waste.
I’m always on the lookout for ways to reduce my environmental footprint, especially in the food department. From carrying my Yeti mug everywhere I go, to saving leftovers, and reusing coconut butter jars and packaging (I use it to ship heart bowl orders) – these seemingly small actions can have a huge positive impact.
That’s why I love the Eco Hacks – Amazon Life Hack Skill that offers simple, actionable changes that have positive effects on the planet. It comes in the form of a fun truth or dare game and is the most hilarious Amazon Skill I’ve tried so far.
Once you enable the Eco Hacks Skill from your Amazon Alexa app or from your Amazon account on your computer, you can start using it by saying “Alexa, Open Eco Hacks”.
The truth part of the game includes environmental hacks such as “Eating at home helps reduce waste” or “The more food your throw away, the more food farmers have to grow”, and the dare part offers actionable tips. The first few times I refused to take on a dare, Alexa said: “You seem a little scared anyway” or “Ouch! If the environment had a heart, you just broke it.” Fun! This Skill is also kid-friendly.
Working: Lyfe Trak
Having been part of an entrepreneur group for a few months, I’ve learned about the importance of setting goals and recording my progress towards reaching them.
That’s why I like Lyfe Trak, an Alexa Skill that helps you easily track progress towards your goals. It can be anything from how much time you spend on various tasks, to reading, or anything else you want to track. I’ve been using it to track how much time I spend on various parts of my business as now I’m managing not just Breakfast Criminals, but also Heart Bowl, Crystal Criminals and Funded by Source podcast!
When setting up Lyfe Trak, all you have to do is activate the Skill, then set up a new goal, choose your metric (duration or how many times), and start tracking!
Taking A Bath: My Pod
As I recently launched my own podcast on conscious entrepreneurship and spirituality, I’ve been spending more time diving into the world of podcasts. My current favorites are Bulletproof Radio with Dave Asprey, The Joe Rogan Experience, Highest Self Podcast with Sahara Rose and The Goal Digger Podcast with Jenna Kutcher.
The problem is that one of my favorite times to listen to podcasts is while I’m taking a bath, and at the same time I have a personal rule of not bringing my phone into the bathroom. That’s why I was so excited when I found out about the My Pod Skill for Alexa!
All you have to do is to enable the skill in your Alexa app or in your Amazon account, link your account to My Pod, and add your favorite podcasts. Fill the bathtub, add Epsom salts, get soaking, and tell Alexa “Launch My Pod”. Done! A totally hands-free podcast listening experience. You can go back, skip forward and create custom playlists that can include not only podcasts but also audiobooks, mp3 files and audio files shared in Google Drive.
Will you be trying out any of these life hacks?
You can also explore other life hacks by simply saying “Alexa, make my life easier”. I’d love to hear which Amazon Alexa Skills you’re using in comments!
Here are my 3 other life hacks for creating healthy boundaries and spending less time on my phone:
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No phone in bed, especially upon waking up! Allow yourself to connect with yourself before you connect with others and let the outside world dictate how you feel all day. The easiest way to do it? Get an analog alarm.
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Date nights with no phone. You heard it right! I love going on friend or romantic dates and either leaving my phone behind altogether or simply creating the intention of not taking my phone out of my purse until I need to call an Uber. It allows me to be fully present with the people I’m with, and not get distracted by the notifications on my phone.
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When traveling – both international and local trips – I love creating no-phone adventures to create space for the magic of spontaneity. The longest I’ve done it was for 10 days during my trip to India. Even a 4-hour no-phone slot might transform your adventure. Try it!