Make Life Easier with These Creative Alexa Routines

Originally posted on Men's Journal | By Emily Fazio | Last updated Jul 25, 2024 2:45 PM ET

Amazon's Echo devices are a game changer, but as consumers continue to buy up this smart home technology at a fast pace (thanks, Prime Day!), we've found that adoption of Alexa Routines still lags.

What are Alexa Routines? Routines are preset tasks that use simple programming logic to automate a sequence of events to enhance smart home convenience, efficiency, and deliver personalized control. Developers can even create custom triggers to take personalization to a new level.

“Alexa Routines save you time and help simplify your daily life by letting you group together a bunch of different actions to take place with the help of Alexa," shares Melissa Mohr, Director, Alexa Smart Home. "There are many ways you can customize Routines to help automate aspects of your home to meet your unique needs. For example, saying “Alexa, good morning” could trigger your coffee machine to start, your bedroom lights to turn on, your blinds to raise, and Alexa to play a news briefing from your Echo. You can set up Routines to take place with a specific phrase, when an alarm goes off, or even at certain times of the day—like having your porch lights turn on/off automatically at sunrise and sunset. You can also trigger a Routine when Alexa detects a specific sound like playing soothing music when a baby cries or sending a notification to your phone when a beeping appliance is detected.”

While the entry-level routines are a great place to start, it's the next tier of programming that'll redefine what it means to live in a smart home. Integrate multiple smart home devices into the mix, and you'll quickly see how nice it is to automate your space. Here are some of the most compelling use scenarios we've found, implemented by real Amazon Alexa customers:

Synergize Your Morning Routine

Trigger: When you say "Alexa, good morning!"

Alexa will:

Gradually turn on smart lights anywhere in your home to a specific brightness
Start a smart coffee maker
Play the news or your favorite morning playlist
Announce your calendar events and weather forecast

How to set up a 'Good Morning' routine:

In the Alexa app, navigate to Routines and tap the + symbol.
Choose a name for your routine (e.g., "Good Morning").
Select your preferred trigger:

Scheduled time: Set a specific time for your routine to activate daily.
Voice: Record a custom voice command (e.g., "Alexa, good morning!").

Tap Next.
Under Add action, select Smart Home and choose your smart lights.
Set the lights to turn on gradually to a desired brightness level (e.g., 50% brightness for the first 15 minutes). To program gradual brightening that simulates the sunrise, select the "Dim" function and set a schedule for gradually increasing brightness (e.g., turn on to 20% brightness for the first 30 minutes, then increase to 50% brightness for the next 15 minutes).
Tap Add action again and select Smart Home to control your smart coffee maker (if compatible). Choose the "Turn on" function.
For news and weather, tap Add action and choose Alexa Says. Craft a personalized message including commands like "Alexa, play the news" and "Alexa, tell me today's weather."
To share calendar events, tap Add action and choose Alexa Says again. Craft a message like "Alexa, tell me my upcoming events for today."
Tap Save to finalize your routine.

Create a Calming Nighttime Routine

Trigger: When you say "Alexa, bedtime!"

Alexa will:

Turn off all smart house lights
Close the garage door (if it has a smart opener and is left open)
Dim bedroom lights to a specific level
Turn off the TV after a set time
Adjust the thermostat to a sleep-friendly temperature

How to set up a 'Time for Bed' routine:

In the Alexa app, navigate to Routines and tap the + symbol.
Choose a name for your bedtime routine (e.g., "Goodnight").
Select your preferred triggers for routines:

Scheduled time: Set a specific time for the routine to activate each night.
Voice: Record a custom voice command (e.g., "Alexa, goodnight!").
Sensor: Choose your motion sensor and set the inactivity time that will trigger the entire routine (e.g., no motion detected in the bedroom for 30 minutes).

Tap Next.
Under Add action, select Smart Home and choose all your smart lights. Select the "Turn off" function.
(Optional) If you have a smart garage door opener, tap Add action again and choose Smart Home. Select your garage door and the "Close" function.
Tap Add action again and select Smart Home for your bedroom lights. Choose the "Dim" function and set the desired level (e.g., 10%).
Tap Add action and select Smart Home for your smart TV (if compatible). Choose "Turn off" and set a delay (e.g., turn off TV after 30 minutes).
Tap Add action and select Smart Home for your thermostat. Choose the "Set temperature" function and set a sleep-conducive temperature.
Tap Save to finalize your routine.

Alternatively: An "Oops, You Fell Asleep" Routine

Trigger: Sound of snoring detected by a smart speaker with sound recognition

Alexa will:

Gradually dim bedroom lights
Play white noise or nature sounds
Turn off the television or other smart devices, if not already off

How to use leverage audio listening for your bedtime routine:

In the Alexa app, navigate to Routines and tap the + symbol.
Choose a name for your routine (e.g., "Stop Snoring").
Select Sound as the trigger and choose "Snoring" from the available options. You may need to select a specific Echo device if you have multiple speakers.
Tap Next.
Under Add action, select Smart Home and choose your bedroom lights. Select the "Dim" function and set the dimming rate (e.g., dim 10% every 5 minutes).
Tap Add action again and select Play Music. Choose calming white noise or nature sounds to mask the snoring.
Tap Add action again and select Smart Home. Choose your bedroom television, and set to off.
Tap Save to finalize your daily routine.

Deck the Halls with Festive Routines

Trigger: When you say "Alexa, happy holidays!"

Alexa will:

Turn on holiday decor
Play festive music
Automatically turn off after a specified period of time

How to set up a 'Holiday Cheer' routine:

Ensure your smart Christmas tree lights are connected and compatible with Alexa.
In the Alexa app, navigate to Routines and tap the + symbol.
Choose a name for your routine (e.g., "Holiday Cheer").
Under When this happens, select Voice.
Record your custom voice command (e.g., "Alexa, happy holidays!").
Tap Next.
Under Add action, select Smart Home.
Choose your smart Christmas tree lights from the list of connected devices.
Select the desired action (e.g., Turn on).
(Optional) Tap Add action again to play festive music. Choose Play Music and select your preferred holiday playlist.
Tap Save to finalize your routine.

Automate Housekeeping With Your Robot Vacuum

Trigger: When you say "Alexa, time to clean [the kitchen]!"

Alexa will:

Start your robot vacuum cleaner in the kitchen, or in any designated spaces that should be part of the automated daily routine (ours also does the dining room and hallway).

How to set up a housekeeping routine:

In the Alexa app, navigate to Routines and tap the + symbol.
Choose a name for your cleaning routine (e.g., "Vacuum Time").
Select Scheduled time as the trigger and set the desired time for your robot to clean (e.g., daily at noon).
Tap Next.
Under Add action, select Smart Home and choose your robot vacuum.
Select the "Start cleaning" function.
Tap Save to finalize your routine.

Soothe Your Pup with Canine Calming Techniques

Trigger: Dog barking detected by a smart speaker with sound recognition

Alexa will:

Play calming music

How to create a routine to calm your pets:

In the Alexa app, navigate to Routines and tap the + symbol.
Choose a name for your routine (e.g., "Calm the Pup").
Select Sound as the trigger and choose "Dog barking" from the available options. You may need to select the correct device if you have multiple speakers.
Tap Next.
Under Add action, select Play Music.
Choose a pre-made playlist specifically designed to calm dogs or create your own playlist with soothing music genres or nature sounds.
Tap Save to finalize your routine.

Create Complex Routines for Advanced Users

Alexa Routines can be chained together to create intricate automations. Here's an example for baking bread:

Trigger: "Alexa, start baking bread!"

Alexa will:

Start a smart plug connected to your bread machine
Play upbeat music for the duration of the baking cycle
Set timers for specific steps (e.g., "Alexa, in 30 minutes, tell me to add the raisins")
Announce the completion of baking with a custom message

How to make a routine for baking a recipe:

In the Alexa app, navigate to Routines and tap the + symbol.
Choose a name for your routine (e.g., "Bake Bread").
Select Voice as the trigger and record your custom voice command.
Tap Next.
Under Add action, select Smart Home and choose the smart plug connected to your bread machine. Select the "Turn on" function.
Tap Add action again and select Play Music. Choose upbeat music to accompany your baking time.
Craft multiple timer actions using Add action and selecting Alexa Says. Set the timers for specific steps in your bread recipe (e.g., "Alexa, in 30 minutes, tell me to add the raisins").
Finally, create a custom message announcing the completion of baking using Add action and selecting Alexa Says (e.g., "Alexa, tell me my bread is finished.")

Other Smart Routines We Love

Home security. Keep an Echo Dot near your front door. When motion is detected by the smart doorbell, have the Dot produce dog barking sounds and turn on interior and outdoor lights.
Movie night. Set up "Alexa, it's movie night" to prompt a sequence of events that turns on the television and speakers, lowers a projector screen (optional, but relevant to my home setup), lower blackout curtains, turn light bulbs to 10%, and, 3 minutes later announce "Don't forget the popcorn."
Workout routine. Let your Alexa-enabled device motivate you throughout your home workout. It can help time you through reps, remind you of your goals, and motivate you to enhance your fitness skills.
Control children's screen time. Use a routine to power down laptops, bedroom lights, turn on night lights, and put a block on children's device Wi-Fi. Our kids would like it if it also triggered their Echo Dot to play a podcast.
Manage school morning family routines. Let Alexa help wake the kids, share the weather with advice that promotes jackets, snow boots, or other seasonal accessories. A 'getting-ready routine' can also include timed reminders that encourage them to stay on task, pack their lunch, check if they need gym shoes, and brush their teeth.