Category: Alexa

12/27/2019

HOW TO PREPARE TO RETURN TO WORK AFTER A HOLIDAY BREAK

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Now that Christmas has passed, many of us only have a few more days before we have to be back at work for the start of the year. Some of you may already have been to work!

I work in education, so we take breaks at the end of each semester. I had the privilege of having nearly two weeks off of work, which means I've slept in a bit and had nearly no structure to my day for the past two weeks! That's all about to change on January the 2nd.

So, to help myself and others, here is a guide to prepare to go back to work after New Years!

GET BACK ON SCHEDULE

One major issue you may find yourself in is a lack of structure to your day. You should start combating that this week so you're back on schedule when you go into the office after New Years.

Start waking up at your usual time. You can either do this gradually or all at once.

Additionally, follow through with much of your morning and afternoon routines. This means getting dressed, making and eating breakfast, and so on. This will put you back into the right mindset.

GET ORGANIZED

Organizing puts you into the headspace that gets you ready for work. For me, I like using my planner to schedule my time properly. I also like to use an app called Wunderlist to write down the things I need to do and add deadlines to them.

This always puts me in a good place mentally because I feel more prepared!

PRIORITIZE

Think about the work that you need to do and prioritize what you should start with first.

Doing this before you get into the office will help you have a good basis on which to start. I work in a productions position, so we have a list of the things we need to do, and I always know what I'm personally working on.

However, some things are a higher priority than others. I always keep mental stock of what I need to do when I return to work.

CLEAN UP YOUR DANG HOUSE

It was your break time, so you didn't try and keep your house tidy. You may have had relatives over for a visit, or you may have returned from a visit and left a mess everywhere.

Cleaning up your mess while you still have time before work starts will help you feel more organized and put together when your job does start up again.

PICK OUT SOME OUTFITS

When you start to feel stressed about getting back to work, start picking out some outfits. This can help you refocus your stressful energy on something else.

Plus, if you have your outfits picked out, you'll have less to worry about in the morning when you start back to work!

CONSIDER AUTOMATING SOME TASKS

It's been about a year since I invested in an Echo Dot and some smart plugs throughout our house. At night, I load up our coffee machine with water and coffee grinds. When I wake up, I tell Alexa to "turn on the coffee machine" and I can focus on getting read while knowing freshly brewed coffee is waiting for me in the kitchen. I'm pretty sure you can automate this further to have it auto start at whatever time you want it to!

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1/21/2019

5 WAYS THE AMAZON ECHO DOT MAKES MY LIFE EASIER

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When I was growing up, my mom and grandparents used to buy our house a gift. It was normally new pots and pans for the kitchen or a vacuum cleaner for the carpets. I decided this year to carry this tradition over and purchase our home an Amazon Echo Dot.

Ever since setting it up, I have purchased some items to go with it that have made my life so much easier! Keep reading to learn more about how the Echo Dot can improve your day-to-day life.

STRETCHING YOUR BRAIN

The Echo Dot, or any Alexa-enabled Amazon product, can help you stretch your brain by offering a number of trivia-related games.

Jonathan and I love playing Jeopardy each weekday, and we recently learned that the Dot also offers Teen Jeopardy, which is great if you have young ones! My second favorite game is Song Quiz.

HANDSFREE MORNINGS

I used to spend a ton of money each morning on coffee because I would realize that I didn't have time to put on my coffee. I have a pretty standard, cheap coffee pot!

I decided to purchase some Smart Plugs! I ended up getting two for about $19 bucks. I use one on my coffee machine.

I now load up the machine with coffee grinds and water the night before. When I wake up, I simply say "Alexa, turn on the coffee machine." She turns it on for me and it can make itself while I get ready for the day. After that, I just have to add in my sugar and creamer and I'm on my way out the door!

PRO-TIP: You don't have to spend a ton of money on Amazon products. Check on Amazon to see if the plug, smartbulb, or smart TV is compatible with Alexa!

GET NEWS FAST

I don't usually find myself getting up early enough to browse the news on TV or online. Since we've added Maisel into our household, I've been able to stand at my door while the dog goes to the potty and ask Alexa to read me the news. I get a flash briefing on important things happening in the world and in the US. You can also customize what outlet you receive your news briefing from! Pretty cool.

WEATHER FORECAST READER

I sometimes forget to check the weather on my phone and will find that it is colder, wetter, or hotter than I thought it was. Alexa is great at telling you the weather for your area.

Another great thing she can do is tell you the weather for a period of time in a different place. I travel a lot to see family, so this helps me when I'm packing!

SETTING TIMERS

Have you ever had your hands full with a laundry basket, but you need to set yourself a timer to go check your clothes? Alexa can help!

This is especially great for me because my laundry area is in our car port, so I don't always hear it buzz!

*THIS POST IS NOT SPONSORED IN ANY WAY BY AMAZON!

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lifestyle

HOW TO PREPARE TO RETURN TO WORK AFTER A HOLIDAY BREAK

GET BACK ON SCHEDULE

GET ORGANIZED

PRIORITIZE

CLEAN UP YOUR DANG HOUSE

PICK OUT SOME OUTFITS

CONSIDER AUTOMATING SOME TASKS

5 WAYS THE AMAZON ECHO DOT MAKES MY LIFE EASIER

STRETCHING YOUR BRAIN

HANDSFREE MORNINGS

GET NEWS FAST

WEATHER FORECAST READER

SETTING TIMERS

Archives

Categories

​lifestyle

HOW TO PREPARE TO RETURN TO WORK AFTER A HOLIDAY BREAK

GET BACK ON SCHEDULE

GET ORGANIZED

PRIORITIZE

CLEAN UP YOUR DANG HOUSE

PICK OUT SOME OUTFITS

CONSIDER AUTOMATING SOME TASKS

5 WAYS THE AMAZON ECHO DOT MAKES MY LIFE EASIER

STRETCHING YOUR BRAIN

HANDSFREE MORNINGS

GET NEWS FAST

WEATHER FORECAST READER

SETTING TIMERS

Archives

Categories

lifestyle