Try using timers in some new ways!
Alexa’s timer function is one of my most-used skills — especially these days since I’m still cooking almost all of my meals at home.
But one thing I’ve discovered in recent months is that it’s super helpful to put Alexa’s timer to work in other (non-culinary) ways. Here are a few ideas…
1. Stop losing track of time in the shower. Take an environmentally conscious shower instead! If you’re like me and often guilty of the 25-minute shower, setting a timer for a more eco-friendly shower length (say, 15 minutes) could help you save some water and the planet — not to mention save hours of your life.
2. Replace a lost timer for a game. If that little hourglass is missing from Boggle or another board game — or you just want to make sure that every team gets three minutes to guess correctly the next time you play charades — you can set an Alexa timer for the appropriate amount of time!
3. Set a timer for home projects. If you’ve committed to devoting 30 minutes a day to Marie Kondo-ing your house, set an Alexa timer so you know when you’re done decluttering for the day.
4. Keep kids in check. I don’t have kids of my own, but I’ve heard from a number of friends that the Alexa timer is a great parenting partner to make sure that timeouts or piano practice guidelines are met to the letter.
Alexa Timer Refresh: 5 pro tips you don’t want to forget
- Set as many Alexa timers as you want: Say Alexa, set the shower timer for 15 minutes” and “Alexa, set a timeout timer for 5 minutes.” Keep going and add as many timers as you’d like
- Easily turn off timers: Say “Alexa, stop” when a timer goes off
- Find out how much time is left on your timers: Say “Alexa, what are my timers?”
- Set & turn off timers from any Echo device: You can say to any Echo in your home, “Alexa, set a 10 minute timer on Kitchen Echo” and then “Alexa, stop” to any Echo when you hear the timer ringing
- Extend Alexa timers: Say “Alexa, extend pasta timer 2 minutes” (for when the pasta is still a little too al dente)