- | 11:45 am
7 time-saving Google Assistant tricks you should use every day
Automate your morning, turn articles into podcasts, find your way home, and a whole lot more with these Google Assistant time savers.
If youāre like me, youāre constantly looking for ways to save time. Iām not all that busy, mind you: Iām mostly just lazy. And the less time I spend doing stuff, the more time I have toĀ not do stuff.
Enter Google Assistant. Itās very good at setting timers, which must be among its most oft-requested tasks. But it can do a whole lot more, some of which can result in real time-savings each day. Here are a handful of Google Assistant commands that I use every day on my Android phone.
āGOOD MORNINGā
Pro tip: Hold down the Assistant button and say āgood morningā while your spouse is nearby. Itāll launch the routineāandĀ youāll have said good morning to your spouse.
By default, this routine will tell you about the weather, whatās on your calendar, any reminders youāve set, upcoming birthdays, and if your battery is low. Finally, itāll read the news to you.
You can edit this routine and others like it by launching Google Assistant, simply saying āroutines,ā and then tapping the Routines cog.
āHELP ME LEAVE ON TIMEā
Lose track of time often? This trick is a godsend if you try to cram too much into each morning. A half hour before you need to leave, say āhelp me leave on time,ā and your assistant will begin a 30-minute countdown of sorts.
Itāll nudge you at the 20-, 10-, 5-, 1- and zero-minute marks with a little chime and message about how much time you have left. Or, you can customize these times using the same workflow described in the previous tip.
And if youāve got a wildly fluctuating commute, use the ātell me about my commuteā command to get a sense of when youāll need to start the 30-minute countdown.
āREAD THISā
Ah, my personal favorite. As someone whoās both lazy and loves to multitask, the āread thisā directive makes short work of long articles.
If I start to get the feeling, about three paragraphs in, that whatever Iām reading might take a bit, Iāll just hold down my Assistant button and say, āread this.ā
A quick whiff of technological achievement later, and my phone is reading aloud to me while I putter around the house.
CALL SOMEONE ON SPEAKERPHONE
Now for this one to work, youāll need to enable āHey Googleā functionality (see how here), which simply means that your phone will be listening for you to say āHey Googleā in lieu of launching the Assistant app.
But itās mighty handy when your hands are full, covered in cake batter, or carrying one or more children around.
Once enabled, say āHey Google, call Slippery Pete on speakerphoneā (of course, replacing Slippery Pete with someone in your contact list). Itāll then dial that person, and put you on speakerphone so you can move about unencumbered.
āFIND MY PHONEā
I do realize the irony of using your phone to find your phone, but if youāve got another Google Assistant-enabled deviceāsay, a tablet, a second phone, or a smart speakerāitāll become your new best friend every time you canāt find your phone.
Say āfind my phone,ā and itāll start your wayward handset a-ringing while you make your way around the house looking for it. Bonus tip: If that doesnāt work, try accessing GoogleāsĀ Find My Device pageĀ from a web browser. Itāll pinpoint the locations of your Google-connected devices and ring them for five minutes straight.
āTAKE ME HOMEā
As someone whoās perpetually lost, I usually bark this order into my phone while driving, followed by a slew of expletives (but it still works!).
Say ātake me home,ā and Google Maps will open up, get a lock on your location, and start piloting you back to familiar surroundings.
āGOOD NIGHTā
If you find yourself doing too much tapping before you set your phone on its charger each night, check out the āgood nightā routine to see if you can automate some or all of it.
By default, saying āgood nightā to the Assistant prompts you to set the alarm, tells you if your battery is low, and then plays soothing sleep sounds for a bit.
However, you can, and should, customize this routine to your liking by saying āroutinesā and tapping the Routines cog. Open up the Bedtime routine, and tap the āAdd actionā button to automate things like adjusting your ringer volume, turning on ādo not disturb,ā and telling you about tomorrowās weather.