Crush Your New Year’s Resolutions, Your Smart Speaker Can Help

If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you’re someone who was recently gifted one of the millions of Google or Amazon smart speaker devices purchased over Black Friday weekend. (So it wasn’t a unique gift this holiday season, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a useful one.)

We looked into the most popular New Year’s Resolutions and determined how to take advantage of your new smart speaker to help you achieve them. Smart speakers deliver on short and sweet experiences particularly well, so you’ll see small and measurable goals add up to bigger results and healthy habits over time. Whether you haven’t set any goals yet and already feel like a failure or are embracing the “new year new you,” here are our recommendations for leveraging your new speaker.

Healthy Eating

Crush your Meal Prep

Create a shopping list by asking Alexa or Google (aka your Voice assistant) to add items to your Shopping List. Add items as you run out of them so you don’t forget later on. The Alexa and Google Home apps allow you to view your list on your phone while you shop.

Cook Like a Pro

That low-calorie chicken breast doesn’t have to taste like rubber. The Food Network* app offers healthy recipe ideas that are easy to follow. Novices can ask how long and at what temperatures to cook their items while setting plenty of timers and reminders along the way. And if you’re in a pinch, AllRecipes provides recipe ideas for the leftover ingredients you have lying around. Best of all, your smartphone or tablet won’t be covered in food from searching while cooking.

Track Calories

Not sure how something fits into your calorie budget for the day? Ask Nutrition Label or Nutrition Facts for the information you need. Alternatively, FitBit will read you back the stats you’ve already logged for the day, in case you need to be discouraged from reaching for more dessert.

Exercise

The Morning Routine

Wouldn’t it be great if you finally became a morning workout person? Imagine — the alarm goes off, your lights automatically flip on, an affirmation rings out, and motivating music plays to get you pumped to put on your workout clothes and head to the gym before work. Whether it’s NPR or Britney Spears that gets you going, tap Routines in your smart speaker app to set the scene that starts your day off right. There go all your excuses!

The Workout

You can do anything for seven minutes, right? The Fitstar and 7-Minute Workout apps will guide you through, you guessed it, a seven-minute, full-body workout that requires no equipment. Select the music you want to play as you exercise and check your app for more information on performing each move. To slowly master tougher moves, spend a few minutes each day with apps like 5-Minute Plank or 30-Day Pushup Challenge.

Self-Care

Master Meditation

Meditation can sound intimidating to those who have never attempted it, but try spending a few minutes with Guided Meditation or Headspace and you’ll realize that it’s a simple and effective technique to calm down, and maybe set an intention for your day. If you feel like you don’t need a guide, there are endless soundscapes to meditate to, from Japanese gardens to winter storms.

Get Motivated

There are no shortage of Daily Affirmation and Motivation apps to give your day a positive kick. Maybe you have your own carefully crafted mantra for 2018, in which case, just ask your Voice assistant to set it as a daily reminder. If you need something more hard-hitting or business related, try GaryVee 365, which provides quick clips from Gary Vaynerchuk’s plethora of motivational speeches and videos.

Learn Something New

Become a Mini Expert

When you have some extra time, deep dive into any podcast or audiobook to become a master on a subject of your choosing. Not sure where to start? The Stuff You Should Know podcast by HowStuffWorks sheds light on things you’re too afraid to admit you don’t know about (Global Warming or FOIA) as well as things you never thought to consider (toilet paper or food fads). If you want to feel on top of current events, The Daily by The New York Times skyrocketed to the #1 podcast spot last year and provides a 20-minute news update that really digs into the day’s news subject.

Quiz Yourself

When you don’t have the time or patience to listen to the host of HQ ramble on for 20 minutes, a quick game of Jeopardy does the trick. Quiz yourself about Science Trivia, Presidents, Capitals, and more. You’ll feel accomplished when you get answers right, and that bitter sting of a wrong answer may help you better retain information for next time. Dilly dilly!

Don’t see your resolution here? Remember you can ask your Voice assistant to set reminders for anything to keep you accountable!

Just Do It

Your resolution doesn’t have to be grandiose, it just has to be doable. We’re big believers that Voice assistants are there to make your life better by helping you with easy tasks that fit into any busy lifestyle, and to help you build daily habits over time. If you have a favorite Voice app or are using a smart speaker to kick your New Year’s Resolution into gear, we’d love to hear about it! Comment below or tweet us @spokenlayer.

*Note: Google doesn’t have links to its Voice apps, but you can access them by saying “Hey Google, let me talk to App Name.”