15 Best Alexa Skills you must add to your daily routine

If you are interested in smart homes, there is a very high chance you already know of Alexa, Amazon’s cloud-based service found in many devices from the Echo smart speakers and FireTV to a variety of third-party devices. Using a set of skills, Alexa makes many daily tasks easier and faster to finish and it is up to each user to combine their own ultimate skill set based that would suit them the best. This means that using a particular terminology, Alexa can play music, update you on your daily schedule, control smart devices and even order anything you wish for from Amazon. Here are some of the best Alexa skills to improve your experience.

Alexa skills for every day

“Alexa, open Big Sky”

Knowing the overall daily weather forecast sometimes is not precise enough so you can instead try out Big Sky. It is an hour-by-hour forecast that will let you know what the weather will be like at a specific time at your location. Besides predicting the temperature for the following week, it offers wind speed, humidity and rainfall information and even some weather facts.

“Alexa, open Five Minute Workout”

If you want a quick workout before starting your day, try Five Minute Workout skill. Alexa will guide you through energetic 5 minutes of core and cardio exercises that will help you get your core in the right shape.

“Alexa, open Guided Meditation”

Some might prefer meditation over exercising and Alexa skill Guided Meditation can lead you through 79 meditations to reduce stress and anxiety. They are 3 to 8 minutes long and can easily become part of your morning routine.

“Alexa, ask TrackR to ring my phone”

For those who often misplace their smartphone, there is the TrackR skill that can help you locate it easily. In order for this skill to work, you must first install the TrackR app and then connected it to you Alexa, after which it will tell you what is the last known location of your phone, or if you are sure it is close, you can ask Alexa to ring it.

“Alexa, Make Me Smart”

The world is moving fast and listening to news about politics and world events might not be sufficient anymore. Make Me Smart skill by Marketplace can help you keep up with the economy, but also pop culture, tech, and other current events. You can also use the skill to explain something and if there is no answer, it will be registered and added later on.

“Alexa, tell Skill Finder to tell me the skill of the day”

If our list does not cover all the skills you might be interested in, check out Skill Finder that will brief you on the top newest Alexa skills. You can also search for specific categories such as games, education, etc. and ask for more information about a specific new skill.

Alexa skills for entertainment

“Alexa, ask AnyPod to play…”

Even though podcast capabilities of Alexa are not that versatile, adding a skill such as AnyPod can improve the overall experience. With thousands of podcasts of different genres from tech topics to news, this Alexa skill will add podcasts to the personal library and let you choose your favorite podcasts to listen to.

“Alexa, tell BedTime Story”

Those who have kids can also try Short Bedtime Story skill. Alexa will choose from the available library and tell you a bedtime story that can even be personalized with the child’s name. The skill allows users to create and add their own stories to their personal library as well.

“Alexa, ask TED Talks to find talks about…”

If you enjoy listening to talks on various topics, try out the TED Talks skill. It offers a huge library of talk on different topics, from the more funny or inspiring ones, to those which are more serious and jaw-dropping. All talks are free and new ones are added weekly.

“Alexa, start Rain Sounds”

To help relax or sleep, ambient noise can be a useful tool and with it, the Ambient Sounds: Rain Sounds skill. Alexa will play the default sound for an hour or, if set so, in a loop until turned off. Besides rain sounds, there is a variety of other ambient sounds such as windy leaves, fan, trains, dripping water, etc.

Alexa skills for food and drinks

“Alexa, open Meal Idea”

If you are unsure what to cook for lunch or dinner try using Meal Idea. This Alexa skill offers meal recipes based on everyday ingredients you will probably already have in your pantry and fridge. The recipe will also be sent to the home screen of the Alexa app on the smartphone in case you want to refer back to it.

“Alexa, ask Wine Gal to recommend a wine for …”

Matching wine with your meal might not always be as easy, but MySomm Alexa skill can offer you exactly what goes with any dish from pizza to steak by choosing from hundreds of recommendations.

Fun Alexa skills 

“Alexa, open The Magic Door”

If you like adventure games with a mystery storyline, try The Magic Door game that offers numerous riddles and puzzles, and even prizes. Using words, voices and different sound effects, Alexa will lead you through over 200 scenarios that end up in a final quest and a satisfying reward.

“Alexa, play Would You Rather”

If you want to play a simple and straightforward game with the whole family, try Would You Rather. With multiplayer mode so that every member can join in with their answers, Alexa offers you numerous fun questions consisting of two situations from which each player gets to choose what they prefer.

“Alexa, start Song Quiz”

Those who love music might be interested in trying out the Song Quiz. Alexa will offer you any of the thousands of song options from 60s to now, and by guessing the correct title and artist, each player gains points in a head to head song competition.

Also read: Asus is adding Amazon Alexa to its Lyra Voice mesh router