Smart Home Routines: Automate Your Day
It's morning. You’ve just woken up & already have a list of things to do:
- Silence alarm
- Turn on bedroom lights
- Turn on bathroom lights & fan
- Start the coffee maker or kettle
Telling your smart speaker to do each of these one at a time gets old fast. Fortunately, smart home routines exist to fix this.
What are Smart Home Routines?
Smart home routines are a list of actions grouped together, triggered by one command — or even no command at all.
They’re usually executed by a smart speaker or a smart home hub.
You can trigger routines with:
- A voice command
- Time of day
- Your location
- A motion sensor
- Temperature thresholds
- ...and more
What Can You Do with Smart Home Routines?
The options are nearly endless — limited only by your imagination and what tech you have.
Here’s what routines can do:
Real Examples (That I Actually Use)
- Water the garden – Using smart irrigation
- Start the work day – Lights on, music playing, diffuser activated in my smart office
- “Garden party” mode – Turns on outdoor lighting, speakers & fountain
- Movie mode – Screen down, projector on, lights dim
- Arm the fortress – Smart locks activate, security cameras switch on, Alexa starts listening
How to Set Up a Smart Home Routine
Both Alexa and Google Home routines are configured via their respective apps.
Alexa Routines
Open the Alexa App and:
- Tap “Routines” from the main menu
- Tap the “+” button
- Configure:
- Name – Give your routine a name
- Trigger – Choose when it runs (time of day, voice command, etc.)
- Actions – Choose what happens (e.g. “Turn on the lights”)
📷 
Alexa Routine Setup Menu
Google Home Routines
In the Google Home app:
- Tap “Routines” in the menu
- Select “Manage routines”, then tap “+”
- Configure:
- When I say… – The trigger command
- Actions – What the Assistant should do
📷 
Google Home Routine Setup Menu
Final Thoughts
The more you automate, the more you'll wonder how you ever lived without it. Give routines a go — and if you’ve got questions, let me know on social media.
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