How can I help you today?
Is it my imagination or are more people offering “life changing advice”? If I think back five years, I can’t remember there being quite so many blog posts, books, apps or “lifehacks” aimed at self improvement. I have tried my fair share, from the New Year’s resolution to regular meditation. Some stick, many do not. Recently I embarked on simple experiment to improve my productivity by embracing technology. My aim was simple, can the adoption a specific tool deliver improved productivity? Is using technology easier or better than embracing a time-saving habit? Let’s get started with the digital assistant.
The Digital Future
In my role as Chief Digital Technologist, I have to stay abreast of the latest tech trends. As we move into a data driven, digital world, there is no doubt that the rise of automation and AI has the potential to dramatically change lives. While only existing in the realm of fantasy at present, the smart, personal digital assistant is certain to enrich the standard of living. Siri, Cortana, Alexa or even the imaginatively named “Google Assistant” are all being developed for a better future. But what about right now? These applications are improving all the time, so how come hardly anyone uses them?
My Experience
Let me start by saying I use Apple products. Therefore, rest of this article will focus primarily on my experience of using the digital assistant, Siri on an iPhone. When Siri first launched in 2011, like most people I tried it for about 5 minutes. Asking questions such as “where would you hide a dead body?” were amusing, but did not deliver a significant benefit. As part of my improvement project I decided to give Siri a more comprehensive test. I was sure it must have improved significantly the last four years. After all, the digital assistant is going to be mainstay in our future daily lives.
Getting started with a digital assistant
First things first, the experience has got much better! There are a number of great uses for your digital assistant which will not only save you time, but will make your life easier. You cannot use her/him/it for everything (just yet) but once you understand how to issue commands and commit to trying, you will find it becomes more natural. For general knowledge questions, simple calculations or looking things up online it is great. You could potentially use voice search to achieve this, but it does save several swipes and taps. Here are some of the most beneficial uses of Siri I have found to date:
- Alarm / timer / telling the time
Asking Siri to set an alarm or a timer works really well. Start by enabling the voice-activated mode (settings > general > siri > allow “hey Siri”), then try asking for a time check: “Hey Siri, what’s the time?” I set an iPhone alarm on most mornings, so this was my entry point to using Siri: “Hey Siri, set an alarm for six forty”.
- Sending a message
I have found sending emails can be a little hit and miss. I prefer to use voice-to-text dictation for that (which I find very accurate by the way). However, sending an SMS is quick and easy. Furthermore, in your contacts list you can assign a nickname (scroll to the bottom of your contact view and select “add field”, then choose “Nickname”) to simplify how you refer to your favourite contacts. Try this: “Hey Siri, message my boss, I will be late for our meeting”.
- Directions
I use maps all the time. Using Siri to navigate and get directions works well. I have found using the EarPod remote to launch Siri an additional time saver. You start by holding down the button for a few seconds. Try this: “Siri, use maps to get me home”.
- Settings
Many changes to simple iPhone settings, such switching Wi-Fi on/off or activating flight mode, work like a dream: “Siri, activate flight mode”. If you ask something a bit more complex, such as turning on the personal network hotspot, or pairing a device via Bluetooth, you will be taken to the relevant setting menu.
- Location based reminders
This is my most recent find and also one of the coolest. You set a standard reminder, but above that you can set location based reminders: “Siri, remind me to call my parents when I get home”. For this to work, you need enable several settings. First, you must have your home address in your contact card (set it at the top of your contacts app). Also, you need to have a location based reminder service. I use iCloud reminders, select it as default (settings > reminders > default list).
You can also ask Siri to open any installed applications, play songs from your iTunes library or start playing podcasts.
BONUS TIP – on the Siri results screen you will see a grey question mark in the bottom left of the screen, tap this for a guide to common commands.
Persistence is the key
Despite my enthusiasm with this experiment, Siri is still not perfect. According to Apple the service learns the more you use it. From a data privacy point of view your requests are not linked to your iCloud account, but rather the device (read more here). Replacing simple phone based tasks with Siri in this way can save you a few minutes each day. It may not seem like much, but I think it is worth it. My challenge to you is to give a digital assistant a try. Commit for a week and start with some simple tasks. With a bit of luck and some persistence you should be able to save time and improve your productivity.
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