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Remember the days of watching “The Jetsons,” where the future held wonders like video screens for conversation, handheld communication devices, and artificially intelligent machines that could tell us everything from the news and the weather to what wine goes nicely with what cut of meat?
As you might have noticed, all of those advances have been wrapped up neatly for us in the last few years with the release of voice-command AI technologies like Amazon Echo and Google Home. Though adoption is relatively low at the moment, it’s certainly growing: 8 million U.S. households now own an Echo device.
If you hustle for a living, you’re all about getting things done more efficiently—perhaps that’s why you have meals delivered via Blue Apron, or manage your expenses and time-tracking with a tool like Fiverr Workspace.
Owners of Amazon Echo should check out these ten Skills to automate daily tasks and hustle even harder with all the free time you’ll encounter.
Fetch
Fetch sends Alexa straight to your Microsoft Office 365 Calendar to grab today’s events. If you are working several jobs at once that have deadlines and milestones, it’s the perfect Skill to have to keep yourself current on what’s going on in your business world.
Note Taker
Note Taker is ideal for when you’re brainstorming ideas while on a call, in a meeting, or simply doing something else. Say a brilliant idea for your graphic design project pops into your head while you’re doing the dishes. Just a quick, “Alexa, ask Note Taker to take my note” and you are keeping that important thought from getting away from you.
Blog Helper
If you blog for a living or simply use it to promote your brand, you’ll love this nifty Skill. It can interact with WordPress to check your notifications, moderate any pending comments, and even save blog post ideas in draft voice without ever lifting a finger. “Write” blog drafts with your voice and then expand on them later when you’re in front of a keyboard.
Conference Manager
Even if you’re not working in an office, it’s hard to escape participating in conferences with your clients now and again. Not only does this Skill check your Google Calendar to see when your next conference call is and even dial you in when you tell Alexa to “Start my call.”
Level Up
A clever play on words, particularly for the gamer generation, Level Up is a product of Forbes that delivers tips, life hacks, and success stories to enterprising solopreneurs and freelancers.
Interview Me
If you do a lot of work online, you might go days, weeks, or months without talking to another living person. But when clients do want an interview on the phone, via Skype, or :::gasp::: in person, you can brush up on interview questions with this wonderfully spontaneous Skill.
Web Analytics
If you’re selling goods or services through a website, this Skill will give you all your business traffic information through Google Analytics. See how many visitors are gathering at your website or blog without ever firing up your Google dashboard.
Authentic Digital Marketing Tips
Exactly what it says, this Skill is perfect for solopreneurs trying to grow their brands across the Internet.
Amazon Echo Skills are a work in progress, but there’s no doubt that they’re being driven by people who want to help others optimize their home and work tasks. As more and more developers get comfortable integrating their apps with Echo, hustlers will find more and more opportunities to use this impressive technology to their benefit.
