5 Ways Siri Helps Me to Be More Focused and Productive This article covers five ways I utilize Siri for my work and personal life.
By Omri Hurwitz •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
By now, almost everyone has tested and played with a voice assistant, whether it is Siri, Alexa, Bixby or others. I know that some of you use a voice assistant more often than others, and some of you don't even acknowledge them. Let me tell you something — At one point, I was one of these people who never used Siri. I always thought that it was more productive to be able to manage things manually and such.
However, since I started to utilize Siri, I have been much more laser-focused, in-flow and productive at work and in my personal life. While I don't know much about other voice assistants (as I use an iPhone), I definitely want to share with you several ways I use Siri to enhance my work systems and flow:
Siri as a task manager assistant
My work as a CEO of a Tech PR Agency requires me to constantly insert tasks, directions and notes into Trello, our agency's collaboration platform of choice. This can be very time-consuming, and lots of times, when I am on the move, it is not convenient to take out my phone and start writing tasks.
So, I started doing asking Siri to send out an email to my Trello address (when sending out an email to your Trello address, the email automatically turns into a task on your Trello board). This helps me insert tasks without needing to touch my phone. I know that other apps like Trello have the same email feature as well. I suggest checking it out. Sometimes I even ask Siri to send out tasks when I am in a social setting, and I don't want to be distracted by my phone, but I do want to capture a particular thought.
Related: 13 Cool Things Siri Can Do for You
Siri as a timer
During my workday, I like to take walks. I also allocate a specific amount of time for every task. That is why I try to set up a timer for each work session or walk. Doing that all day long can be time-consuming, but with Siri, I can just ask her to do it for me. It's super convenient, easy and scalable.
Siri while driving
You should never touch your phone while you are driving. But sometimes, you do want to utilize the time you spend driving to do productive things like calling clients, staff members, family, friends and so on. Also, if you just want to relax, you would usually want to listen to music, a podcast or even an audiobook. With Siri, you are able to do all that with your voice without touching the phone.
Siri for messaging
You know how you sometimes just need a screen break? You have been on your computer for hours, and now you just want to relax in your garden or something? But wait, you still have emails, whatsapps and DMs that you need to address. Well, with Siri, you can basically do that without touching or looking into the screen. You can ask her to read out emails for you, and you can tell her what you want her to reply to. Again, very convenient.
Related: 18 Proven Ways to Stay Focused That Increase Productivity
Siri for reading
Following the previous paragraph, we all know how screen fatigue works. But what happens if we really want to read a certain article while relaxing? Thankfully, you can ask Siri to do that for you. You just need to make sure to turn on the appropriate setting (Google it), but once you do, you can easily ask Siri to read articles aloud for you. Mine reads it to me in a smooth, calming British accent. I suggest you try it!
While I am sure that are additional use cases for Siri that are not mentioned in this article, the ones mentioned have really had an impact on my productivity, focus and ability to be on the move when working. I hope these tips can help you as well!
