Automate Your Morning: 3 Easy Smart Home Routines

Mornings can be chaotic. From the blare of the alarm to the rush to get out the door, it’s easy to feel like you’ve run a marathon before your day has even truly begun. But what if your home could gently wake you up, get your coffee brewing, and ease you into your day? With a few simple smart home automations, it can. 

For this week’s SimpleTech Tuesday Tips, we’re exploring three easy-to-set-up smart home routines that can transform your morning from frantic to fantastic. 

The Gentle Wake-Up

Ditch the jarring alarm clock for a more natural start to your day. This routine uses smart lights and your smart speaker to simulate a sunrise and provide a calm transition from sleep to wakefulness. 

What you’ll need: 

• A smart speaker (like Amazon Echo or Google Nest) 

• Smart light bulbs (like Philips Hue, Wyze, or LIFX) 

How to set it up (on Google Home/Assistant): 

1. Open the Google Home app. 
2. Tap on Routines and then the + button to create a new one. 
3. For the "When" trigger, select "At a specific time" and choose your desired wake-up time and the days of the week this should run. 
4. For the "Actions," tap "Add action" and then "Adjust home devices." 
5. Select your smart bedroom lights and choose the action to "Turn on." You can often set a "sunrise" effect where the lights gradually brighten over a period of 5-15 minutes. 
6. Optionally, you can add another action to have your smart speaker play gentle music or a podcast after the lights have reached full brightness. 

How to set it up (on Amazon Alexa): 

1. Open the Alexa app. 
2. Tap More, then Routines. 
3. Tap the + icon to create a new routine. 
4. Give your routine a name, like "Gentle Wake-Up." 
5. For "When," select "Schedule" and set your wake-up time and days. 
6. For "Add action," select "Smart Home" and choose your smart lights. Set them to turn on and adjust the ramp-up time for a gradual brightening effect. 
7. You can also add an action for Alexa to play music or your Flash Briefing after a set duration. 

The "Good Morning" Briefing

Once you’re awake, get a personalized update on your day without ever picking up your phone. This routine has your smart speaker greet you with the weather, your calendar appointments, and the day's news. 

What you’ll need: 

• A smart speaker (Amazon Echo or Google Nest) 

How to set it up (on Google Home/Assistant): 

1. Open the Google Home app and tap on Routines. 
2. You'll likely see a pre-made "Good morning" routine. You can customize this by tapping on it. 
3. Ensure the "When" trigger is set to "When I say 'Good morning'" (or a similar phrase). 
4. Under "Actions," you can select what you want Google Assistant to do. Popular choices include:  
5. Telling you the weather 
6. Reading your calendar events for the day 
7. Playing the news 

How to set it up (on Amazon Alexa): 

1. Open the Alexa app, go to More, and then Routines. 
2. You may see a default "Start my day" routine. You can edit this or create a new one. 
3. Set the "When" to the voice command "Alexa, good morning." 
4. Under "Add action," you can add a variety of updates:  
5. Weather: Alexa will give you the local forecast. 
6. Calendar: Alexa will read out your upcoming appointments. 
7. Flash Briefing: Get a quick news update from your chosen sources. 

The Automated Coffee Run

There’s nothing quite like waking up to the smell of freshly brewed coffee. This simple routine uses a smart plug to get your coffee maker going before you even get out of bed. 

What you’ll need: 

• A smart speaker (Amazon Echo or Google Nest) 

• A smart plug (like TP-Link Kasa, Wemo, or Amazon Smart Plug) 

• A standard coffee maker with a physical on/off switch 

How to set it up: 

1. The night before, prepare your coffee maker with water and coffee grounds. Make sure the coffee maker's power switch is in the "on" position. 
2. Plug your coffee maker into the smart plug, and then plug the smart plug into the wall. 
3. In either the Google Home or Alexa app, you can add the smart plug to your morning routine. 
4. When setting up your "Gentle Wake-Up" or "Good Morning" routine, simply add an action to "Turn on" your smart plug at your desired time. 

With just a few minutes of setup, these smart home routines can bring a new level of ease and convenience to your mornings. Give one a try and see how a little automation can make a big difference.