I say, “Alexa, goodnight” and here’s what happens…

I found myself on yet another frivolous mission last week, and this time it was creating an Alexa “routine” that would serve as a technological “tuck in.” Since I got an Echo Dot for my bedroom, I found myself having way too much conversation with my digital assistant when I was ready to turn off the lights, so of course I had to do something about it. It was somewhat of a process but after four nights of tweaking, I finally got it right.

The first step was getting a smart plug for my lamp. I’ve actually wanted one for a while because I hate walking into a dark room and fumbling around looking for the switch. I’ve set up a bunch of these all around the house, so that wasn’t a problem. But then I realized I needed a new surge protector to accommodate all of the various devices, and figured I’d get one with built-in USB ports (which was a great move).

Once I had the electrical set up, it was time to create the routine in the Alexa app. The first problem I ran into was that you can’t use more than one “skill” in a routine, so I wasn’t able to use my sleep sounds and set a timer for 45 minutes. OK, no biggie, so I decided to use rain sounds from Apple Music instead. Well, the first night I selected an album that had separate tracks, so the silence in between each one got in the way of my falling asleep. The next night I found a 60-minute track—but it was way too thundery and it actually woke me up at some point after I had dozed off. The next night’s track was too windy, and the night after that Alexa couldn’t find the track I had inputted. Then I searched Amazon Music and found the perfect track (and you can set a timer when selecting your sounds).

Yes, I probably should have tested each routine before I got into bed, but I was willing to take the chance in exchange for the satisfaction I knew I would feel when I eventually got it right. And after making all of these adjustments I finally did! So now all I have to do is utter, “Alexa, goodnight” and my lamp shuts off, the rain starts coming down, and I’m off to dreamland. It’s awesome.