I Fired Myself From 3 Jobs in My Own House and Hired AI Instead
As a full-time working mom of two, my mental load is sometimes out of control. Juggling schedules, chores, and everyone's "what's for dinner" questions can get overwhelming quickly. If you’re reading this, I’m sure you know the feeling! Over the last two years, I started letting AI-powered products handle the small stuff so I could focus on the big things. At the time, I don’t think I even realized I was using AI in these ways! Here are three that are used in our home daily:
1. Alexa: The Assistant
My girl Alexa comes through for me in so many ways! And she’s been in my life for about 10 years - I still have the old school “tower” Echo in my kitchen. Now, almost every room in our home is outfitted with some model and version of an Echo (Alexa). Here’s just a few screenshots of the routines she’s got enabled to help us optimize our days:
Morning Alarm Routine
The boys get to pick their wake up song! Not your traditional alarm… this routine enables me to wake them up with something they’re excited about to get ready for school. No routine on the weekend!
Trash Reminder Routine:
Every Tuesday night at 7pm, my Alexa in the kitchen reminds us that trash day is tomorrow with a kind “Don’t forget to take out the trash” reminder. We enabled this once we were moving through the week at lightning speed with littles, and kept forgetting to take the trash to the road. If we’re not home, or inside the house when the announcement comes, it’s also sending a notification to my phone. It has been a great addition!
Bedtime Timer and Announcement
I’ve found that it’s so easy to lose track of time in the evening. We’ve been to practice, tried to get dinner on the table, homework done, and all the things! This routine has been helpful in keeping bed time around the same time every night. Alexa gives us a 30 minute heads up before it’s time for bed. I find that this countdown of sorts helps usher the boys to bed without as much of a fight, because they know they have 30 more minutes to play, watch tv, etc!
2. Skylight Calendar: Family Chief of Staff
Before Skylight, our family calendar lived in three different apps and one refrigerator whiteboard that my sweet mom gifted me, but I eventually stopped updating. Now everyone's schedule — school events, activities, meal plans — lives in one shared screen. If you’re considering a Skylight Calendar for your family, consider this my pitch to go in on the membership, too! It is worth every penny to me.
What changed: Our boys use the Tasks and Rewards function EVERY. DAY. I thought we’d lose steam on this excitement after a couple of weeks, but here we are 7 months later, still rocking!
Some examples of our “Tasks” (boys are ages 6 and 7) to inspire healthy habits are: Make Bed, Brush Teeth and Get Dressed, Put Away Toys, Clear the Table, Get Clothes Ready for Tomorrow, Read, Play Outside for 30 Minutes, etc.
Some examples of our “Rewards” are: 30 Minutes on the Wii (most popular!), $2 Allowance, Bath Bomb, Friend Friday, Ice Cream, Chickfila or McDonalds Run, Sleepover “Party” in our Living Room or Playroom (Runner Up on Most Popular!)
Biggest win: The AI functionality for adding a picture of school flyers is quite simply EVERYTHING. When someone has a different dress-up day, field trip, or party every other week, it is simply a must-have. The Skylight also syncs to my work calendar!
An added bonus? We have our Skylight near the kitchen table. It catches our eye as we sit together, and the rolling photo screensaver is a great point of conversation as we look back on different memories together!
3. Shark Robot Vacuum: The Picker Upper
We have two dogs and two boys that love the backyard. What does that mean? It’s dirty in here!! I found myself sweeping multiple times a day before the Shark Robot Vacuum entered our world. This one saves me time and energy every day running on its own schedule that I set to when we’re typically away - so the floors are handled without me lifting a finger, hearing it, or seeing it! It also has an app, so you get to map its route!
Bonus! This model doesn’t have to be emptied out as frequently as other models. It has a 30-day reservoir!
You can also access reports about cleanings in the app.
The Bottom Line
None of these products are life-changing on their own — but together, they took three daily stress points off my plate. If you're a busy mom drowning in the small stuff, start with just one of these and see what kind of time you get back.
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