Alexa: You’re my Best Friend

Written By Emily Bottegal, MS
 
 

Alexa, turn off alarm.  Alexa, start the morning routine.  Alexa, notify me when it’s time to leave for work.  Alexa, what’s the traffic/weather today?  Alexa, remind me to pick up chicken for dinner.  Alexa, start bedtime routine.  Alexa, confirm alarm for 6:10am.

Whether you are in middle school, college, or a working professional, we can all benefit from a little help along the way nudging us to get up, get moving, and get out the door.  Systems like Amazon’s Alexa (Echo), Apple’s HomePro, and Google’s Home, are all great additions to your back to school shopping cart.  

Here are some ways you can use digital assistants for Executive Function:

  1. Alarms and Timers: 

    • Student: Wake up at 6:10am

    • Workplace: Meeting in 5 minutes

    • Home: Take medication

  2. Routines:

    • Student: Enable screen time routine 

    • Workplace: Read my Google Calendar events for today

    • Home: Begin winddown routine to start evening meditation

  3. Alerts/Reminders:

    • Student: Set timer for a 10 minute homework break

    • Workplace: Ask for a definition of a word for a legal brief

    • Home: Remind me to fill out permission slip 

  4. Create Todo Lists: 

    • Student: Add math workbook page to my homework todo list

    • Workplace:  Add chicken to my grocery list

    • Home: Make a packing list for vacation

Who wouldn’t benefit from a personal assistant?

Emily Bottegal, MS

Ensuring students achieve academic, social/emotional, and personal success, Emily has a passion to empower students to succeed in and out of the classroom. Emily coaches from a strength-based approach and believes every individual has the ability to achieve success with the appropriate support and skills in place. She has dedicated her professional life to working with youth in school and community settings. 

Prior to joining the team, Emily worked as a School Site Coordinator and Home-Based Counselor in the Washington, DC area. In these roles, Emily engaged directly with students through individual counseling sessions and small group interventions focused on helping students meet personal goals relating to academics and managing emotions. Her direct experience helped her to understand the challenges individuals face both academically and personally, ultimately leading to her developing lessons around time management, scheduling, study skills, and organization. 

Most recently, Emily worked at a nonprofit, helping secure specialized instruction and support necessary to improve educational outcomes for low-income children with learning disabilities and developmental delays.

Emily has a Master’s degree in Counseling from Johns Hopkins University.

http://www.lifesolvedcoaching.com/who-we-are
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