One of the most powerful and versatile resources today is the Internet. It is full of websites that enable you to perform a wide range of activities. Examples of these are chatting, exchanging pics or video, listening to your favorite music, reading, playing games and much more. Our ability to experience the Internet is further enhanced by smartphone and tablet applications. They allow us to access and navigate the World Wide Web easily. There are currently so many sites and apps populating our Internet experience that it can become challenging to manage them all. Thankfully, there is an automation service which is known as IFTTT which can help us do this. The acronym stands for "If This Then That". IFTTT is a website and mobile application that helps you to automate your sites, apps and Internet-capable devices too. It allows specific actions to happen around you when a specific trigger happens in your websites or apps. For example, you can set your IFTTT such that it turns on a light when someone new requests to follow you on the Instagram social site. Such an arrangement is known as a recipe. Here are 20 useful IFTTT recipes that will make your life easier.
Nest recipe
Nest is a collection of smart products which are used in home automation. They rely on an open API to communicate with each other and many other third party devices. By using IFTTT, you can set your personal Nest setup to switch off your lights remotely, call you if your smoke detector goes off and allow you to control your thermostat from anywhere in the world.
Track your packages IFTTT recipe
Many of us perform our shopping online. There are e-commerce websites which have an inventory of everything we could ever need. When you make an order in these websites, it is delivered to you in form of a package. You can track the movements of this package on Google Maps and Google Calendar too using an IFTTT recipe.
Samsung SmartThings recipe
The Samsung SmartThings box is a device that you can utilize to connect all the smart devices and appliances in your home. The IFTTT can help you to control them remotely or set them to inform you when certain conditions occur. You can create an IFTTT recipe to inform you when your smart moisture detector identifies your home to be too moist.You can also set up your Samsung SmartThings box with an IFTTT recipe to open your front door whenever you park your car in the garage.
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Keep track of the weather with IFTTT recipe
It is important to keep track of the weather so that you can dress accordingly. There is an IFTTT recipe which sends you a text message whenever the weather changes. You can set the trigger to various weather patterns to suit your environment.
Fitbit recipe
Fitbit is a company that produces wearable fitness technology. By using Fitbit devices, you can transform your fitness by keeping track of progress and using the technology to help you reach fitness goals. It appears in form of a smartwatch that is linked to your smart devices. You can use IFTTT to update your body weight the moment you step onto a Withings Scale. Moreover, you can create an IFTTT recipe that wakes you up by flashing your lights after you have slept for the number of hours you set in your Fitbit.
Find that misplaced phone recipe
How many times have we placed our phones somewhere in the house and forgotten where they are? Not only is this supremely annoying, it wastes precious time. Now you can easily find it with an IFTTT recipe. SImply send an email to IFTTT and it will ring your phone for you to track and find easily.
Social media IFTTT recipe
Many of us have multiple social media accounts all at the same time. Some have 5 at a time which require updating on a daily basis. To make this easier, there is an IFTTT recipe that helps you to automate your social media. It changes your profile picture across all your social media accounts when you update one. There is also another recipe which saves your Facebook tagged photos in your DropBox.
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Increase your knowledge recipe
Knowledge is power. By using IFTTT, you can get a daily dose of facts about the world every day. There is a recipe which sends you an email about things you need to know every morning. This keeps you knowledgeable and entertained since the topics can be hilarious at times.
Kindle recipe
The Amazon Kindle platform is a one stop location for all you reading needs. To keep you informed about the latest titles, there is an IFTTT recipe which informs you whenever there is a new book in the Top 100 free books in Kindle. It sends you an email about it so that you can stay informed.
Reddit wallpaper IFTTT recipe
We all love having a cool wallpaper in our computer systems. There is an IFTTT recipe which searches through Reddit to find high resolution wallpapers for you. It can email you a 3840 x 1080 pixel wallpaper every morning.
Nike recipe
Tremendously active in the smart fitness sector, Nike has its own channel of IFTTT recipes. You can create one to blink your home lights when you reach a distance goal when jogging. You can also create another to save money using the Qapital money saving application every time you complete a run. In this way, your fitness goals in the Nike app infrastructure turn into financial wins.
Track your fuel consumption recipe
If you use Google chat often, you can track your gas consumption. This can be done by sending a message which contains your mileage, car information and odometer reading to IFTTT. Once you do this, the data is saved into a spreadsheet for you to log and track.
Netflix movie and series recipe
Thanks to the huge success of shows such as 'House of Cards', Netflix is the go to service for those searching for some movies or series to watch as they relax. It has actually become part of the schedule for many people today. Thanks to this, there is an IFTTT recipe which informs you when new shows, new movies or even new episodes of your favorite show are posted on Netflix. This information is sent to you in form of an email.
Stay groovy recipe
Every one of us has some favorite music. This can be in one or many genres produced by specific artistes. Keeping up with their new music is quite difficult since new releases happen almost every few days. Thankfully, there is an IFTTT recipe that downloads your favorite, publicly available music automatically from SoundCloud to your Google Drive.
No skipping gym day any more recipe
Not only is working out healthy for you, it makes you achieve an attractive physique. Unfortunately, going to the gym results in aches and pains the next day so many people are tempted to skip this important activity. You can set a reminder for your gym days through an IFTTT recipe that sends your gym day schedule to your Google Drive as regularly as you need it.
Conversation saver recipe
It is always good to engage in conversations with the people around us. We are able to learn a lot and possibly make lasting partnerships. However, we can find ourselves in a conversation that we do not enjoy or is making us uncomfortable. In such a case, you can simply send a message to your IFTTT and it will call and save you from the conversation. You can now leave discreetly under the guise of answering your phone.
Get Android apps for free regularly using this recipe
Every day, Amazon posts a free app of the day. This is available for download and further enjoyment. You may forget to keep up with these daily, free apps. Thankfully, you can use an IFTTT recipe to inform you of the free Android app of the day on Amazon.
Philips Hue recipe
This is a smart lighting system from the Philips brand and is fully compatible with IFTTT. You can create a recipe that manipulates your Philips Hue system in case specific activities occur. For example, you can apply an IFTTT recipe such that the Philips Hue light system turns itself on when you get home. You can also set it to blink in a specific color when you receive a social media message or cycle through all their colors when your update is liked or you get a friend request.
Daily Dilbert recipe for your comic relief
Dilbert is a comic strip about the antics of characters in a modern corporate setting. This comic strip is the favorite part of the daily newspaper for many people. There is an IFTTT recipe that allows you to get Dilbert in your email every day.
Create an Evernote without logging into the account with this recipe
Evernote is a helpful way to save lists, memos and other important information. In a case where you don't have access to your Evernote account, you can make a note by sending a voicemail to IFTTT and it will be transcribed to an Evernote for you. It will even have a link to your original sound recording.
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The Important Take Away
IFTTT is a new way to automate your life. You can use it to create links in the technology around you so as to have an easier, more convenient way of living. The recipes above can help you accomplish this. Apply them to your IFTTT experience and see the benefits first hand.
