I have a rule: If an email is going to take me longer than a minute to write, I pick up the phone instead.

For many things, using our voices is just faster and easier. That’s true for controlling your phone too. Tap or click for genius commands to try with Siri or Google Assistant.

When writing or taking notes, dictating can be much easier than typing it all out. Tap or click for helpful tips for better dictation in Microsoft Word or Google Docs.

These same timesaving principles can be applied to your TV. You can speak to search for movies, control the volume, pause, rewind, skip to the next episode, and more.

Fire TV

Some Amazon, Toshiba, and Insignia brand TVs come with Fire TV built-in. With the Fire TV Alexa Voice Remote, you can browse apps, movies and shows, check the weather and sports scores, launch content and more with your voice.

It’s as easy as pressing a button:

• Hold down the Voice button on your remote and ask Alexa what you want (you don’t need to say “Alexa”), then release the button.

• You can search for a movie genre, actor, channel, pause, skip ahead, lower the volume, and more.

• Try these commands: Pause, play, resume, show me movies with Tom Hardy, return home, go to Prime Video, mute, switch to PlayStation.

If you have a Fire TV Stick, it probably came bundled with an Alexa Voice Remote. You can also purchase the remote separately if you need one.

Tube smarts: 5 things you didn't know your smart TV could do

Roku

Brands such as TCL, Sharp, RCA, and Sanyo manufacture TVs with Roku TV built-in. Some come with a voice remote, which you can purchase separately if you don't have one. Tap or click here to grab one for about $20.

All you need to do is press a button and speak:

• Press and hold the microphone button, speak your request, then release the button.

• Try searching for specific movies or TV shows. You can also try a category or genre. Open streaming apps, pause and rewind content, and browse music.