Power Nap and other iPhone automations using Shortcuts App

The Shortcuts app on your iPhone is a powerhouse for easy automation. What exactly is this app all about? I also share some examples of what interesting automations I have on my phone.

What is the Shortcuts App?

Shortcuts is an app that confuses a lot of us at the first glance. We imagine this app to be intuitive — rather it turns out to be a bit overwhelming.

The app helps us to combine multiple actions into a single tap. For example, play meditative music and silent the phone in a tap.

This app lets you do that using drag and drop without writing any code. You can control almost any app or settings using what they call actions.

Creating your first Shortcut

We are creating a button to set an alarm at 9:00 AM — let’s assume we need such a button. You can open your Shortcuts app and follow along the following steps.

• Click on the + button on the top right.

• From the “Add Action” menu select the Clock app.
• Now select “Add Alarm” and you will be see the action was added.

• Configure the Time and click “Done”.
• Tap on the button in the home of the Shortcuts app and alarm is set.

Here are some inspirations on kind of Shortcuts I created for myself.

1. The Power Nap Automation

One of my most used automations is what I call Power Nap. Here’s how it works:

• When I say “Hey Siri, power nap,” it sets an alarm for 20 minutes from now.
• It also turns on Do Not Disturb mode to ensure uninterrupted rest.
• After 20 minutes, the alarm gently wakes me up and turns off Do Not Disturb.

2. Vitamins Tracking

Though I am not able to turn this into a hobby. But I still use it more often. And the best place to store this data is in the Apple Health.

A shortcut to log Vitamins into the Apple Health app.

• Ask for which Vitamin to track.
• Use Log Health Sample action to log data.
• Tag the widget to the home of the your Health app.

3. Sleepless Night Alarm Shift

For those nights when sleep is elusive, I’ve set up an automation to adjust my morning routine:

• If I haven’t fallen asleep by 2 AM, with a button click it shifts my morning alarm by an hour.
• It also reminds me of any events that I could be missing if I wake up late.

4. Location Tagging for Payment Apps

I keep forgetting where a payment was made, once I sat down to organise my expense at the end of the month. This is how I solved it.

• Whenever I open a payment app (like Google Pay), it automatically tags my current location.
• This information is then logged in a spreadsheet with a timestamp.

I takes a lot of pain away from my expense tracking.

Conclusion

These iPhone’s shortcut app have improved my daily routine. They saves time and are fun to create our own. The beauty of automation is that it can be personalized to fit your specific needs and habits.

I encourage you to explore the automation possibilities on your phone.