11 Handy iPhone Shortcuts to Automate Everyday Tasks

You probably perform some of the same tasks on your iPhone every day.When you get in the car, you want to play your driving playlist.While taking your dog for a walk, you start listening to your favorite podcast.On the way home, you always text your significant other to let you know your arrival time.

These are repetitive tasks that each of us completes on our iPhone.Wouldn’t it be nice if they could be automated?You can do just that, thanks to the Personal Automation feature in the iPhone's built-in Shortcuts app.Let's take a look at some of the best iPhone shortcuts you can use.

11. Convert video to GIF

It's fun to respond to a text message or a funny post you see on social media with a GIF.However, for many people, making GIFs is a tricky business.

Thankfully, there's an iPhone shortcut that can help you trim videos and convert them to GIFs.You don't need to download a third-party app or visit a desktop website to create GIFs.

To use this shortcut, just select a video you want to convert to a GIF file.Then, drag the black arrows on both ends to specify the portion of the video you want to use for the GIF.Then, click Save and wait a moment. Once you've finished creating your GIF, save it to the Files or Photos app so you can use it again in the future.

Download: Convert Video to GIF (free)

10. Set multiple alarms at once

If you need three or more alarms to wake you up every day, it makes sense to create a shortcut that can set multiple alarms at the same time.Using the "Multiple Alarms" shortcut, the "Switch Alarm" action will first enable an already created alarm, and then the "Create Alarm" action will do what it says.

In this example, the 5:45 AM alarm is switched, and the 6:00 AM alarm is automatically created.After downloading this iPhone shortcut, you can customize the time according to your needs.

Download: Multiple Alarms (free)

9. Start timer

The timer comes in handy every day for doing laundry, making coffee, cooking pasta, and more.If you find yourself drinking multiple cups of coffee a day, you'll benefit from this coffee-related shortcut, which you can trigger via the Shortcuts widget or Siri.

For example, you can set a four-minute coffee timer that's triggered by saying "French press" to Siri, so you can continue running other errands while you wait.

Download: French Press Timer (free)

8. Playlist

You might have playlists set up for different activities, such as working out, driving, taking a shower, or relaxing.Playlist Shortcuts are a cool automation feature for iPhone that comes directly from the Shortcuts Library and is incredibly simple.Just select one from the available playlists and start listening to the songs.

To choose a Repeat or Shuffle option, tap the edit shortcut, tap the Playlist action arrow, then select your preference.If you want, you can say "Hey Siri, playlist" to activate it with your voice.

Download: Play Playlist (free)

7. Use a sleep timer to start a podcast

If you have a habit of listening to podcasts while you sleep, you'll benefit from a useful iOS shortcut created with Overcast, one of the popular podcast apps for iPhone.

Upon waking, this shortcut will automatically resume the last played episode and trigger the last used sleep timer.This shortcut comes in handy when you're lying in bed, drowsy, and don't want to look at the screen to find the last podcast episode you listened to.However, be aware that Overcast will only work if you use it on an iPhone.

Download: Overcast Timer (free)

6. Really turn off Wi-Fi

When you turn off Wi-Fi from Control Center, it doesn't turn off completely.It will be automatically re-enabled at 5:00 the next morning.This iPhone shortcut disables Wi-Fi completely from settings so you can safely disconnect without being distracted by online messages popping up whenever you want to focus on work or sleep.

Download: Turn Off Wi-Fi (free)

5. Send scheduled iMessages quickly

You can use the Messages app to send a scheduled message to one or more contacts using the Send Message action in the shortcut.After adding the Send Message action, add recipients and text.Disable the "Runtime Display" toggle so it becomes a background process.

If you frequently send the same text messages to certain contacts repeatedly, this iPhone shortcut can be a huge time saver.Rename the shortcut to the Siri phrase you want to use so you can activate the shortcut without even touching your iPhone.

Download: Predetermined Text (free)

4. Add songs to playlist

When you come across a great song while browsing Apple Music, it often takes many clicks to add it to your favorite playlist.But iPhone shortcuts make it easier.

Launch this shortcut while a song is playing, select the playlist, and add it to the end of the list.

Download: Add to Playlist (free)

3. Calculate tips

Calculate Tip shows you how useful shortcut apps can be.One of the best iPhone auto-calculation features, this shortcut can replace a tip calculator app or some math behind some tissues, making everyday calculations easier and faster when you're in public.Avoid any embarrassment by smoothly calculating the required tip for your waiter.

Download: Calculate tip (free)

2. Set up a custom Do Not Disturb mode

iOS offers several ways to enable Do Not Disturb on your iPhone, such as turning it on for an hour or until the evening.But what if you want to set it to 15 minutes or an hour and a half without having to manually turn off or set up a Focus schedule?With this iPhone shortcut, you can.

Start the shortcut, enter the relevant minutes or hours, and "Do Not Disturb" will be activated within the set time.

Download: Do Not Disturb Timer (free)

1. Get ready for bed

You should create this iPhone shortcut yourself based on your nighttime routine.When you go to bed, you might perform one or all of the following tasks:

Turn on "Do Not Disturb" mode.

Turn off cellular and wireless networks.

Start a podcast.

Turn off smart lights.

Listen to some calming music.

You can load all of the above actions into one shortcut.Create a new shortcut and search for the above actions, such as Wi-Fi, Do Not Disturb, etc.Then, name it "Good Night" or something similar to make it easy to activate with Siri.

The next time you go to bed, just say "good night" to Siri and it will perform all the actions in your iPhone shortcuts.

Take advantage of iPhone shortcuts and other hidden features in iOS

Shortcuts apps and automation features in iOS aren’t often talked about, and if you haven’t used the app before, you might think they’re complicated because you need to understand what each action does and how shortcuts work in order to create them A shortcut.

Fortunately, there are many free shortcuts that others have created that you can easily add to your iPhone!These are just a few of our picks.We hope these iPhone automation examples make your life easier and maybe give you some more ideas for your own iPhone shortcuts.