First of all, hi to all of you, I’m Rae. I’m new.
Now that we’ve gotten introductions out of way, there’s something I have to let you all in on. If you’re an iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and/or Mac OSX user and you aren’t using Shortcuts, then you are seriously missing out. The Shortcuts App allows you to automate multiple tasks on your device into a single action. You build a Shortcut with a series of tasks that can be kicked off by tapping on the Shortcut or even set it to happen automatically based on time, location, or even device attributes.
When I was on paternity leave, the only way I survived was by squeezing in a nap here and there. In my new-parent-brain-fog, the only energy I could muster was just to say, “Hey Siri, Nap Time!” and then collapse onto my bed. Siri then sprung into action and triggered the Shortcut called “Nap Time” that I have setup on my phone. First, a prompt asks “When do you need to be up?” and allows me to enter a time (hopefully at least an hour into the future). After that, it creates an alarm for the time specified and then puts my phone on silent, mutes all incoming calls/texts/notifications, turns on Theatre Mode and Silent Mode on my Apple Watch, turns off the lights in my bedroom, and sends an SSH command to my computer in the other room which mutes my speakers. Nothing like those Windows notifications to jolt you out of your hard-earned slumber!
I’ve got a Shortcut that saves all the images on a webpage to a folder in my Dropbox, one that connects to my VPN when I join public Wi-Fi, one that arms my home alarm and locks the doors at night, and even a handful of Shortcuts that allow my spouse and me to log the baby’s feedings and diaper changes. I love checking out new Shortcuts on RoutineHub and in the /r/Shortcuts Reddit. You can browse what others have created and download them right onto your phone or computer to test out for yourself.
Anyone who knows me knows that I love to automate things. Call it innovation, creativity, or laziness – it’s basically the only way I function anymore. Where would I even be without the ability to yell at my Apple Watch while driving and have Siri ask me what I want to remember, then kick off a series of actions that remind me of that thing in about a dozen different ways?