In this era where everybody has a packed schedule, getting things done on time is a big task. People who work smartly find the quickest way to get their work done. One of the ways with which you can save a few more minutes of your day is by using Siri Shortcuts app.
The world is moving faster and for competing with daily challenges, we need to run a bit faster. There are thousands of tips that will definitely increase your daily productivity. But, in this article, we are going to talk about the Shortcuts App. As you can feel through its name, it is an app that iOS users can access.
The Siri shortcuts app has inbuilt shortcuts in abundance. You can easily get a task done by just asking Siri or by tapping a few times. The way Android users have the Google Assistant for performing tasks just by saying “Hey Google”, iOS users have Siri. This app is compatible with iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Watch. So, let us begin with some marvellous ideas that you can add to your schedule to run a bit faster than the world.
You might open one app after another or repeat a few actions. What if you combine them, form a shortcut, and get it fulfilled in no time?
This is possible in the Shortcuts app. It has so many in-built shortcuts that you can modify or you can create your own shortcuts as well. It requires at least iOS 12.0 to run, but iOS 13 is probably more beneficial and opens up more functionalities. If your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch has iOS 12.0 or later, then, you can go for it. Download the shortcuts app from here.
Also Read: 10 ways to get more productive in 2022
Table of Contents
Carry out Shortcuts
Well, there are so many pre-designed shortcuts that are actually very helpful. You can run any shortcut right from the app by tapping on your desired shortcut. And the easier way to run a shortcut is to say “Hey Siri” (along with the name of the shortcut you want to run). Your shortcuts are synced across all devices if you are using the same account.
There are some starter shortcuts such as Take a break, Text last image, Shazam shortcut, and Music quiz. These shortcuts have multiple actions combined, for instance, in ‘Take a Break’, DND enables, also you can take a break by setting an alarm for a few minutes.
Tap Gallery in the Shortcuts app
For getting more existing shortcuts, tap on the gallery within the app. There you can explore so many shortcuts in different sections. There are categories like Fun and Games with Siri, Starter shortcuts, Shortcuts for Apple music, and so forth.
The image above shows a few shortcuts that are helpful in daily activities.
Create a new Shortcut
While, if you want to design your own shortcut, you can do so in the shortcuts app itself.
Steps for creating a shortcut in the Siri Shortcuts app
- Go to my shortcuts and tap on the ‘+’. A new untitled shortcut will appear.
- Fill in the shortcut’s name in the given space. And then, select Done.
- Now, add actions by tapping on the Add actions button. A list of action categories will appear.
- Choose from the list and add it to your shortcut. Also, you can hold the action and drag it to the position you want the action to happen within the shortcut editor.
- Add another action by swiping up the list of actions from the bottom. If you want to switch the category then tap on ‘X‘. And choose among the list of all action categories.
- When you are done with adding all the actions, then tap on ‘X‘. The saved shortcut will appear in My Shortcuts.
Another way of creating a shortcut is just by touching or holding the app icon and then picking ‘create shortcut‘. You can combine multiple actions to form a shortcut. The app also suggests actions based on your history of actions. Or you can add actions from the all actions list as well. And the way you can run the pre-designed shortcuts, you can run these customised shortcuts as well. Just say “Hey Siri, [Name of your shortcut].
Also Read: Digital declutter-Best ways to clean up digital life
Automated Shortcuts
You can also create automated shortcuts in the Siri shortcuts app, which will run automatically. Such as, you can schedule to turn on do not disturb mode for a particular time period. More on you can add other actions to it, let’s say, after turning on DND you want to play music. So, you can add another action to play music.
And after setting all the desired actions you’ll get an option–Ask before running. If you turn it on, then you’ll get a notification before the automation runs and you probably need to allow it to run. But, if you do not turn it on, then it will run automatically without any prompt.
Shortcuts on Apple Watch
You can run the same shortcuts on your Apple watch as well if you are using the same Apple ID on your devices. For running a shortcut, go to the shortcuts app on the watch. Then tap on the shortcut you want to run. If the actions are supported by the watch, the shortcut will run. But, if the actions are unsupported, then the shortcut will run on your iPhone.
Some shortcut ideas
There are so many pre-designed shortcuts that are available online. Here are a few shortcut ideas that you can add to your shortcuts app.
- Good Morning shortcut– If you like to get updated with the latest news, you can create a shortcut for that. You can include news and weather in the actions. Also if you like to listen to some devotional songs in the morning, you can add the action to the shortcut.
- Good Night shortcut– You can set up actions that you would like to run at bedtime. Such as turning on do not disturb or playing a bedtime story for children.
- Meditation shortcut– You can add actions like playing chimes, turning on do not disturb, setting a timer, and so on.
THANKYOU FOR READING We hope this article was helpful. If it was, then let us know in the comments below. Also, if you are interested in similar articles then here are a few recommendations for you. Increase Productivity: Use more keyboard and less mouse Blind typing: is it worth?