I recently shared some thoughts on several iOS Shortcuts Automations that I’ve been using to help reduce battery drain during the day on my iPhone 15 Pro Max. See that post here.
After writing that post, I came across a very helpful YouTube video by Stephen Robles: 10 Shortcuts to Save your iPhone Battery. His video gave me a couple more ideas which I’ve incorporated into my automations.
In particular, he pointed out that in addition to putting the iPhone into Low Power Mode, another setting to change to further reduce battery drain is to turn off the always on display. So I’ve updated my automations to do both – whenever I put the iPhone into Low Power Mode, I also turn off the always on display setting. And vice-versa – so that when I turn off Low Power Mode (like when I’m charging the phone) I turn the always on display back on.
I’ve recently spent some time customizing the Action Button on my iPhone 15 Pro Max to quickly perform actions and invoke shortcuts. This hardware button was a new addition to the iPhone 15 Pro models, allowing you to invoke an action or shortcut with one long tap.
With iOS 17, you can now create a folder of shortcuts that displays as a menu when invoking the Action Button. This is how I’ve settled on using it – a single-purpose shortcut didn’t work for me, but being able to select from eight different actions I’ve set up works quite well.
The setup process is straightforward. In the Shortcuts app, create a new folder (I named mine “Action Button”). Save up to eight shortcuts you might want to invoke into that folder. Then, in Settings, configure the Action Button to show that folder of shortcuts. That’s all there is to it. When you tap the Action Button, a menu of eight shortcuts will pop up, and you can quickly make a selection.
Here are the shortcuts in my Action Button folder:
Focus Off – turns off any active Focus mode
Reading Focus – turns on my Reading Focus mode
Choose Focus – allows me to choose from a menu of Focus modes to enable
20 min Nap Time – sets a 20-minute nap timer
Scan Document – opens the Camera app to scan a document and save it as a PDF
Perplexity Search – performs a Perplexity web search
Today’s Reminders – shows my Reminders for today
Log Weight – allows me to quickly log my weight each morning in the Health app
After months of ignoring it, the Action Button has become a useful and frequently utilized tool. I’ve enjoyed customizing it with a set of handy shortcuts.
Have the winter blues got you yearning for something more?
As winter rains descend upon Northern California once again, I find myself embracing the cozy ambiance indoors while embarking on a journey of discovery amidst the inclement weather. Instead of succumbing to the lull of hibernation, I’ve delved into a world of newfound inspiration and innovation, primarily through the vast expanse of online resources.
Over the next few days, I’ll be sharing some of my recent discoveries here. Perhaps you’ll find something of value from what I’ve found! Included is a nifty tip below for quickly capturing fleeting ideas during the day, creative uses of ChatGPT, a series on how some great authors actually write, a field guide on personal productivity, an online course of developing your PKM (Personal Knowledge Management) system, and more. Let’s get started…
A couple of years ago, I was hardly aware of YouTube. Once in a while I’d see a video returned in one of my Google searches – often for help in fixing something or another. Somewhere along the way, I discovered all of the content on YouTube – and, in particular, the value of YouTube Premium which enables uninterrupted and background YouTube video playback..
Now, YouTube is my spare time enjoyment channel – where I discover new creators sharing new ideas and stimulating conversations. Have you discovered any hidden gems online during your rainy days? Share your discoveries in the comments below! Here are a couple of my recent delights:
Have you ever lost a great idea in a blink? Rich Bowlin has a great YouTube channel that is a goldmine with down-to-earth, straightforward how-to videos about using iPhones and iPads.
Inspired by one of his videos on the use of shortcuts, I built one that captures fleeting ideas with just two taps on the back of my iPhone! Imagine never losing another one of my brilliant thoughts again! I can quickly enter text about the idea which it appends to a daily note for today – or creates a daily note for today if it hasn’t already been created. Later, when I have time, I can open that note and be immediately reminded of my fleeting ideas from early that day. Here’s Rich’s video where he describes his approach.
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