Personal Automations
Capture time automatically without lifting a finger
What are Personal Automations?
Personal Automations are a feature of Apple's Shortcuts app that run automatically when certain events happen on your iPhone. Combined with Time Memos' Shortcuts support, you can capture timestamps without any manual interaction.
Choose Your Automation
Select a guide below to get started with automatic time tracking:
Wake-Up Tracking
Automatically log when you stop your morning alarm and start a Live Activity to track your morning routine.
View guide →Location-Based Tracking
Log arrivals and departures automatically when you reach or leave specific locations like work or the gym.
View guide →CarPlay & Bluetooth
Track your drives by logging when you connect to or disconnect from your car.
View guide →Time of Day
Set up recurring timestamps for medications, meals, work hours, or any scheduled activity.
View guide →More Automation Ideas
Beyond the guides above, you can trigger Time Memos automations with many other events:
Charger Connected
Log when you plug in your phone at night to track sleep schedule.
Airplane Mode
Track flights by logging when airplane mode is toggled.
App Opened
Track time spent on specific apps by logging when they're opened.
Workout Start & Stop
Log when you start or stop a workout in the Fitness app.
AirPods Connected
Track listening sessions or focus time when headphones connect.
Focus Mode
Log when Do Not Disturb or other Focus modes activate.
NFC Tags
Tap physical tags to log activities. Great for tracking equipment use or locations.
Order NFC Tags →Tips for All Automations
Enable "Run Immediately"
For seamless tracking, always set automations to "Run Immediately" rather than "Run After Confirmation". This ensures timestamps are captured without any interaction.
Grant necessary permissions
Location-based automations work best when Shortcuts has "Always" location access. Go to Settings → Privacy → Location Services → Shortcuts to configure.
Test your automations
After setting up, manually trigger the conditions to verify everything works. For location triggers, physically visit/leave the location to test.
Use descriptive labels
Include context in your labels so when you review your time logs later, you'll know exactly what each entry represents.
Ready to automate your time tracking?
Time Memos will be available on the App Store soon.