How to Automate Your Phone with Routines

Your phone can do things automatically based on time, location, or actions. Arrive at work and Wi-Fi connects, Do Not Disturb turns on, and your work playlist starts. Plug in your phone at night and the alarm sets, brightness drops, and blue light filter activates. No tapping required.

iPhone: Shortcuts App

Open the Shortcuts app (pre-installed). Tap Automation at the bottom. Tap + to create a Personal Automation.

Morning routine: Trigger: Time of Day (7:00 AM). Actions: Turn off Do Not Disturb, Set Brightness to 60%, Open Weather app, Play your morning playlist in Apple Music. Toggle off “Ask Before Running” so it executes silently.

Arriving at work: Trigger: Arrive at location (your office address). Actions: Set Focus to Work, Turn on Wi-Fi, Open Slack. Your phone transforms into work mode the moment you walk in.

Charging at bedtime: Trigger: When connected to charger + after 9 PM. Actions: Set Focus to Sleep, Set Brightness to 0%, Turn on Night Shift (blue light filter), Set a specific alarm for tomorrow.

Low battery saver: Trigger: Battery Level falls below 20%. Actions: Turn on Low Power Mode, Set Brightness to 20%, Turn off Bluetooth. Squeezes extra life without manually toggling settings.

Android: Routines (Samsung) or Google Home

Samsung Bixby Routines: Settings > Modes and Routines > Routines. Tap + to create. Conditions include time, location, Wi-Fi connection, Bluetooth connection, battery level, and charging status. Actions include changing sound mode, toggling settings, opening apps, sending texts, and changing wallpaper.

Google Home Routines: Open Google Home app > Automations > Personal routines. Set triggers (time, voice command, sunrise/sunset) and actions (adjust smart home devices, play media, adjust phone settings).

Tasker ($3.49, Android): The most powerful automation app. Can do literally anything: send automatic texts when you miss a call, silence your phone during calendar events, toggle settings based on which app is in the foreground, back up photos to a specific folder daily. Steep learning curve but unlimited capability.

Useful Automations to Set Up Today

Auto-reply when driving: iPhone: Driving Focus can auto-reply to messages with “I’m driving, I’ll get back to you.” Android: Samsung Driving mode does the same, or use Google Assistant’s driving mode.

Weekly photo backup: Trigger: Every Sunday at 3 AM + connected to Wi-Fi + charging. Actions: Open Google Photos (which triggers any pending uploads). Ensures your photos back up even if you forget to open the app.

Meeting prep: Trigger: 5 minutes before any calendar event. Actions: Set Do Not Disturb, open the meeting link or notes app.

Goodnight automation: Trigger: You say “Goodnight” to Siri or Google Assistant. Actions: Turn off all smart lights, lock the front door (if smart lock), set the alarm, enable Sleep Focus, start a sleep sounds playlist.

Tips for Reliable Automations

Keep automations simple. Complex chains with many conditions fail more often. Test each automation manually after creating it. On iPhone, some automations require confirmation (a notification you must tap). Disable “Ask Before Running” for truly hands-free operation. On Android, make sure the automation app has battery optimization disabled so the system does not kill it in the background.

Review and Refine Monthly

Automation routines need occasional maintenance. Once a month, review your active automations. Is this still useful? Has any app update broken it? Delete automations that no longer serve you to prevent unexpected behavior and battery drain. Most users find 5 to 8 well-maintained automations cover 90 percent of daily friction points.

Bottom Line

Create three automations to start: morning routine (time trigger), work mode (location trigger), and bedtime (charger + time trigger). These three handle the most repetitive daily phone interactions automatically.