Fix the Wait Limit in iPhone Shortcuts With This Simple Trick

The “Wait” action in Apple’s Shortcuts app is a useful way to make the shortcut pause for a specific amount of time. You can set the action to wait for 30 seconds, for example, before the next action takes place. You might want to use this to let an app open or a page load before the next action happens.

If you set durations of longer than a few minutes, however, things begin to go wrong. There’s a workaround you can use that will let you set wait times of several minutes or even hours.

The Problem With the Wait Action

The Wait action works well for short durations. You can only set the duration in seconds, which is a hint that Apple didn’t intend this to be used for minutes or hours at a time.

The problem is that Apple doesn’t let apps run in the background for more than a few minutes. Once the Shortcuts app stops running in the background, the Wait function stops counting, and your perfectly formed shortcut breaks down. If your Wait duration is no more than a few minutes, then it should still work, but for longer durations, you’re not going to get the behavior you expect.

Sometimes You Need a Longer Wait

The trouble is, sometimes you need your shortcut to wait for longer than a few minutes. I was trying to build a simple Pomodoro timer shortcut that would play music on my HomePod for 25 minutes and then announce that it was time for a break when the 25 minutes were up. I wanted to include the announcement because otherwise, I tend not to notice when the music stops.

It seemed like it would be simple to make. Get Apple Music to start playing, wait for 25 minutes, then stop the music and announce that it is time to take a break. However, using the Wait action with a duration of 1500 seconds didn’t work because the Wait function would stop working after a few minutes.

With a bit of research, however, I discovered a trick that people have been using to add long waits to their shortcuts. I tried it out, and it did exactly what I wanted.

Adding Long Waits to Shortcuts With a Custom Focus

This trick uses the fact that the Set Focus action allows you to turn on a Focus mode and then have it turn off at a specific time. For example, you can get the current time, add 25 minutes to it, and tell the Focus mode to turn off at that time. Your chosen Focus will then be active for 25 minutes before turning off.

This alone isn’t enough to get a shortcut to wait for 25 minutes. However, you can trigger shortcuts to run whenever a Focus mode turns on or off. All you need to do then is split your shortcut into two separate shortcuts.

Everything you want to happen before the long wait goes into the first shortcut, which should end by turning on a Focus mode for 25 minutes. Your second shortcut should include all the actions you want to happen after the long wait; you can set this second shortcut to automatically run when the Focus mode turns off after 25 minutes.

How to Create a Custom Focus Mode

The second shortcut will run any time the Focus you select turns off, so you don’t want to use a Focus mode that you might use in your day-to-day activities. The best option is to create a custom Focus mode that you only use for pausing your shortcuts. You can only have up to 10 custom Focus modes, so if you already have that many, you won’t be able to create a new one without deleting one of the current options.

Go to Settings > Focus and tap the “+” plus button in the top right corner of the screen. Select “Custom” and give your Focus a name. I called mine “Timer.” Choose a color and icon if you want and tap “Next.” Tap “Customize Focus” and leave the settings as they are unless you have any particular desire to change them to match the Focus you usually use. Your new Focus should now be available to select in your shortcuts.

How to Make Your First Music Pomodoro Timer Shortcut

This is how it works with my Pomodoro timer. My first shortcut starts playing music on my HomePod, then gets the current time and adds 25 minutes to it. It then turns on a custom Focus mode called Timer and asks it to turn off at whatever the time will be in 25 minutes.

To make it, open the Shortcuts app and tap the “+” plus icon. Tap “Search Actions,” type “Destination,” and select “Change Playback Destination.” Tap “iPhone,” and select your HomePod. Tap “Search Actions” again, type Music and select “Play Music.” You can choose an album or playlist to play if you want, but I chose to leave it blank so that it would continue to play whatever music I was listening to last.

Tap “Search Actions” again, type “Date” and select “Date.” This should add a “Current Date” action to your shortcut. Search for “Date” again and select “Adjust Date.” Tap “seconds” and select “minutes.” Tap “0” and type “25” or however long you want for your shortcut. This will generate what the time will be 25 minutes from now.

Search for and select the “Set Focus” action. Tap “Do Not Disturb” and select the custom Focus that you created. Tap “Off” and select “On.” Tap “Turned Off” and select “Time.” Tap “7 pm” and select “Adjusted Date” from the variables above the keyboard.

This will turn on your custom focus and turn it off again 25 minutes later.

Tap the name of your shortcut, select “Rename,” and give it a name. Tap “Done” to save it.

The finished shortcut should look something like this:

Related

The Best Free Pomodoro Timers and Apps to Boost Productivity

Having trouble concentrating? Give the Pomodoro Technique a shot with these free apps.

How to Make Your Second Pomodoro Timer Shortcut

The next step is to create a shortcut that will run when the Timer Focus turns off. This will stop the music and announce that it’s time to take a break.

Open Shortcuts and tap “+” plus. Search for “Play Pause” and select the “Play/Pause” action. Tap “iPhone” and select your HomePod.

Search for “Intercom” and select the “Intercom” action. Tap the placeholder “Dinner is Ready!” text and enter the announcement you want your HomePod to make, such as “Time to take a break!” Tap “My Home” and select the room where your HomePod is located. Give your shortcut a name and tap “Done” to save it.

Your second shortcut should look something like this:

Getting Your Second Shortcut to Run When The Timer Focus Turns Off

The final step is to get your second shortcut to run once the Timer Focus turns off. Tap the “Automation” tab and press the “+” plus icon in the top right corner. Scroll down and select “Timer” from the list of Focus triggers. Select “When Turning Off” and check “Run Immediately.” Tap “Next” and select your second shortcut.

Now, when you run your first shortcut, your music will start playing, and the Timer Focus will turn on. After 25 minutes, the Timer Focus will turn off, your music will pause, and your HomePod will tell you to take a break. It works like a charm.

Related

10 Custom iPhone Shortcuts Automations That Make My Life Easier

Make things simpler with automations.

Other Ways to Use Long Waits in Shortcuts

This is a very simple Pomodoro timer that runs a single time. If you want, you can make it better by repeating the trick with a different custom Focus to give a five-minute break, after which the first shortcut will run again. This will keep up the pattern of 25 minutes of music followed by a five-minute break, although you’ll need to build in a way to get the loop to stop, or it will carry on forever.

There are plenty of other ways you can use this timer trick, however. For example, you could create a wake-up shortcut that plays music at a low volume and then increases the volume every five minutes. You could use a shortcut that would remind you every 45 minutes to have a drink of water. It would also be a good way to remind yourself to stop doomscrolling 30 minutes after you open social media.

There are plenty of uses for the Wait action in iOS Shortcuts, but if you need waits of longer than a few minutes, it’s unlikely to work how you want. Using this trick allows you to make shortcuts that work with waits of several minutes or even hours.

However, you should be aware that when you’re using this method, you won’t be able to use other Focus modes while the time is ticking down. If you turn on a different Focus, the Timer Focus will turn off, and your second shortcut will immediately run.

Related

How to Change Your iPhone Action Button Based on Focus Mode

Get your Action Button do different things depending on which Focus mode you’re in.