Period. It's been a constant struggle for me since forever. And I demand change for myself. Right now.
I've known about Shortcuts in a while but have never really found much use for it. But I saw the potential when they added the Automation feature; basically allowing Shortcuts to be triggered automatically when certain conditions are met. Combined with the new iOS 14 Bedtime mode, this opens a possibility for a set of actions to be run whenever I wake up.
How can I use this to help me wake up earlier?
On most days, using the phone alarm is the way to go. But on most days, it isn't enough. I needed something different. But I don't want something rude or too loud, and I know that something gentle won't do the job. What about something in-between? Something that can slowly onboard my being to embrace the morning? Maybe something stimulating?
Not a fun way to wake up
Not even waking up
I thought of what may be stimulating for me and I realize that a slow constant stream of information might do the trick similar to the experience of having someone to talk me out of sleep. And nothing is more human than the voice of our trusty assistant Siri, right?
With the new iOS 14 Automation for Shortcuts and Bedtime mode, I set a condition for whenever I 'Wake Up' to trigger Siri to do the following:
And it would end with playing a random episode from my favourite podcast from Roman Mars. Here's a demo of how it all comes together:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/16MKSb9gWRqi94ZrNI9mZp18XcYNHhPx_/preview