How many times has it happened to you that there is no sauce, or milk in the fridge, or maybe that bulb is not working, and you say to yourself. Okay, I will get it when I head out. But you always forget, and you remember only when you get back home and you have to use that thing again.
Count me in.
I have been in that situation and I have finally found the solution. If you have got an iphone you can use that solution. Is an iphone shortcut that reminds me whenever I am out, to check out my shopping list to see if I need something for home.
The Shortcut app is quite amazing for iPhones. it’s a super app where you can create a lot of automations, and speed up your workflow. You can create a lot of automations based on certain actions.
One of those actions is location. So you can create automation on the basis of location, whether you are reaching some location, or you are getting out of location, you can set rules that get triggered if that happens.
So I have created an automation that works like this,
Whenever I leave out of my home (I given 100m circle), so when I am out of that circle, my phone will vibrate, and then will give me a pop up, with the message telling me to check my shopping list with that I need something or not.
So I can check my shopping list, which is inside the reminders app, and I can now finally get the sauce back home.
Even if you don’t have the habit of noting down the things you want for home, or you don’t create any type of shopping list.
It’s still is useful when your phone vibrates and it asks you whether you want anything for home. Because that’s what we forget, we forget we have to get anything if someone reminders that we have to get something for home we will know what those things are.
How to create this automation
Open the shortcuts app and then go to the automation tab, tap on the plus I can on the top right hand side, select ‘Leave’, then on the next page, tap on choose location. If you are currently at home tap on current location.
You can then select the radius, the smallest it can get is 100m which is sufficient for this automation to work. Tap on Done.
So you have set up the trigger, you are on the next page, here you can do what action you want.
Tap on new blank automation, this opens a new page where you can Add an action.
Search for vibrate device, Add this action
Search for show alert, Add this action. Tap on do you want to continue, write any anything that reminds you to get something, for example,
Heading out? Might want to check your Shopping List, Incase you have to get something.
You can add next action to open reminders app, or any app you use for shopping list. Automations are pretty amazing. Especially this automation that has worked for me many times.
Now I almost never forget to get anything when I head outside and have my iPhone with me, which is pretty much all the time.
