You Can Automatically Make Your IPhone Less Addictive Before Bed

Switching to grayscale mode is one of the most effective ways to reduce screen time . It’s easy to turn on on your smartphone, and when all the bright colors are gone, you’ll notice that your phone is much easier to put away . I found this hack to be very effective, but I always had to turn off the grayscale mode for a week. However, this time I found a smart yet effective way to achieve success – automation.

A post by Mastodon user @Theclassicbee shows that you can automatically turn grayscale mode on and off on your iPhone. The trick is to use it in short bursts and only for specific purposes. Since I have a hard time putting my phone away before bed, I set a routine where my iPhone turns on grayscale mode two hours before bed and turns it off in the morning.

How to Set a Grayscale Shortcut on Your iPhone

If you want to try the same, open Shortcuts on your iPhone and select the Shortcuts tab. Click the + button in the top right corner, select Add Action and find Set Color Filters . You will see an action described as “Enable Color Filters” . Click Rotate , change it to Switch, and click Done . This will create a shortcut called “Set Color Filters” .

Then tap the Automation tab and click the + button to create a new routine. Select Time of Day , select a time in the morning, and choose how often you want this automation to repeat. You should select “Run immediately” and then click “Next” . Now use the search bar to find the Set Color Filters shortcut you created and select it. This will create one automation that runs in the morning.

Repeat the steps described in the previous paragraph, with one small change – set a time close to bedtime. This will create a second automation that will run at night. Now, every night, your iPhone automatically switches color filters to grayscale, and in the morning switches them back to regular colors. This shortcut works by turning on Grayscale mode if it’s off and vice versa, saving you from having to create two separate shortcuts to turn Grayscale mode on and off.

You can also associate this shortcut with a specific focus , your location, or any other triggers so that it automatically starts and stops exactly when you need it.