iPhone Archives - At Home with Tech

August 16, 2026

How to Use Shortcuts on Your iPhone to Save Time

How many times a day do you tap or swipe your phone screen? One study suggests the number is over 2,600 times for the average smartphone user. Though it’s ten-year-old research, the conclusion is clear. That’s a lot of finger action… and a fair amount of mental work as well. Any way to reduce all these taps would be welcome, and Apple offers one solution.

Apple Shortcuts has been around for years in a dedicated iPhone app called… Shortcuts. You select from a variety of predesigned shortcuts to activate that will help speed up certain tasks on your iPhone.

You can also create your own shortcuts using a series of ‘actions.’ You can even automate many shortcuts to run automatically.
(Yes, they’re called… automations.)

If you’re new to using these shortcuts, their powers enable you to combine multiple actions with a single tap (or you can also use Siri).

How to Set Up an Apple Shortcut

To get started in Shortcuts, you simply select the Gallery icon on the bottom of your screen. This brings up all of Apple’s shortcuts. Then if you tap on one of them, it explains what it does. If you want to activate it, tap on “Add Shortcut” or “Set up Shortcut” on the bottom.

After that, the new shortcut is easily accessible in the main library view in the Shortcuts app. You can also choose to create a little icon for your shortcut that lives on your phone’s home screen for even quicker access.

You activate the icon by tapping on the three dots on the top right of the colorful shortcut box. This brings up more choices. Select the drop down by the name on top and select “Add to Home Screen.”

Six Shortcuts to Try that I’ve Found Useful

Dictate & Share

There are multiple ways to dictate messages on your iPhone, but this as efficient as it gets. You tap the shortcut to begin recording, and then you can immediately start talking. After you’re done, you choose where to send your text file.

Email Myself

Though this may feel old school, emailing something to yourself can still be a quick solution. Once you activate this shortcut, it’s available directly from the ‘Share Sheet’ that displays after you tap the ‘share’ icon (square with the up arrow).

Directions to Event

Sometimes when I get in the car to drive to an appointment, I realize I need directions. Then, I have to open my Calendar app and tap on the address I’ve added to my appointment. This activates my Maps app and I’m ready to go.

But this shortcut speeds up that process by instantly pulling the address and sending it to the Maps app. (No more need to first open my Calendar app.)

Estimate Meeting Travel Time

Have you ever worried how long a drive is going to take depending on traffic conditions? As long as you’ve added an address and day/time in your calendar for your destination, this shortcut first confirms the future event and then calculates the current estimated travel time.

This is especially helpful a few hours before you intend to leave to see if traffic is already building up.

Share Location

There are several ways to do this from your phone, but this shortcut enables you in one tap to immediately share your location to a predetermined contact via text.

No need to go to your Messages app and choose who you’re texting. It’s lightning fast.

Play Podcast

Often, when I decide to listen to a podcast, I get a little cranky spending time after I open the Podcasts app to find my specific podcast, even if I follow it. If you have a favorite podcast, this enables one-tap access to it from your iPhone’s home screen. No Podcasts app required.

I created this shortcut myself by simply tapping on the plus-sign at the top right of the Shortcuts’ screen. Then I typed “Podcast.”

From there, I scrolled to the bottom, which displayed the podcasts I’ve been listening to. Next, I selected the podcast I wanted. After that, at the top drop down, I updated the name of my podcast shortcut and tapped “Add to Home Screen.”

You can repeat this process for as many podcasts as you like.

Be Kind to Your Finger

Shortcuts certainly aren’t as cool as what AI can do for you these days, but they do eliminate some unnecessary finger taps throughout your day.

Alternately, you can continue to take the extra few seconds to do it all yourself for each screen task. But those seconds add up quickly!

I do think proactively setting up easy shortcuts to help simplify your own user interface is a no brainer.

For your consideration…

May 24, 2026

Why You Shouldn’t Use Your Phone to Take All Your Vacation Photos

Listen to excerpt – 1 min 20 sec *

My father loved his tech throughout his life, and he was swift to adopt his first iPhone. That said, he was not quite as quick to learn all its functions. But he did okay, especially for his age. (Plus, he always had me as his personal tech support line.)

My dad was also something of a critic on many topics and enjoyed making fun of the delicate nature of smartphones.

He used to enjoy repeating a particular conversation with me comparing his iPhone to his leather-bound pocket agenda, which was a little booklet he kept in his jacket.

It went like this…

He would turn to me, pull out his agenda and hold it in front of him. Next, he would drop it onto the floor. Then he would pick his agenda up, dust it off and put it back in his pocket.

He would stare at me as he did all this, smirk and then ask if I would please do the same with my iPhone. When I wouldn’t, he would burst out laughing.

I let my dad have his fun. But he had a point.

My father wasn’t exactly subtle. However, he was quite effective at stripping things down to the bare truth.

He’s been gone over three years now, and I do miss these little moments.

Don’t Destroy Your Phone on Vacation

Yes, my dad liked to point out that a mobile phone doesn’t always do so well when you drop it (even if you’ve got a case protecting it).

Years later, my father’s wisdom serves as a useful reminder to help frame this week’s blog post.

And I would like to point out that dropping your phone is more likely to happen when you’re on vacation moving fast and sometimes distracted.

As we enter the summer season and a traditional vacation period, let me offer a solution. You might think this is a simple equation.

Just take your phone and don’t drop it.
To reduce additional risk, leave other cameras at home.

Your phone can take all the photos you’ll need, and unless you travel with a professional camera rig, why would you want to bring another camera other than the one built into your phone?

Vacations Can Require a Tougher Camera

But this assumes you can keep your phone undamaged, and quite frankly, many vacations are often hazardous to your phone’s health.

So, if you’re uncomfortable putting your expensive phone in harm’s way, you might want to invest in a more durable and less expensive camera solution, like a GoPro or DJI Action Camera.

Depending on the model, you can pick up one of these tough little bricks at the $300-$400 price point. They’re not impervious to all threats, but they’re designed to handle a pretty big drop. Plus, they’re waterproof.

Yes, I’ve watched lots of vacationers happily hold their phones while skiing, sledding and kayaking. But not everyone will succeed.

As one data point, I’m sure you’ve seen many people walk around with cracked phone screens. I’d hazard a bet that some of this screen damage was caused by vacation-related activity.

Stories of Wreckage

I’ve learned the hard way to be more cautious with my own tech on vacation. I’ve certainly made a few mistakes along the way…

Drowned my iPhone while kayaking
Crushed a Canon camera lens while biking
Flew my DJI camera drone into a tree 50 feet up

Fortunately, my drone survived its crash. The other two did not.

Using a GoPro or DJI Action Camera for vacation photos and videos can be a better strategy to help maintain the long-term health of your phone. And of course, you can still use your phone for other (less dangerous) needs.

The Right Tech for the Task

I always pack my GoPro when I go on vacation. No, I don’t always need to use it, but I have this little cube in my pocket when the moment calls for it.

And since my GoPro is tiny, it never factors into the ‘packing-too-much’ equation.

If my father were around today, I’d be very happy to drop my GoPro on the floor in front of him.

Happy next vacation, and here’s to always keeping your phone safely in your hand.

*Audio excerpt at the top is AI voice generated, using my own voice as the original source.

March 29, 2026

Capturing Spring’s Early Flow with My Microscope Lens

That anything living can break through the barren, winter-scarred ground always seems like a miracle. Yet, of course as the fading winter releases its brutal grip and the temperatures begin to rise, early spring begins this annual rebirth.

I’m always delighted during these first days before spring really kicks in. That’s when you need to make an effort to spot the signs. Though tiny, they’re everywhere. The trees are still barren, but the first flower buds are already starting to make their move.

Look Closer

I think we’re likely a week or two away from ‘opening day’ here in southern Connecticut. (That’s when you look out the window and almost fall over from the impact of spring’s stunning return.)

I took my Panasonic Lumix mirrorless camera outside this week to take a few early-spring test shots but found my results underwhelming. Maybe it was too soon.

Then, I thought for a moment and realized I just needed to get a little closer to nature’s magic. So, I pulled out my SANDMARC microscope lens for my iPhone and screwed it onto my iPhone case (also made by SANDMARC).

When I bought this lens system last summer, I wasn’t sure how often I would use it. Well, this was clearly one of those moments.

So, I set out to try again.

Early Days

The images I captured were not your typical bright and colorful spring collection. The shots were necessarily darker with my microscope lens pressed close to the flower buds.

But this framing style also created a more intimate result, revealing a view of a young spring not yet fully formed.

Time to Expand the View

My microscope lens provides an especially narrow depth of field. Much of each image blurs away from the tight focal point. As a result, I think I’ve captured more of nature’s organic flow in action.

And this flow will soon burst onto the landscape. Then, it will be easy to expand the view.

I couldn’t be happier being able to see this preview.

Hello, spring!

At Home with Tech

Tag: iPhone

August 16, 2026

How to Use Shortcuts on Your iPhone to Save Time

How to Set Up an Apple Shortcut