Have Siri read you a daily report

This example shows how to get Siri to read out a brief summary as you start the day

Initial preparation

First you’ll need to add the ‘Continue Shortcut in App’ and Wait actions, which are needed for the shortcut to run successfully by saying “Hey Siri”. Set the latter action to a couple of seconds.

Get the date and time

Add the Date action and set it to return the current date. It’s really the current time we want, but it’s wrapped up as part of this action’s output. You’ll see how to get at it in a little while.

Retrieve weather info

Add the Get Weather Forecast action and set it to use your current location and return the daily forecast. After it, add ‘Get Item from List’ and tell it to retrieve the first item from the forecast, which is today’s weather.

Calculate your commute time

To work out your commute duration, add Street Address and fill in at least your workplace’s zip code. Below, add Get Travel Time. Set it to use your current location and driving as the mode. The address from the previous action is used as your destination.

Start constructing the report

Add the Text action and type something like “Good morning, <name>. The time is ”. Above the keyboard, tap the Current Date token to add a placeholder for the earlier Date action’s output.

Extract just the time

With that token selected in the action’s body, you’ll see options to set the date and time formats: use None and Short respectively. Tap Done, add a full stop, then “Here’s your morning report.”

Add weather and journey info

Append “The low today will be ” and tap Today’s Weather above the keyboard. As with the date, you’ll see this contains various pieces of information. Tap Low and note how the token changes to reflect that. Use this technique to add sentences that read out the high temperature, weather condition and travel time (see right).

Read out the report

Add the Speak Text action, with its Keep Wait Until Finished switch turned on. Run the shortcut a few times and experiment with this action’s other settings to find a speaking style you like.

Trigger it u sing Siri

At the top right of the shortcut, tap the icon that shows two switches, then Siri Phrase. Set a simple and memorable phrase you’ll say whenever you need to run this shortcut each morning. For example, “What’s up today?”. Lock your device, then say “Hey Siri” and your phrase.