How to start a focus timer with Siri

By G, founder of Memenmo Studios · 6 October 2026

Say "Siri, set a timer for 25 minutes" and the Clock app starts counting down. To turn on a Focus at the same time, build a shortcut with the Set Focus and Start Timer actions, name it Focus time, and ask Siri to run it. Shortcuts can also run it for you at a set time or place.

Can Siri start a focus timer?

Yes. Say “Siri, set a timer for 25 minutes” and the Clock app starts a countdown. It’s the quickest focus timer an iPhone has.

Apple’s Clock guide gives “Set the timer for 3 minutes” as the example. Any length works. To wake Siri, say “Siri” or “Hey Siri” (whichever you’ve turned on), or press and hold the side button, as Apple’s Siri guide explains.

Once it’s running, the timer shows on your Lock Screen and keeps going if you switch apps. When you need a break, the same trick works: “set a timer for 5 minutes”. There’s more on that countdown in how to put a timer on your iPhone Lock Screen.

How do I turn on a Focus with Siri?

Ask for it by name: “Turn on the Work Focus”. Siri switches it on, and the notifications you’ve silenced for that Focus stay quiet.

That’s straight from Apple’s guide to turning a Focus on. It works for any Focus you’ve set up, including a custom one called Study or Deep Work. “Turn off the Work Focus” ends it.

The catch is that it’s two requests: one for the Focus, one for the timer. And the Focus stays on after the timer ends unless you remember to turn it off. A shortcut fixes both.

How do I start a Focus and a timer with one command?

Make a shortcut with two actions, Set Focus and Start Timer, give it a name, and ask Siri to run it. Siri runs any shortcut in your collection when you say its name.

Following Apple’s steps for a custom shortcut:

Open the Shortcuts app and tap the add button to start a new shortcut.
Tap New Shortcut, tap Rename, and call it something easy to say, like “Focus time”.
Tap Add Action, search for Set Focus, and choose your Focus and turn it on. You can set it to turn off again at a time, so it doesn’t outlive the session. Matthew Cassinelli’s Focus timer shortcut is a worked example.
Add Start Timer from the Clock app’s actions and set it to 25 minutes. Apple’s Shortcuts release notes mention that it can ask for a duration each time when run with Siri.
Tap Done.

Now “Siri, Focus time” does both. Per Apple’s Siri and Shortcuts guide, if a shortcut’s name matches a built-in Siri command, the shortcut wins, so pick a name that isn’t already a request.

Can my focus timer start automatically?

Yes. Add an automation trigger to the shortcut, such as a time of day or arriving at a place, and it runs when that happens. By default it asks first, but some triggers can run without asking.

In iOS 27, triggers belong to the shortcut itself. From Apple’s automations guide:

In the Shortcuts app, tap your shortcut.
Tap Edit, then Automation.
Choose a trigger, such as Time of Day or Arrive, and set it up.
To skip the confirmation, open the shortcut’s Edit screen, go to Privacy, and turn on Allow Running When Locked.

Time of Day, Arrive, Leave, Wi-Fi, Charger and App are among the triggers Apple lists as able to run without asking. Arriving at the library, or plugging in at your desk, makes a decent starting gun. Automations are specific to one device, so set them up on the phone you’ll carry. In iOS 26 and earlier, automations had their own Automation tab in the Shortcuts app instead.

If you only want the Focus, not the timer, you don’t need Shortcuts at all: in Settings → Focus, tap a Focus, then Add Schedule to turn it on at a time, a place, or when you open an app.

Can Siri start a Doggydoro session?

Yes. Doggydoro, our Pomodoro timer with a dog in it, has its own Siri actions, so a focus session is one sentence away.

Say	What happens
“Start a focus session in Doggydoro”	Starts a focus session
“Start a break in Doggydoro”	Starts a break
Ask how long you’ve focused today	Siri tells you today’s focus time

Every phrase is listed in Doggydoro under Settings → Siri & Shortcuts. The same actions are in the Shortcuts app, in its App Shortcuts area, so you can drop “start a focus session” into an automation of your own, say, on arriving at your desk. If Siri doesn’t start a session, the support page has what to try.

For the rest of an iPhone focus setup, see the iPhone focus guide. To keep apps out of the way while the timer runs, see how to block apps on iPhone with Screen Time.