iPhone’s Clock app can wake you up, and Maps can tell you how long a drive takes, but nothing built in connects the two. Leave On Time does: you describe a trip once, and it works backward to set both a wake-up alarm and a leave-now alarm so you arrive when you meant to.
Inside the shortcut
You build a trip by choosing the destination and any stops along the way, then setting the date and time it starts. From there the shortcut calculates the drive time, adds the time your morning routine takes, and creates alarms for when to get up and when to walk out the door.
Version 3.0 was a complete overhaul. Among the changes it brought is better rush-hour handling, which matters because a drive that takes 20 minutes at noon can take 45 at 8 a.m. It also added a Trip Planner and the option to choose how you navigate.
Other features from the listing:
- Trips can be set up to seven months ahead and then left alone.
- A trip details view shows the itinerary, the alarms and any flights.
- Flight status can be tracked up to three days in advance.
- Directions open in Apple Maps, Waze or Google Maps.
- Any trip or alarm can be edited or deleted later.
Adding it to your iPhone
Run it once and allow the permissions it asks for, since it needs them to create alarms and work out drive times.
Setting up your trips
Leave On Time doesn’t need a Personal Automation. You trigger it by hand whenever there’s something to plan, and the alarms it creates handle the timing for you. A good routine is to open it as soon as an appointment lands in your calendar:
- Run the shortcut and start a new trip.
- Add the destination, plus any stops such as school drop-off or a coffee run.
- Set the date and time you need to be there.
- Review the trip details to check both alarms look right.
Customizing it
The biggest lever is your morning routine time. Be honest with it; if getting ready takes 50 minutes on a bad day, enter 50, not 30. You can also choose which navigation app opens, so Google Maps or Waze users aren’t pushed into Apple Maps.
Troubleshooting
An alarm went off too early or too late. Edit the trip and check the routine time and start time you entered.
A trip from months ago still shows. Use the edit option to delete old trips or alarms you no longer need.
Quick answers
Will it notice if traffic is worse than usual?
It calculates drive time with rush hour in mind, which v3.0 improved. Because it plans ahead from that estimate, give yourself a margin on days with bad weather.
Can it handle a trip that includes a flight?
Trip details can show flight information, and flight status tracking opens up three days before departure.
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