Although it’s not possible to create shortcuts on your Apple Watch, you can still run shortcuts you’ve made on your iPhone or Mac from your wrist. There are plenty of shortcuts that you can create to make your Apple Watch even more useful.

1 Start Your Favorite Workout

If you’re like me, you use the List view for apps on your Apple Watch as you hate having to look for an app icon you can’t really remember among the beehive of apps in the Grid view. The trouble with the list view is that if you want to open the Workout app, you have to scroll through almost every other app on your watch to get to the W section.

You can add the Workout app to your Smart Stack, but that still requires that you select a workout from the list. If you do the same workout regularly, you can create a shortcut that will start your workout of choice with either an open goal or a specific goal that you set. You can then launch this shortcut from the Shortcuts app, ask Siri to launch it, use the Smart Stack, assign it to a Watch face complication, or even the Action Button on an Apple Watch Ultra.

Open the Shortcuts app and tap the “+” (plus) icon at the top of the screen to create a new shortcut. Tap “Search Actions.” Type “Start Workout” and select the “Start Workout” action from the results.

Tap the “Outdoor Run” and select the workout you want to launch. Tap “Open Goal” to set a specific goal for your workout. Tap the name of the workout at the top of the screen and select “Rename.” Give the shortcut a memorable name.

Tap the “i” icon at the bottom of the screen and ensure that “Show on Apple Watch” is turned on. Tap “Done” to save your shortcut.

Your completed shortcut should look something like the image below. You can now launch the shortcut from your Apple Watch, and your selected workout will start.

2 Use ChatGPT From Your Apple Watch

ChatGPT is available on your iPhone and your Mac, but it’s sadly missing from the Apple Watch. However, you can create a shortcut that will let you prompt ChatGPT, and hear the responses, directly from your Apple Watch. The process is fairly slow, but if you’re not in a rush, it’s useful to have the option. Be aware that you’ll need the ChatGPT app installed and set up on your iPhone.

Open Shortcuts and tap “+” (plus) to create a new shortcut. Tap “Search Actions.” Type “Dictate” and select “Dictate Text” from the results.

Search for “Copy” and select “Copy to Clipboard.” Search for “ChatGPT” and select “Ask ChatGPT.” Tap “Message” and select “Clipboard” from the variables above the keyboard. You may need to swipe left to find the “Clipboard” variable.

Tap the down arrow in the “Ask ChatGPT” action and toggle “Show When Run” off.

Search for “Variable” and select “Set Variable.” Tap “Variable Name” and enter a variable name such as “ChatGPTresponse.” Search for “Speak” and select “Speak Text” from the results.

Tap the “i” icon at the bottom of the screen and toggle “Show on Apple Watch” on. Give your shortcut a name and tap “Done” to save it.

Your shortcut should look like the image below.

When you run the shortcut on your Apple Watch, speak your prompt, and then tap “Done.” After a fair amount of thinking, you should hear the response from ChatGPT read aloud from your Apple Watch.

3 Send a Preset Message to a Contact

If you find that you regularly send the same message to a contact, such as telling your significant other that you’re on your way home, you may want a quick way to send the message without having to type it out each time. You can create a shortcut that will send a message when launched from your Apple Watch.

Create a new shortcut in the Shortcuts app. Tap “Search Actions.” Search for “Message” and select the “Send Message” action.

Tap “Message” and enter the message that you want to send each time. Tap “Recipients” and select the contact you want to send the message to. You can add additional recipients if you wish.

Tap the “i” icon at the bottom of the screen and toggle “Show on Apple Watch” on. Give your shortcut a name and tap “Done” to save it.

The completed shortcut should look something like the image below:

When you run the shortcut on your Apple Watch, the message will be sent to your selected recipients.

4 Create a Note From Your Wrist

Another app that’s available on the iPhone and Mac but not on your Apple Watch is the Notes app. This is a shame, as sometimes you want to add a quick note even when you don’t have your iPhone or Mac to hand. Thankfully, you can create a shortcut that will let you do just that.

Open Shortcuts and create a new shortcut by tapping the “+” (plus) icon. Tap “Search Actions,” type “Dictate” and select “Dictate Text.”

Search for “Copy” and select “Copy to Clipboard.” Search for “Variable” and select “Set Variable” from the results. Tap “Variable Name” and give the variable a name such as “NoteText.”

Search for “Note” and select “Create Note.” Tap “Contents” and select the “NoteText” variable above the keyboard. You may need to swipe left to see this variable. Tap the arrow in the “Create Note” action and toggle “Show When Run” off, as Notes can’t run on your Apple Watch, and this will cause the shortcut to fail.

Tap the “i” icon at the bottom of the screen, and toggle “Show on Apple Watch” on. Rename the shortcut and tap “Done” to save it.

Your completed shortcut should look something like the image below:

When you run the shortcut on your Apple Watch, speak the text that you want to enter as your note, and tap “Done” when you’ve spoken it all. The dictated text will be added to a new note on your iPhone.

5 Log Your Water Intake

Your Apple Watch can track a lot of health data automatically, such as your step count, your sleep duration, your resting heart rate, and more. However, there are still some things it can’t log automatically. If you want to keep a log of your water intake, or your weight, for example, then you can create a shortcut that lets you enter a value that is passed to the Health app and logged in the appropriate section. You can even set a default value if you usually drink the same amount at a time.

Open Shortcuts and tap the “+” (plus) icon to create a new shortcut. Tap “Search Actions,” search for “Ask” and select “Ask for Input” from the results. There’s no need to enter a prompt as it won’t display on your Apple Watch.

Tap “Text” and select “Number.” Tap the arrow and enter a value for “Default Number” if you want to add a default amount of water intake. If you usually drink a 300ml glass of water, for example, enter 300. You can toggle “Allow Decimal Numbers” and “Allow Negative Numbers” off if you don’t need them.

Search for “Health” and select “Log Health Sample.” Tap “Choose” next to “Type” and select “Water.” Tap “Sample Value” and select “Ask for Input.” Tap the units if you want to change them.

Tap the “i” icon and toggle “Show on Apple Watch” on. Name your shortcut and tap “Done” to save it.

The completed shortcut should look like the image below:

When you run the shortcut on your watch, it will be automatically filled with your default value. If this is the amount you’ve drunk, you can tap “Done” to log your water intake. If you’ve drunk a different amount, delete the default value and enter a new one to log that value instead.

You can log other health data in a similar fashion. For example, if you don’t own a set of smart scales, you can create a shortcut to quickly log your weight on your Apple Watch every time you weigh yourself.

These Apple Watch shortcuts can be very useful for doing things that are otherwise not possible on your wrist, such as using ChatGPT or creating notes. You can add your favorite Apple Watch shortcuts to your Smart Stack or trigger them with the Action Button if you have an Apple Watch Ultra, making them even easier to run. You can also trigger them with Siri.