How to Get a Daily Affirmation on Your iPhone, at the Times You Choose

A kind line works best when it arrives on its own, at a moment you didn't plan to need it: the walk into work, the last meeting of the day, the minute before bed. Your iPhone can do that. Here are three ways, from a two-minute setup to one that chooses a new line for you each day.

Which option fits you?

Option	A new line each day	Your own words	Setup
Reminders	No	Yes	About 2 minutes
Shortcuts	Yes, from your list	Yes	About 10 minutes
An app	Yes	No (the app's lines)	About 2 minutes

Option 1: A Repeating Reminder (Two Minutes)

The Reminders app can repeat anything daily, and the title of a reminder is what appears in the notification.

1. Open Reminders and tap New Reminder.
2. Type your affirmation as the title, for example "I can start with the next five minutes."
3. Tap the info button (ⓘ) next to it, turn on Date and Time, and pick when you want it.
4. Tap Repeat and choose Daily (or Weekdays).
5. Tap Done. If the notification doesn't arrive, check that notifications are on for Reminders (see the fixes below).

The catch is that it's the same sentence every day, and it sits in your list until you tick it off. For one line you want to live with for a while, that's fine. Need lines to choose from? Try our gentle affirmations.

Option 2: A Shortcuts Automation That Picks a Random Line

If you'd like a different line each day, the Shortcuts app can choose one at random from a list you write. There are two parts: a shortcut that picks a line, and an automation that runs it every day.

Part 1: Make the shortcut

1. Open Shortcuts and tap + to make a new shortcut.
2. Add the action List, and type one affirmation per item. Five to ten is plenty.
3. Add Get Item from List and change it to Random Item.
4. Add Show Notification and make its text the Item from List.
5. Name the shortcut (for example, "Daily affirmation") and run it once to check it works.

Part 2: Run it every day

1. Add a personal automation with the Time of Day trigger. In iOS 17 and 18 this is in the Automation tab (tap +); in newer versions you can also start from the shortcut itself (tap Edit, then Automation). Apple's guide to adding automations shows the current steps.
2. Pick the time and choose Daily. Time of Day is one of the triggers that can run without asking (Apple Support).
3. Set the automation to run without asking for confirmation, and choose your "Daily affirmation" shortcut.
4. Want more than one a day? Add a second automation at another time.

Option 3: An Affirmations App

An app does the choosing and the scheduling for you. Gentle sends short, kind affirmations at the hours you pick: you choose how many arrive each day and when (morning, afternoon, evening, through the day, or your own times). It also keeps one on your Lock Screen with widgets, and there's no account to make. Gentle is our app, so weigh that; the two options above need no app at all.

How Many a Day, and When?

Fewer than you think. Anything that arrives on a fixed schedule soon fades into the background, so one to three lines a day tends to stay meaningful longer than a steady stream. Three times that often work:

• Morning, before the day has an opinion about you.
• Just before a moment you know is hard, like a weekly meeting or the school run.
• Evening wind-down, when the inner critic tends to get louder. If nights are the hard part, see our guide to stopping overthinking at night.

Not Seeing Them? Four Fixes

• Notifications are off for the app. Go to Settings → Notifications, tap the app (Reminders, Shortcuts or Gentle) and turn on Allow Notifications.
• Scheduled Summary is holding them. If you use a notification summary, apps in it deliver at summary time instead of right away. In Settings → Notifications → Scheduled Summary, take the app out of the summary (Apple Support).
• A Focus is silencing them. In Settings → Focus, open the Focus that's on at that time and allow the app.
• The automation is waiting for you. If a Shortcuts automation asks before running, you'll get a prompt instead of your line. Edit it and set it to run without asking.

Notification or Widget: Which Sticks?

A notification arrives at a moment, which is good for a specific time of day. A widget is there every time you pick up your phone, which is good for the moments you can't predict. Many people use both. Our guide to affirmations on your iPhone Lock Screen covers widgets, and our free wallpaper maker puts a line on your Lock Screen with no app at all.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

• Apple Support. Add automations to Shortcuts on iPhone or iPad.
• Apple Support. Event triggers in Shortcuts on iPhone or iPad.
• Apple Support. Use notifications on your iPhone or iPad (including Scheduled Summary).