Tutorials

Focus Modes are one of the most powerful ways to keep your lock screen relevant throughout the day.

Why Automate with Focus

Manually switching tasks each time your context changes is easy to forget. Focus Mode automation lets your iPhone detect the shift automatically — when you start working, your work tasks appear. When you switch to Sleep, the lock screen clears.

What You Need

• iOS 16 or later
• LockTodo installed and set up
• At least one Focus Mode configured

Setting It Up

1. Create Focus-specific Shortcuts

For each Focus Mode you want to automate, create a Shortcut that calls LockTodo with the tasks relevant to that context.

For example:

• Work Focus → show flagged tasks from the “Work” Reminders list
• Personal Focus → show tasks from the “Personal” list
• Sleep Focus → clear the lock screen entirely

2. Link Shortcuts to Focus

In Settings → Focus → [Your Focus] → App & People, add the Shortcuts app. Under “Automation,” set it to run the correct LockTodo shortcut when this Focus turns on.

3. Test Each Mode

Activate each Focus to confirm the correct task set appears on the lock screen.

Tips

• Keep your lock screen clean when you’re not working — the Sleep or Personal focus can hide tasks entirely
• Use location-based Focus activation for automatic switching when you arrive at or leave work
• The lock screen updates within seconds of the Focus change

Getting your first task onto the lock screen takes about five minutes. Here’s how.

Install the App

Download LockTodo from the App Store. The app is free with no subscription.

Open it once after installation. It will ask for permission to access Apple Reminders — grant it. No account creation is needed.

Pick a Task

Inside LockTodo, you’ll see your Apple Reminders lists. Choose a task you want to surface on the lock screen and tap it.

The app reads directly from Reminders — there is no separate database. Whatever you flag here will appear on your lock screen wallpaper after the next Shortcut refresh.

Run the Shortcut

Open the Shortcuts app on your iPhone and find the LockTodo shortcut in the Gallery, or create one that:

1. Reads your flagged tasks from Reminders
2. Sends them to LockTodo
3. Sets the generated wallpaper as your lock screen

Run it once to test. The shortcut takes about two seconds to complete.

See It on the Lock Screen

Lock your iPhone and wake it. Your task appears as part of the wallpaper — no widget, no extra swipe.

That’s it. From now on, whenever you update your flagged tasks, the lock screen updates the next time the shortcut runs.