How to Schedule Sleep and Wake Times for Your Mac - MacRumors
Skip to Content

How to Schedule Sleep and Wake Times for Your Mac

by

If you frequently forget to turn off your Mac at night, you may find its built-in sleep scheduling feature useful.

schedule macOS
Using this Energy Saver option, you can set your Mac to automatically go to sleep at a particular time each day, on weekdays, weekends, or only on specific days.

You can also set your Mac to start up, so it's ready and waiting for you to get to work in the morning. To schedule sleep and/or wake times in macOS, simply follow these steps.

  1. Launch System Preferences from your Mac's Dock, from the Applications folder, or from the Apple menu bar ( -> System Preferences...).
  2. Select Energy Saver in the preferences pane.
    sys prefs

  3. Click the Schedule button at the bottom of the pane.
    sys prefs

  4. Check the box next to Start up or wake. You can also use the Sleep dropdown to schedule a Sleep, Restart, or Shut Down time if desired.
  5. For each scheduled behavior, choose Weekdays, Weekends, Every Day, or a specific day. Then choose a time of day for each selected option.energy saver

  6. Click OK.

That's all there is to it. Your Mac will now automatically enter sleep on the days and times you selected. To disable the feature, just return to the Energy Saver preference panel and uncheck the checkbox next to Startup and/or Sleep/Restart/Shut Down.

Popular Stories

Apple Event Logo

Apple's Next Era Begins September 1

Thursday May 7, 2026 10:36 am PDT by
Apple recently announced that Tim Cook will be stepping down as CEO later this year, after 15 years of leading the company. Effective September 1, Apple's hardware engineering chief John Ternus will become the company's next CEO, while Cook will become executive chairman of Apple's board of directors. In his new role, Apple said Cook will assist with "certain aspects" of the company,...
Instagram Feature 2

PSA: Instagram Encrypted Messaging Ends on Friday, May 8

Tuesday May 5, 2026 8:24 am PDT by
Instagram will remove end-to-end encryption for direct messages between users from May 8, 2026. When the date comes around, Meta will potentially be able to see the contents of all messages between users on the social media platform. Encrypting messages has been an optional feature in Instagram since 2023, but in March of this year the social media platform quietly updated a help page to say ...
macbook neo launch day

Apple May Drop Base $599 MacBook Neo as Chip, DRAM Costs Climb

Thursday May 7, 2026 4:55 am PDT by
Apple is considering dropping the cheapest MacBook Neo configuration as one possible response to the rising cost of building the popular laptop, according to Taiwan-based tech columnist and former Bloomberg reporter Tim Culpan. The Neo currently starts at $599 for a 256GB model, with a 512GB version at $699. Writing in his latest Culpium newsletter, Culpan says cutting the entry-level...