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 Logo Gradient 16x9 1

Apple Just Made an Extremely Rare Product Announcement

Thursday August 27, 2026 7:58 am PDT by
The new Mac mini and Mac Studio models unveiled by Apple this week are the company's first new Macs announced in August since 2020. It is extremely rare for Apple to announce new products of any kind in August, excluding smaller things like new color options and accessories. As mentioned, Apple's last notable August product announcement was in 2020, when it updated the 27-inch iMac and a...
Surprise and Shine Feature

Apple Event Announced for September 9: 'Surprise and Shine'

Wednesday August 26, 2026 9:02 am PDT by
Apple plans to hold its annual iPhone-centric event on Wednesday, September 9 at the Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California. The event will begin at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time, with select members of the media invited to attend. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The September 2026 iPhone event will see Apple announce the iPhone 18 Pro, the iPhone 18 Pro Max, and the ...
Apple Surprise Shine

Apple Event: Six New Products to Expect on September 9

Thursday August 27, 2026 8:00 am PDT by
Apple has announced that it will be holding an event on Wednesday, September 9 at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, with the company widely expected to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, its first-ever foldable iPhone, and more. Other products expected to be announced at the event include an Apple Watch Series 12 with a ceramic case option, an Apple Watch Ultra 4, AirPods 5 with and without...