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

macOS 27 on MacBook Pro

Apple Says macOS 27 Won't Be Compatible With These Macs

Wednesday June 3, 2026 8:29 am PDT by
During WWDC 2025, Apple revealed that macOS 26 Tahoe would be the final major macOS version for Intel-based Macs. macOS 27 will be compatible with Apple silicon Macs only, meaning that you will need a Mac with an M-series chip or a MacBook Neo with an A18 Pro chip in order to install the software update. Apple will unveil macOS 27 during its WWDC 2026 keynote this Monday, June 8, and the...
MacBook Neo on Yellow Feature

MacBook Neo is So Popular That Apple Reportedly Doubled Production

Wednesday June 3, 2026 9:24 am PDT by
On an earnings call in late April, Apple's CEO Tim Cook said that customer response to the MacBook Neo was "off the charts," and the popularity of the laptop has reportedly led the company to significantly boost production. Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo this week said he believes that MacBook Neo shipments to Apple were doubled from an initial target of 5 million units to 10...
iphone 18 pro blue%402x

iPhone 18 Pro: Dark Cherry, Light Blue, and Dark Gray Chassis Leaked [Update]

Thursday June 4, 2026 5:18 am PDT by
Update: Since publication, new information has come to light suggesting the images have been AI-manipulated and are not in fact iPhone 18 Pro chassis parts. The original article follows. The color options Apple is reportedly planning for the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro and ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ Max have appeared online today in the form of images of chassis parts of unknown authenticity....