15 Ways Apple’s Reminders App Can Keep You on Task
The latest version of Apple’s Reminders app adds several new features, including an option to add grocery lists, an early reminder alarm, and the ability to organize reminders into sections.
By Lance Whitney
The Reminders app for iPhone and iPad, which allows you to create tasks and manage to-do lists, long lacked the bells and whistles found in many third-party task management apps. But Apple beefed up its capabilities in recent releases, turning it into a powerful program.
With the update to iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, you can create grocery lists, set up an early reminder alarm, quickly add new reminders based on previous ones, organize your reminders into sections, and complete a reminder from its widget. To take advantage of the app’s latest features, go to Settings > General > Software Updates. You’ll be told that your device is up to date or prompted to download and install the latest updates.
1. View Smart Lists
Smart lists will categorize the items on your to-do lists by certain criteria. Today shows the tasks that are due today, while Scheduled will show those tasks based on due date. Tap All to see all your reminders, including any designated as tasks and any shared with other family members. Select Flagged to see reminders you’ve flagged as important. From Completed, you’ll see any reminders completed today and in the past.
2. Create Timed Reminders
When you create a new reminder, you can also set a day and time for it. Enable Date to select a specific day for the reminder to be due. You can also turn on Time to set a time for the reminder. If the reminder is a recurring item, tap Repeat and choose its frequency, such as daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly. Keep in mind that if no time is set, notifications for your reminders will pop up at 9 a.m. on the selected day by default.
3. Set Early Reminders
With iOS/iPadOS 17, you can set an early reminder so you’re alerted before the date and time come up. For this, tap Early Reminder and choose how far in advance you want to be reminded-any time from five minutes to one month before. Tap Custom to set a specific number of minutes, hours, days, weeks, or months.
4. Turn on Location Reminders
Add location-based reminders by turning on the Location switch. Location can then be set to your current location, your home, when you get in or out of your car, or a custom location. When your device detects that you’re at the set location (or have just left it), the reminder is triggered.
5. Enable Messaging Reminders
Keep forgetting to tell someone something? Reminders can send you a notification when you’re chatting with a specific person in the Messages app. Turn on the When Messaging switch, tap the Choose Person link and select someone from your contacts. The next time you chat with that person, you’ll receive a notification about the reminder.
6. Add Subtasks
Subtasks are a handy way to organize or divide a reminder into different steps. To add subtasks to an existing reminder, tap the entry, then select Edit Details. Choose Subtasks > Add Reminder, then type your subtask. Repeat as needed.
Subtasks are indented under the parent task, but you can change that with a swipe. Swipe a reminder to the right and tap Indent to turn it into a subtask of the reminder above it. Swipe a subtask to the right and tap Outdent to turn it into an independent reminder.
7. Include Images With Reminders
To associate an image with a specific reminder, tap Add Image on the Details page. Snap a photo, scan a document, or pick an existing image from your Apple Photos library. Tap Add Image again to add more. You can then rearrange the images by dragging one up or down via its hamburger icon or delete an image by tapping its minus symbol. Tap Done when finished.
8. Edit Your Reminders
Once a reminder has been created, there are numerous ways to edit the entry. For instance, you can swipe a reminder to the left to flag or delete it. Pressing down on a reminder will allow you to drag it up and down the list. Tap a reminder to access a toolbar with commands to set the due date and time, create a location-based notification, set a flag, and add an image.
9. Create New Reminders Based on Old Entries
You may sometimes create new reminders that are the same as or similar to previous ones you already completed. Starting with iOS/iPadOS 17, you can start typing the title of a new reminder and the app will suggest a matching previous entry. Tap the suggested title to add it.
10. Split Your Tasks Among Lists
You can create additional lists from the main screen of the app. For example, maybe you want a list for business-related reminders to keep them separate from your personal tasks. To create a list, tap the Add List link in the lower-right corner of the app and type a name for the new list. Select a color and icon to distinguish it from other lists and tap Done. You can then add a new reminder to the list by tapping the list name and selecting New Reminder.
11. Move a Reminder to a Different List
You may want to move a reminder to a specific list to better organize it. For this, tap the reminder’s Info icon, then tap the List entry. You then select the list to which you want to move this item then return to the previous screen and tap Done.
12. Create a Grocery List
Apple’s iOS/iPadOS 17 allows you to create a grocery list, and the app will automatically place each item into a specific section. To create just a list, tap Add List on the main page, then name the list. Tap List Type and set the type to Groceries. You can then choose a color and icon. When you start adding items to your grocery list, you’ll see that the app automatically organizes them into different sections.
13. Organize Your Reminders Into Sections
A grocery list automatically organizes items into different sections, but you can set up sections for any list. To do this, open an existing list of reminders, tap the ellipsis icon in the upper right, and then select New Section. Type a name for the section and tap Done. Repeat these steps as needed to create more sections. Tap the Info icon for each reminder and tap the Section entry. You can then set the item to a specific section you created for that list. When done, each reminder will appear in its own section.
14. Create Reminders With Siri
Reminders can be created with the help of Siri. You can ask the voice assistant something like “Remind me to turn off the lights at 10 p.m.” and it will be added to the Reminders app. You can also type your reminder into the Siri search field first. Tap the Ask Siri entry among the suggestions to add the request to the app.
15. Complete a Task From the Reminders Widget
Rather than opening the full Reminders app to complete a reminder, do it quicker from its widget. To set up a widget for the Reminders app, swipe to the right until you see the widgets screen. Tap the Edit button at the bottom and then tap the plus (+) icon at the top.
Swipe down the screen and tap Reminders. Swipe across the screen to view the three different types of layouts for the widget. When you see the one you want, tap Add Widget.
When it’s time to complete a reminder, swipe to the right to the widgets screen, and you can tap a specific reminder to check it off your list.
Originally published at https://www.pcmag.com.
