How I Use The Reminders App
The Apple Reminders App is one of my absolute favorites and most used apps. A few years ago I was absolutely dedicated to Todoist, and I still love that app but it doesn’t serve me the way I need it to right now. I used it for years and then they slowly started reducing features for the Free version of the app so I migrated solely to Reminders.
What made me say “yes” to Reminders was that I could use it seamlessly on my Macbook, iPhone, and Apple Watch. Being able to use it on my Apple Watch was the biggest thing for me. When I was in the newborn haze again, I used Siri a lot on my phone to add reminders as they popped into my head. I would often remember something while I was in the middle of changing the baby’s clothes or doing tummy time and I didn’t have my phone on me. And not recording what I needed to do right then led to me not remembering to add it sometimes for a few more days 😵💫
I upgraded my Apple Watch for Mother’s Day. I had a Series 2 or 3 and had stopped wearing it during the pandemic. It needed way too many updates to be salvaged so I upgraded and I’ve been so happy with it. I have it set up so I can just ask Siri to add a reminder and then it’s on my phone and Macbook immediately. No more forgetting… which seems like the purpose of an app called Reminders.
Ever since I started sharing that I use the app, I’ve gotten questions on how I use it and which lists I have created. I have lists for everything. This was another major reason I left Todoist, they began the number of lists you could have. I believe it’s down to five total lists whereas Reminders gives you no maximum.
It’s not a perfect setup, but it’s in a good enough place that I’m not always fiddling with it and changing it up. The key sections are: THIS WEEK, NEXT WEEK, THIS MONTH, NEXT MONTH, and SOMEDAY/MAYBE. I found this system to manage my tasks on YouTube. There are a few other videos Carl Pullein has made showing how he uses the system. It works really well for me because it’s time-based. Previously I had different lists for work, personal, etc. but now I sort these tasks on when I need to work on them or have them completed.
Underneath that, you will see I have a few lists for routines. I have these sorted out by Daily, Weekly, Monthly, and Annual. The tasks in these are set to recur on a specific day so they pop up in my “Today” and “Scheduled” smartlists that come standard with the app. These are things like a work task I need to check in on every day, chores done around the house, and my monthly expense report at work.
The Annual List is the one I’ve shared about on Instagram that people always seem interested in. It’s literally just a list of things that happen or that I need to think about every year. Mine needs to be more built out. For example, I know when our annual Costco membership renews but I have no idea when our Amazon Prime subscription renews.
People usually ask why I have things like birthdays and similar events on this list instead of the calendar. I do it this way because there are other things that need to be done in preparation for those events. This list allows me to see what’s coming and to think about these things further in advance than my calendar does. It just works better for my brain.
Since we just kicked off October, what I do with my Annual List is review what’s coming up and plan out what needs to happen. For example, Halloween is on the 31st so we need to get the kids’ costumes and trick-or-treat baskets. We’ll also go ahead and order the seasoning brine we use for our Thanksgiving turkey so we don’t have to worry about finding it in November.
I need to add more to this list personally, but having somewhere to put these items and getting them out of my head has been really helpful. Someone on Instagram asked me to share a template for the list, so here’s the one I created! It will only work if you have iOS 17 installed on your phone. You may also need to copy the link and open it in Chrome or Safari for it to work.
The last section is random lists.
Gift ideas for the upcoming holidays
Groceries is the only list I share with my husband right now but I have sections for our local grocery stores, Costco, and Target.
Meal ideas is just a list of meals we could have from when we’ve said “you know what sounds good?” lately so when we make our meal plan I can pull ideas from there instead of trying to come up with something.
Shopping is a list of items we are lacking and need to add to someone’s closet. For example, my oldest needs boots and a coat for the winter but I haven’t found what I’m looking for yet.
Travel is for packing lists.
Family Meeting is a list of points to discuss with my husband. We’re trying to create a weekly standing meeting where we can discuss these points to manage our household, but it’s been hit or miss. I need to share this list with him so he can add items too.
So that’s it! A massive post and why I love the Reminders App and how I use it 🤣 I hope you enjoyed this peek into my brain and I thank you for nerding out with me. The update to add sections has really taken the app over the top for me and has pretty much replaced the Notes app for me in terms of keeping lists of things.
How do you use the Reminders App?
xoxo, Kate