Apple Reminders is one of the really useful apps that come preloaded on your iOS and Mac devices. As the name suggests and as you may already know, it allows you to create reminders you want to be reminded of on your devices. You can use it to get reminders about tasks you think you forget if you don’t put them on a list.
Most people who use the Apple Reminders app only use its basic features. It has a lot more to offer that you can use to create advanced reminders on your devices. Some of these features include the ability to add reminders using Siri, get reminders when you are in a specific location, and so on.
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Use lists to group similar activities
One of the underused features of Apple Reminders is the task list. By default, what most people do is add all of their reminders into one list. While this can work if you only use the app for specific reminders, you can create a list for each type of reminder so that things are a little more organized.
You can create various lists and then write down the reminders in them. For example, you can create a personal list for your personal reminders and an office list for your office-related reminders.
This way, you can quickly jump to a specific type of reminder and view all the activities listed.
- Start the Memorandum app on your device.
- Tap at the bottom of the screen and you’ll see the available lists.
- Touch the + (plus) in the upper right corner to add a new list.
- It will ask you which new item you want to create. Touch List to create a new list.
- Enter a name for your list, choose a color for it and tap Done to save the list.
- Now you can start adding reminders to the newly created list.
Change the color of your list
The Reminders app allows you to customize the color of your lists to make it easier to find your lists. You can assign from various colors available in the app and your list will be highlighted in the chosen color.
The color of the list can be assigned to both new and existing lists.
Assign a color to a new list
- Picking a specific color for your new list is easy enough. While on the new list creation screen, simply tap on the color you want for your list and that’s it.
Change the color of an existing list
- Open the list whose color you want to change.
- Touch the Change link in the upper right corner.
- Select the option that says Color.
- Choose a new color from the list of available colors.
Share your list with other people
Sometimes, you may want to share certain reminder lists with other people. We especially recommend doing this in corporate environments where multiple people are working on a given assignment.
The Apple Reminders app allows you to add people to your lists and they can then contribute. All they need to do is enable iCloud on their devices and they should be able to sign in and add to your lists.
- Open the Memorandum app on your device.
- Select the list you want to share with other people.
- Touch the Change option in the upper right corner.
- Tap the option that says Sharing.
- On the following screen, tap Add person to add people to your list.
- Choose a person from your list and tap To add in the upper right corner.
- The person will be added to your list and can manage your list with you.
Hide and show completed tasks in reminders
To keep your UI tidy, the Reminders app hides any tasks you’ve marked as completed. As soon as you scroll through a task, it is removed from the main list and moved to a hidden list of completed tasks.
Many users may think that their completed tasks are deleted as the app does not visibly show how to view completed tasks. However, this is not the case and you can view your completed tasks using an option in the app.
- Open the Memorandum app.
- Select the list where the completed task was located.
- You will see an option that says Show completed at the bottom of the screen. Tap it and it will open.
- You will now see a list of all your completed tasks.
Create location-based reminders
Time-based reminders are common and can be created in most of the reminder apps available. However, location-based reminders are rare, but they can be created in the Apple Reminders app on your iOS and Mac devices.
A location-based reminder notifies you when you are in a particular location assigned to your reminder. For example, you can set a reminder to buy milk when you’re around Walmart. When you are actually in that place, the app will notify you and display your reminder.
- Start the Memorandum app.
- Open the list where you want to create a location-based reminder.
- Start typing your reminder and then tap the I icon next to it.
- Rotate the switch for Remind me in one place to the ON position.
- Touch Position and will allow you to specify a location for your memo.
- Type the name of the place and select it when it appears.
- Touch Done in the upper right corner to save the location-based memo.
Add new reminders using Siri
If you’re in a hurry or in a situation where you can’t type a reminder, you can use Siri to create a new reminder in the Apple Reminders app. Since both Siri and Reminders are developed by Apple, they are tightly integrated and you can use one to create elements in another.
- turn on Siri as you normally would.
- Ask her Remind me to do it and then add whatever you want to be reminded of. For example, you can ask her Remind me to buy milk tomorrow at 8:00 and will create a reminder for 8:00 tomorrow in the app.
- You can use natural language variations to create specific reminders.
Edit the list of predefined reminders
If you don’t specify a specific list to add your new reminders to, they will be added to a predefined list by the app. You can change the default list if you want and all your future unassigned tasks will be added to that list.
- Start the Settings app on your device.
- Find and tap the Memorandum option.
- Touch the Default list option.
- Select a list as the new default list.
If you use Apple Reminders as your main reminder app, what hacks do you use to make the most of it? Let us and our readers know in the comments section below.
