Why You Should Use Apple Reminders  ## Metadata - Author: [[Curtis McHale]] - Full Title: Why You Should Use Apple Reminders - Category: #articles - Document Note: --- tags: - #gtd - #productivity - #applereminders Author: Curtis McHale Source: YouTube Reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_t3LjYfHDA date created: 2025-08-22 00:00 --- # Title: Why You Should Use Apple Reminders ## Table of Contents: - [📝 Summary](#-summary) - [📖 Main Content](#-main-content) - [🗒️ Notes](#-notes) - [📖 References](#-references) - [🗣️ Paraphrase](#-paraphrase) - [📰 Newsletter](#-newsletter) - [✅ Action Items](#-action-items) - [🧪 Hypotheses](#-hypotheses) - [📊 Methodology](#-methodology) - [❓ Questions](#-questions) - [🔮 Future Research](#-future-research) - [💡 Implications](#-implications) - [🧠 Learning Styles Assessment](#-learning-styles-assessment) - [📊 Accessibility Assessment](#-accessibility-assessment) - [🌍 DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging) Assessment](#-deib-diversity-equity-inclusion-and-belonging-assessment) - [✅ Logical validity](#-logical-validity) - [🔍 DARVO Analysis Prompt](#-darvo-analysis-prompt) - [🔍 SEO Evaluation](#-seo-evaluation) - [🎯 Conclusion](#-conclusion) ### References: - Curtis McHale, “Why You Should Use Apple Reminders,” YouTube, 2023-01-18. - Apple Reminders support documentation (for general capabilities). - Comparative mentions: OmniFocus, Todoist, TickTick (contextual comparisons). ## 📝 Summary: Curtis McHale argues that Apple Reminders has matured into a powerful, free, and default-worthy task manager for most people within the Apple ecosystem. While it lacks niche features like custom scripting (OmniFocus) or cross-platform support (Todoist, TickTick), it delivers the core functionality the average user needs—projects, tasks, dates, locations, tags, templates, smart lists, Siri integration, and free iCloud sync. His thesis: most people don’t need advanced automations or kanban; Reminders is more than sufficient and scales up gracefully as needs grow. ## 📖 Main Content: - Core thesis - Apple Reminders has evolved from a “basic” app into a capable task manager that fits most users’ needs without extra cost. - It should be the default choice for anyone already on Apple devices, especially beginners to task management. - Feature set and benefits - Free with Apple devices; free iCloud sync across iPhone, iPad, and Mac. - Native Siri integration that “just works,” unlike third-party naming quirks. - Supports dates, locations, tags, lists/projects, templates, and smart lists for automation and grouping. - Scales from simple lists to more complex use cases (e.g., tag-based “hardware store” list aggregating items across projects). - Comparisons and trade-offs - Lacks custom scripting (vs. OmniFocus). - Not cross-platform (vs. Todoist, TickTick). - For most users, these advanced or cross-platform features are unnecessary overhead. - Practical philosophy - Most people only need simple planning: write tasks, group by project or tag, set dates/locations—akin to using paper effectively. - Start with Reminders before considering heavier tools; upgrade only if your workflow genuinely demands it. ### 🗒️ Notes - Opening context - Free lesson from a course on Apple Reminders; positioning Reminders as a strong default. - Why Reminders - Evolution from basic to robust; meets common needs. - Free sync via iCloud reduces friction and cost barriers. - Simplicity first - Majority of users don’t need scripting, kanban, or advanced web automations. - Paper analogy: weekly focus and breakdown can suffice; Reminders replicates and extends this. - Capability highlights - Tags enable cross-project aggregation (e.g., hardware store errands). - Siri integration simplifies capture. - Templates and smart lists reduce manual sorting and provide automation-like benefits. - Limitations acknowledged - No custom scripting language. - Not cross-platform. - Recommendation - Start with Reminders; it’s ideal for “most people most of the time.” ## 📖 References: - Curtis McHale (YouTube): Why You Should Use Apple Reminders — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_t3LjYfHDA - Apple Support: Reminders user guide (general reference) - Comparative tools: OmniFocus, Todoist, TickTick (contextual only) ## 🗣️ Paraphrase: - Original idea: “Reminders started basic but now has more power than most people need; it’s a very capable task manager.” - Paraphrase: Although Reminders began as a simple checklist, Apple has steadily upgraded it to the point where it covers the majority of everyday task workflows without needing specialized apps. - Original idea: “Most people don’t need scripting, kanban, or deep web automations; they need projects, tasks, dates, locations, and tags.” - Paraphrase: Advanced features like custom scripts and kanban boards are overkill for most users. The essentials—organizing tasks into projects, assigning dates or locations, and tagging—are what truly matter, and Reminders handles these well. ## 📰 Newsletter: This week in WordPress world, we’re leaning into purposeful productivity. If you’ve been juggling a half-dozen task apps, consider a reset: Apple Reminders has quietly grown into a robust, free task manager baked into every Apple device. It now supports tags, locations, templates, smart lists, and Siri capture—plus iCloud sync at no extra cost. For many builders, that’s the perfect balance of simplicity and power. Recent updates across the ecosystem include better block theme tooling, performance improvements in core, and a steady stream of community-made utilities. New plugins on our radar: lightweight form handlers for headless setups, a schema-focused SEO helper, and a bulk pattern organizer for design systems. Want to level up your dev chops? Keep iterating on fundamentals: modern PHP patterns, TypeScript in WP projects, and clean Git workflows. As always, share what you’re hacking on—community highlights fuel this newsletter. Watch Curtis McHale’s perspective on pragmatic tooling in “Why You Should Use Apple Reminders” for a back-to-basics productivity nudge: Why You Should Use Apple Reminders. ## ✅ Action Items: Prompt for alignment with open-source advocacy, contributor engagement, and education (tailored for a GoDaddy Developer Advocate and aspiring OSPO director): - For each article I provide, analyze: - Educational relevance: Extract concepts that can be transformed into contributor onboarding materials, workshops, or tutorials (PHP/JS/HTML/CSS/Git/GitHub). - Open-source alignment: Identify how the article’s practices/tools support transparent workflows, community-driven development, and sustainable contribution models within WordPress. - Contributor engagement: Propose actionable activities (office hours, issues for first-timers, sprints) that map content insights to real contribution pathways. - OSPO perspective: Evaluate policy, governance, and metrics implications—licensing, contribution guidelines, DEIB practices, and funding sustainability. - Communication plan: Outline talks, blog posts, and documentation updates that merge pedagogy with developer advocacy, on-stage and off. - Inclusivity and transparency: Recommend ways to lower barriers (docs clarity, mentorship, async processes), and surface decision-making for community trust. - KPIs and outcomes: Define measurable goals (new contributors onboarded, PR throughput, maintainer load, retention), and how the article informs these targets. Apply this to this video: - Use Apple Reminders as a model for “default-first” contributor workflows: prioritize simple, accessible tools and escalate only when needed. - Map Reminders’ “templates and smart lists” to GitHub issue templates and labels for triage. - Leverage “Siri capture” analogy for quick contribution capture via GitHub Mobile or CLI. - Emphasize cost-free, widely available tooling to broaden contributor access and reduce friction. ## 🧪 Hypotheses: - H1: Default, zero-cost tooling increases adherence to personal task management among new contributors by ≥25%. - H2: Template-driven workflows (smart lists analogs) reduce triage time by ≥15%. - H3: Native capture integrations (voice/quick add) increase backlog capture completeness without increasing noise. - H4: Simplicity-first systems reduce to - Document Tags: [[pkm]] - Summary: #gtd #planning #reminders This is a free lesson from my course on using Apple's Reminders. Reminders is on every Apple device for free and is an excellent task manager. Become a member: https://curtismchale.ca/membership Take all my courses: https://curtismchale.ca/education Maximize Apple Reminder: https://skl.sh/3GSe4HS Join my free PKM Newsletter: https://curtismchale.ca/pkm-weekly ## Courses Members get all my courses: https://curtismchale.ca/membership ### SkillShare - SkillShare TickTick Course: https://skl.sh/2ExpXVv - SkillShare Timeblocking Course: https://skl.sh/38MQzz8 - SkillShare Zettelkasten Course: https://skl.sh/3rntNDW - Getting Started with Obsidian Course: https://skl.sh/2Y6DUDM - Building the Practice of Productivity: https://skl.sh/3oaxLj7 - YouTube from an iPad Course: https://skl.sh/3fjKNdt - Stay Organized with Things 3: https://skl.sh/3EJviGm - Maximize Apple Reminder: https://skl.sh/3GSe4HS ## My Gear - My gear: https://curtismchale.ca/my-gear - Music: https://www.epidemicsound... - URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_t3LjYfHDA&ab_channel=CurtisMcHale welcome what you write to watch is alesson from my getting started reminderscourse this is all about why you shouldbe using Apple reminders why most peopleshould be using Apple reminders as theirtask manager because it's not onlydevices and it's excellent really come along way since it started so talk moreabout that in the lesson if you want toactually get the whole course you can goto skillshare find a link below or youcan go to curtiscale.ca membership andget all of my courseslots of different stuff other taskmanagers note taking lots of stuffbuckle up have an excellent day now as long as you're going to be askingwhy on Earth would I bother with applereminders it is the basic task managerthat comes with iOS iPad OS Mac OSthere's really not a lot of power therebut that's how it started wherereminders is now actually has a lot morepower than most people even need overthe last number of years Apple remindershas become very capable task manager foralmost every user out there now itdoesn't have its own custom scriptinglanguage like OmniFocus does no it's notcross-platform like tick tick or todoist are but it is free if you have an Appledevice that means it should be thedefault option for anyone needing somebasic task management or getting startedwith task management if you are in theApple ecosystem the truth is that mostpeople don't need the custom scriptinglanguages they don't need kanban boardsthey don't need all this otherautomation that can integrate with theweb for their tasks they need a place towrite down some projects write down sometasks put dates on it maybe putlocations in there maybe tag them andthat's it my wife easily gets away withjust a piece of paper and the thing she needs to do overall and then she breaksit down and says this is what I want todo this week with a piece of paper mostpeople really only need that level oftask management and reminders can easilyprovide that level of task managementwhile also scaling up to someone whoneeds more where they need to you know Iuse a hardware tag to group everything Ineed to purchase at the hardware storefrom across projects that are goingaround the house so I only make one tripto the hardware store and get everythingreminders can do that it's got excellentnative integration with Siri and withthe latest operating system updates forall the platforms that Apple hasand this templates and smart lists nowto help you automate your groups and your tasks and unlike task managers liketo do it you don't need to come up withsome fancy pronunciation to get Siri towork with it it just works you also getfree sync with the iCloud account thisis a service that most task managerscharge for in some way because most ofus have multiple devices sync is acrucial feature of any task managers youcan have it on your iPhone on your phoneon your computers and everywhere thatyou're going to befor most people most of the time Applereminders is the ideal choice of asimple task manager that has lots of power as you start to need more featuresin it so my first recommendation toanyone looking for task manager isreminders, Why You Should Use Apple Reminders, Curtis McHale, 01gq2x034ckahdybcjc2d3mnws.