Most of us know how to use the Mac reminder app to set up appointments, create to-do lists, and manage our daily appointments. This application comes as standard with iOS and macOS, so most of us are familiar with it. But, Apple’s built-in reminder app for Mac is actually more potent than you might think. Its function is not limited to storing to-do items and creating reminders and lists. It is a feature-packed app that can make our lives easier and more organized.
The Mac reminder app has many useful features that not many users are even aware of. This includes setting priorities, location alerts, sorting and working with multiple windows. In this article, you’ll discover these not-so-popular features and how you can get the most out of Apple Reminders app.
How to Open Lists in a New Window
Upgraded reminders aren't compatible with earlier versions of iOS and macOS. If you upgrade your reminders on your iPhone with iOS 13 or later, your other devices — like your iPad and Mac — can’t access the reminders until you update your iPad to iPadOS or your Mac to macOS 10.15 Catalina.
Reminders is a single-window app by default, with a sidebar that shows all the lists associated with your account. When you open the Mac reminder app, you will see a list of your scheduled reminders and menus on the right sidebar. You can choose to hide the sidebar and focus on a particular list at a time. You can switch between lists by clicking the dots at the bottom of the window or swiping on your trackpad. But what if you want to compare two lists and need them both to be open at the same time? You can open a list in a new window by double-clicking it on the sidebar or by navigating to Window > Open List in New Window. You can resize the window and change the position according to your preferences.
PPC, Mac OS X 10.2 or later You may want to check out more Mac applications, such as Smart Reminder, Birthdays or Event Reminder, which might be related to Birthday Reminder. ReminderCall is a HIPAA-compliant, Automated Appointment-Reminder Platform for Hospitals, Surgery Centers, Private Practices, and small businesses looking for a solution for chronic no-shows. Send reminder calls, 2-way text reminders, and email reminders, using your existing software. Any.do’s reminder app for Mac will clear the clutter and keep you focused only on what matters. Get Started - It's Free! Smart reminders for busy people. Effortlessly create reminders straight from your Mac’s status bar and quickly view alerts in your Notification Center. Add recurring reminders for regular activities and use location-based. Organizing tasks using this list view allows for a distraction-free focus zone for managing reminders on your Mac. And the gestures integrate perfectly with your trackpad or Magic Mouse, allowing you to swipe and connect with your tasks. Clear lets you sync with iCloud to link to your iOS devices, so you can access your tasks from anywhere.
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How to Check Today’s Tasks
One of the benefits of setting up reminders is that Siri will send you alerts when a particular event or appointment is due. But if you’re someone who likes to plan ahead, these alerts may not be enough. Being able to see your dates in a calendar view helps a lot in managing your tasks and to-dos. And this is what the reminder app for Mac does.
If you want to know what’s in store for today, go to View > Go to Today or press Cmd + T. You’ll see a list of all the tasks, appointments or events scheduled for the current day. If you want to look at tasks you missed yesterday, click the Scheduled list on the sidebar. You’ll see all of the scheduled reminders, which is very useful for long-term planning.
Looking at your Scheduled list can be overwhelming, especially if you have a lot of tasks. To avoid the clutter and confusion, you can view your tasks on a particular date using the calendar. To view the calendar, click View > Show Calendar and you’ll see a small calendar at the bottom of the sidebar. You’ll know if a task is assigned on a particular day when you look at a dot underneath the date.
Set and Sort by Priorities
If you have a lot of tasks and you don’t know which one to deal with first, the Mac reminder app helps you stay on track by setting up priorities. There are four levels of priority – None, Low, Medium, and High. To set up a task’s priority, click on the task and use these keyboard shortcuts:
- Low: Cmd + 1
- Medium: Cmd + 2
- High: Cmd + 3
- None: Cmd + 4
Once you’ve set up the priorities, you can sort them out by clicking View > Sort By > Priority. You’ll see the most urgent tasks on top and less important tasks at the bottom.
Other Tricks for Mac Reminder App
There are so many other things you can do with your reminder app for Mac that you never thought possible. For example, if you misplaced an item on your list or you think it should belong to a different list, just drag the item to the list you want to transfer it to. No need to copy and paste. Just make sure to click near the circle or the right side of its name because clicking on the name will prompt you to edit it. If you need to select multiple items, Cmd-click and choose numerous items or Shift-click to select a range of items.
If you want to know more information about an item on your list, the typical thing to do is to click the info button (i), but double-clicking the item does just the same.
If you want to edit or update an item, Ctrl- or right-click to the left of the item to see your options. You can mark it as completed or delete, copy, cut and paste. You can also move the due date to tomorrow, move the reminder to a different list, set the priority level or set up an alert. Another note: to delete an item or a list, just select it and press Delete. It is so much easier and faster than marking them as complete.
Final Thoughts
There’s more to Reminders app than meets the eye. Although it might not be a power-packed app, knowing these little tricks makes it easier to work your way around the app and maximize its benefits.
Reminders is a lightweight app, but it could be a bit straining for your Mac, especially if you have other apps and processing running at the same time. Improve your Mac’s performance by boosting your RAM with an app like Outbyte macAries. It scans and deletes junk files and free up your computer’s memory for a faster and smoother performance.
Updated: June 10, 2021 Home » Personal Health Care
How do you relieve tired eyes? Working from home or in an office by staring at the computer for a long period of time can cause eye fatigue. Over a period of time, this will cause unforeseen health issues, such as vision problems or dizziness. People who experience such long bouts of uninterrupted sitting and who stay sedentary for much of their waking time — 12.5 hours or more a day — have the highest risk of death from any cause, a new study finds.
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Having said that, it is not easy to take a break without being reminded once in a while. Nobody likes to be interrupted, and when our brain is focused on something, rarely does it wander away, thus we need some software to remind us to stand up every hour or take a break.
↓ 01 – Stretchly | Windows | macOS | Linux
Stretchly is a cross-platform open source app that reminds you to take breaks when working with computers. By default, it runs in your tray and shows a reminder window every 10 minutes that is open for 20 seconds, containing ideas for microbreak.
Every 30 minutes, it shows a window containing ideas for a longer 5 minute break. You can pause/resume reminding of breaks. On Windows and macOS, you can set the app to start at login. You can also skip to the next break or microbreak anytime from the menu, or reset (restart) breaks. Microbreaks and breaks can be customized:
- You can set duration and interval of break
- You can enable/disable breaks
- You can enable/disable strict mode (breaks can’t be finished early)
- You can choose from different color schemes
- You can pick a sound to be played at the end of the break
↓ 02 – Workrave | Windows | Linux
Workrave is a free program that assists in the recovery and prevention of Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI). It monitors your keyboard and mouse usage and using this information, it frequently alerts you to take microbreaks, rest breaks and restricts you to your daily computer usage.
- Microbreaks – Workrave frequently reminds you to take a short microbreak. Typically, every 3 minutes you get a microbreak that lasts about 30 seconds. The exact duration and frequency of a microbreak is fully configurable. During a microbreak you can let go of keyboard and mouse, look away from the screen, and relax a bit.
- Rest breaks – Several times a day, Workrave reminds you to take a break away from your computer. A rest break typically lasts about 10 minutes every 45 minutes, but the duration and frequency is configurable. During a rest break you can walk around, stretch, and relax.
- Daily Limit – Workrave keeps track of the amount of time you use your computer. When you have reached the configured daily computer usage limit, you are prompted to stop using the computer for the day.
- Statistics – Workrave collects a number of statistics on your computer usage. Per day, you can see the number of breaks you took, but also the number of breaks you ignored and postponed. The amount of time you use your computer on daily, weekly and monthly basis is also available.
↓ 03 – EyeLeo | Windows
EyeLeo is a handy PC application that reminds you to take a break for your eyes. Everyone who spends more than an hour per day looking at a display. Office workers will find the program particularly helpful. When you work at a computer, it is easy to forget about time. This leads to eye strain and other physical problems. EyeLeo guarantees you won’t forget to take a break.
Eye strain or asthenopia is a real problem for those who spend much time at a computer. It is caused by decreased blinking while working long hours focusing on computer screens. EyeLeo reminds you to take breaks regularly, shows you simple eye exercises and prevents you from using the computer at break times. Following EyeLeo’s regulations will result in less physical fatigue.
- Screen blocking long breaks every hour.
- Short breaks with eye exercises every 10 minutes.
- Eye exercises shown by an adorable Leopard.
- Notifications announcing a long break coming.
- Strict mode that does not allow to skip the breaks.
- Customizable intervals.
- Multi-monitor system support.
↓ 04 – Big Stretch Reminder | Windows
Big Stretch is a free simple reminder tool that prompts a user to take regular breaks and helps prevent the symptoms of RSI. Alternatively it can be a simple reminder program to tell you when it’s your coffee break!
- Set the amount of time between breaks
- Choose between predefined or your own message(s)
- Select the reminder style, balloon, popup or micro-break
- Pick the level of intrusiveness (depending on strictness)
- Optionally pick a sound for your reminder
- Increase reminders automatically to suit your work rate
- Various other adjustments to suit you
↓ 05 – FadeTop | Windows
FadeTop is a free, simple and fun break reminder software for Windows. At alarm time, it gradually fades your computer screen into a specified color or picture, displaying clock time and a snapshot history of your break-time status. FadeTop tries its best NOT to intrusively grab your attention. It never pops up when you’re busy with a mouse or keyboard, or seemingly absent from the computer. Except for the visual changes, it never forces anything on you.
FadeTop schedules break intelligently and naturally. It does NOT raise alarms at fixed intervals or time points. Instead, it sees you have been using the computer continuously for too long, and tentatively fades in when you appear not that busy.
↓ 06 – RSI Break | Linux
Prolonged use of a mouse and keyboard can cause a repetitive strain injury (RSI), so computer users are advised to take regular breaks. RSIBreak helps prevent repetitive strain injuries by keeping track of usage patterns and periodically informing users to take breaks. During break periods, RSIBreak can either show an unobtrusive message, lock the screen entirely, or present a slideshow.
↓ 07 – Enso Retreat | Windows
Enso Retreat is a simple break reminder program which periodically blocks your computer to force you to rest. If you used similar ones before, you know about their cruel nature. Enso Retreat is an attempt to create humane software of such kind where the most significant aspects could be customized. Enso Retreat is already embedded into Enso open-source as an optional module, but you may use it as a separate application, if necessary.
- Transparent interface.
- Gentle break notification.
- Ability to skip the first break (once per day).
- Ability to automatically skip breaks when a certain program is running or when user does not show any activity (this may be useful when you are watching a movie or playing a game).
- During the break it’s possible to control other software with keystrokes which include Alt, Ctrl or Shift keys (e.g. foobar2000).
- You can place your favorite wallpapers over the desktop when computer is locked.
Free Reminder Software For Mac Computers
