GTD with Apple Reminders

Folks

Folks

0
After having used in the past years different software systems for GTD like Things, Asana, Omnifocus and some more I have now come to Apple’s (new) Reminders - the reason: keep it simple. The software has furthermore been improved a lot.

As Reminders now allows me to create Groups I use them for:
  • Agenda (people)
  • Projects (all my current projects)
  • Reading List (articles, audio, video)
  • Shopping (different stores I go to)
  • Someday (Someday Tasks plus Someday Projects)
Apart from this I have the following lists:
  • INBOX
  • Next Actions
  • Scheduled
  • Waiting For
My Project Material and my Reference Material is in iCloud and in Apple Notes.

The whole system is super fast, reliable, trustworthy, cheap and SIMPLE.
 
I love WorkFlowy and have used that for my system for years. But I've been increasingly using Reminders for time and location action items. Last week I decided to migrate all my lists to Reminders to test it out as a Workflowy replacement. It's too soon to reach a verdict and I miss WorkFlowy's elegance, but I'm deep in the Apple ecosystem so I'll likely stick with it. It's becoming handy to just tell Siri to add items to specific lists.
 
TesTeq said:
Thank you. I didn't know about this feature. Unfortunately it only works when you enable iCloud which seems to be a dumb idea of some Apple software designer. There's no reason to make this feature available only when iCloud is on.
Click to expand...

Between backups and device syncing, I suppose Apple expects/wants everyone to use iCloud. Part of that is undoubtedly the revenue stream that comes from storage subscriptions.
 
Thanks for sharing, and I’m glad you‘ve found a simple system that works for you. One of my favorite features of Reminders is the ability to sync to both iCloud and Exchange concurrently, addressing cross-platform needs between Mac and Windows. As my world becomes more complex, I’ve found that simpler GTD tools handle it best.
 
RS356 said:
Thanks for sharing, and I’m glad you‘ve found a simple system that works for you. One of my favorite features of Reminders is the ability to sync to both iCloud and Exchange concurrently, addressing cross-platform needs between Mac and Windows. As my world becomes more complex, I’ve found that simpler GTD tools handle it best.
Click to expand...

That's a great point. I love Things 3 and am in the Apple eco-system at home, but working from my work-issued PC most of the day.

Agreed that simpler tools keep me from getting into 'features mischief.'
 
Folks said:
After having used in the past years different software systems for GTD like Things, Asana, Omnifocus and some more I have now come to Apple’s (new) Reminders - the reason: keep it simple. The software has furthermore been improved a lot.

As Reminders now allows me to create Groups I use them for:
  • Agenda (people)
  • Projects (all my current projects)
  • Reading List (articles, audio, video)
  • Shopping (different stores I go to)
  • Someday (Someday Tasks plus Someday Projects)
Apart from this I have the following lists:
  • INBOX
  • Next Actions
  • Scheduled
  • Waiting For
My Project Material and my Reference Material is in iCloud and in Apple Notes.

The whole system is super fast, reliable, trustworthy, cheap and SIMPLE.
Click to expand...
Just completed a migration from OF to Reminders, and I must say it provides me with some improved workflows. When working from home, sharing of tasks and lists is big for me. Also the use of taks can be used to benerate "Perspectives" in a simple manner, but fx. someday/maybe tasks can live in projects and horizons and show up in Smartlists. Same goes for Agenda, Call, Waiting-for etc. I'm curious to see of Location based actions will work for me over time, but errands lists is more dynamic as I see it.

It's been a while since you made your post and I would be curious to hear if some of you have good ideas and experience to share....=

Happy New Year :)

-mic
 
I went head first into the Apple ecosystem last year and haven't looked back. Moved on from Evernote, OF, and Fantastical. I use Reminders Apple Cal and Apple notes.The addition of tagging in Monterey and iOS 15 has made the system even better. It has worked great for me.
 
I looked into Apple Reminders for my wife over Christmas to see if it would suit her new system. While she didn't go with it in the end, I was pleasantly surprised at how good it is these days compared to how it was just a few years back. The indents, smart lists and tags make it function well in terms of the everyday basics, but it has quite a few tricks up its sleeve given its close integration to iOS/macOS and its support for Apple Script and Shortcuts. I'd definitely add it to the shortlist for any Apple user setting up a new system, particularly given that it's free.
 
Folks said:
After having used in the past years different software systems for GTD like Things, Asana, Omnifocus and some more I have now come to Apple’s (new) Reminders - the reason: keep it simple. The software has furthermore been improved a lot.

As Reminders now allows me to create Groups I use them for:
  • Agenda (people)
  • Projects (all my current projects)
  • Reading List (articles, audio, video)
  • Shopping (different stores I go to)
  • Someday (Someday Tasks plus Someday Projects)
Apart from this I have the following lists:
  • INBOX
  • Next Actions
  • Scheduled
  • Waiting For
My Project Material and my Reference Material is in iCloud and in Apple Notes.

The whole system is super fast, reliable, trustworthy, cheap and SIMPLE
Click to expand...
I also use Apple Reminders now and I am interested to hear if you still use the system, and if you have a list for every project under your Projects Group?

I have a simple project list (smart list) which is just tagged #project. Then I have next actions list where I can add context like #some-day-maybe. I don't put the #project tag in the next actions list, so the next actions are not connected to each project.

After reading this I thought of switching to groups but I wanted to try this setup since I have read that it's recommended to not connect next actions to projects (I know it's a hot topic :))

I also use Notes for reference material, and I agree it's great and simple. I also use iCalendar. But for mail I use Tutanota for the end-to-end encryption, so it's a bit hard to integrate with the rest of the system.
 
I have next actions by context and projects are tagged to the next actions. I also use lists for areas of focus. I have tried using project lists and tagging contexts but that did not work as well for me. I have found the simplicity of reminders refreshing after years of omnifocus.
 
Robert5911 said:
I have next actions by context and projects are tagged to the next actions. I also use lists for areas of focus. I have tried using project lists and tagging contexts but that did not work as well for me. I have found the simplicity of reminders refreshing after years of omnifocus.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the insight into your setup. With "projects are tagged to the next actions", do you mean that the next actions list has a unique tag for each project?
 
Folks said:
After having used in the past years different software systems for GTD like Things, Asana, Omnifocus and some more I have now come to Apple’s (new) Reminders - the reason: keep it simple. The software has furthermore been improved a lot.

As Reminders now allows me to create Groups I use them for:
  • Agenda (people)
  • Projects (all my current projects)
  • Reading List (articles, audio, video)
  • Shopping (different stores I go to)
  • Someday (Someday Tasks plus Someday Projects)
Apart from this I have the following lists:
  • INBOX
  • Next Actions
  • Scheduled
  • Waiting For
My Project Material and my Reference Material is in iCloud and in Apple Notes.

The whole system is super fast, reliable, trustworthy, cheap and SIMPLE.
Click to expand...
What would you do if one of the items from your reading list is part of a project? How do you connect your 'next actions' to projects?
 
TesTeq said:
Thank you. I didn't know about this feature. Unfortunately it only works when you enable iCloud which seems to be a dumb idea of some Apple software designer. There's no reason to make this feature available only when iCloud is on.
Click to expand...
True. also cannot use the list on Windows. You'll need Apple devices only.
 
StephenAdams said:
I've also started looking at Apple Reminders. The smart list feature is excellent, gives that Project-based overview of all next actions and from the GTD official guide you can create a smart list that offers a This Week overview as well.
Click to expand...
How will you connect next actions that belong to a specific project if you use a simple list like apple reminders?
 
johanbertil said:
Thanks for the insight into your setup. With "projects are tagged to the next actions", do you mean that the next actions list has a unique tag for each project?
Click to expand...
No the next action is tagged with the project name. The next actions are in context lists and sometimes agenda next actions are tagged
 
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