Many people create to-do lists to remind them of their most important tasks to accomplish for that day. While you can use the Notes app to jot down a to-do list, you might prefer using the Reminders app instead.
The Reminders app is specifically designed to let you create and view lists of items and then check them off as you complete them. By jotting down your most important tasks in the Reminders app each morning or night, you can keep yourself focused on achieving the goals most important to you.
The Reminders app divides the screen in half. On the left side of the screen, you can see a list of all your reminder items. On the right side of the screen, you can write your actual reminders, as shown in Figure 24-1.
To type a reminder, follow these steps:
From the Home screen, tap Reminders. If you haven't created any reminders yet, you'll see just a blank screen.
Tap the List tab at the top of the left side of the screen.
Tap the top line of the Reminders screen, or tap the plus sign icon in the upper-right corner of the Reminders screen. The virtual keyboard appears at the bottom of the screen.
Type some text and then tap the Return key. Each time you tap the Return key, the Reminders app displays an empty checkbox to the left of the reminder, as shown in Figure 24-2. When you're done typing, tap the Hide Keyboard key.
When you create a reminder, the Reminders app displays all your reminders in a list. However, sometimes reminders might be linked to a specific date, such as a reminder to pick up your dry cleaning next Tuesday.
To create a reminder for a specific date, follow these steps:
From the Home screen, tap Reminders. The Reminders screen appears.
Tap the Date tab. A calendar appears on the left side of the screen, as shown in Figure 24-3.
Tap a date. The right side of the screen displays your chosen date.
Tap the Reminder screen to display the virtual keyboard and type your reminder.
Note
To view a reminder linked to a specific date, you can tap the List tab to view all your reminders and then look for reminders that also include a date, as shown in Figure 24-4. Or you can tap the Date tab and then tap the specific date for a particular reminder.
When you create a reminder, you normally just type some text. However, you can also have your iPad alert you at a specific date and time about your reminder or even type some additional notes about your reminder.
For example, if you jotted down a reminder for a business meeting, you might want to type additional notes about the materials you need to bring with you to that meeting. Then you could set an alarm so your iPad will remind you of that meeting ahead of time, such as 15 minutes before the meeting is supposed to start.
To edit an existing reminder, follow these steps:
From the Home screen, tap Reminders. The Reminders screen appears.
Tab the List or Date tab. (If you tap the Date tab, you'll have to tap a date to display a list of reminders for that specific date.)
Tap a reminder that you want to edit. A Details window pops up, as shown in Figure 24-5.
Tap Remind Me. The Remind Me window appears.
Tap the On a Day on/off switch to ON. A date and a time appears, as shown in Figure 24-6.
Tap the date and time. A date and time picker appears, as shown in Figure 24-7. Choose a date and time, and then tap Done in the upper-right corner of the Remind Me window.
Tap Repeat. The Repeat window appears, as shown in Figure 24-8.
Tap a frequency for how often you want your reminder to appear, such as Every Day or Every Month.
Tap Done in the upper-right corner of the Repeat window. The Details window appears again.
Tap Show More. The Priority and Notes fields appear in the Details window, as shown in Figure 24-9.
Tap Priority to display the Priority window, as shown in Figure 24-10.
Tap a priority for your reminder, such as Low, Medium, or High, and then tap Done in the upper-right corner of the Priority window.
Tap Notes. The virtual keyboard appears to let you type any additional notes about your reminder. Tap Done in the upper-right corner of the Details window when you're done.
If you created a reminder on a specific date but can't remember that date, you can also search for the text of that reminder. To search for a reminder, follow these steps:
Figure 24-11. Search for a reminder, and it appears in the list below. Tap X to show all your reminder lists again.
From the Home screen, tap Reminders. The Reminders screen appears.
Tap the Search Reminders field at the top of the left side of the Reminders screen. The virtual keyboard appears.
Type part of a word that you want to find. The left side of the Reminders screen displays all reminders that match what you've typed, as shown in Figure 24-11.
Tap the reminder on the left side of the Reminders screen that you want to view.
After you've written a reminder, you can either delete it when you don't need it any more or simply check it off to give yourself a sense of completion. To delete or check off a reminder, follow these steps:
From the Home screen, tap Reminders. The Reminders screen appears.
Tap the List or Date tab to view a reminder you want to delete or check off.
Tap the checkbox to the left of a reminder to mark it as complete, as shown in Figure 24-12.
Tap a reminder that you want to delete. The Details window appears.
Tap Delete. A Delete button and a Cancel button appear.
Tap Delete.
Note
To view your completed reminders, tap Completed on the left side of the Reminders screen.
Normally when you create a reminder, it appears in the Completed or Reminders list. For more flexibility, you can create multiple reminder lists for different categories, such as work, home, or for a particular project. To create a Reminder list, follow these steps:
From the Home screen, tap Reminders. The Reminders screen appears.
Tap Edit in the upper-left corner of the Reminders screen.
Tap Create New List. The virtual keyboard appears.
Type a name for your reminder list, and tap Done in the upper-left corner of the screen when you're through.
After you have created one or more reminder lists, you can choose to store new reminders in that list by following these steps:
From the Home screen, tap Reminders. The Reminders screen appears.
Tap the Reminders list on the left side of the screen that you want to use.
Tap the top line of the Reminders screen, or tap the plus sign icon in the upper-right corner of the Reminders screen. The virtual keyboard appears at the bottom of the screen.
Type a reminder and then tap the Return key when you're done.
Eventually, you may no longer need a reminder list, so you can delete it by following these steps:
From the Home screen, tap Reminders. The Reminders screen appears.
Tap Edit in the upper-left corner of the Reminders screen. Red circles with white lines appear at the left of each reminder list, as shown in Figure 24-13.
Tap the red circle with a white dash that appears to the left of the list you want to delete. A red Delete button appears to the right.
Tap the red Delete button. An alert appears to let you know that you will delete any reminders stored in that list.
Tap Delete. Your chosen reminder list disappears.
Before going to bed each night, jot down your most important tasks for the next day and then be sure to follow up on your most critical tasks. If you're trying to pursue a specific goal, such as losing weight, jot down reminders to alert you throughout the day, give you encouragement, or display motivational quotes to help you stay focused on achieving your goal. With the Reminders app, you no longer have an excuse for forgetting anything unless you forget where you put your iPad.