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Apple Reminders

Comprehensive Project Management in Reminders

Currently I run a combination of Obsidian and Apple Reminders for everything related to Project, Areas and Tasks. Although I love Obsidian and won't stop using it, the iOS app with iCloud sync for me falls short in many areas like reliability, performance, quick capture, native integrations, etc., that's why I support it with Apple Reminders.

Recently I've been feeling that Apple Reminders is limiting me when it comes to handling my projects.

Some of the pain points for me are:

  1. Too many clicks and lack of a keyboard centric workflow.
  2. Non existent "concept" like PARA on the app design.
  3. Little space in the Notes area for each task.
  4. One new list per project? What happens when I finish? I don't want to delete it, and there is no built-in archive.

I'm tempted to try something like Things 3 to try and cover these pain points, but I'm also drawn back by:

  1. Lack of sharing. I need this heavily.
  2. If I continue to use Reminders for sharing, I would fragment my information even more across separate systems.

Some questions to kickstart the conversation:

  • Do you also feel Apple Reminders falls short for comprehensive Project Management?
  • Did you migrate to other app or stuck with Reminders?
  • How did you tackle these shortcomings?

I would like to read your experiences, thanks! šŸ¤²šŸ¼

  • 2 likes
  • 2 comments

Chris Plonski

Thanks for sharing this so clearly, Oscar T.Ā  ā€” thereā€™s a lot in here I relate to. šŸ™Œ

Iā€™ve personally gone through the same friction points, especially the missingĀ archive flowĀ and the manual PARA-style setup. At some point I stopped fighting it and started embracing the fact that Reminders isnā€™t a full project manager ā€”Ā but it can still work, if paired intentionally.

Hereā€™s what helped me:

  • Smart Lists + TagsĀ to simulate Areas, Projects & Resources
  • A singleĀ ā€œšŸ“ Archiveā€ Group for not finished but unused Lists
  • A Planner with a Kanban Style Board (view as Columns option)
  • Use emojis on main tasks and create subtasks for more flexibility

Would love to keep the convo going. Have you already checked my Guide for Apple Reminders? Maybe you will find some inspiration here: https://peonkun.com/mastering-apple-reminders/

Oscar Torres

Chris PlonskiĀ thanks for sharing your thoughts! šŸ¤²šŸ¼

My brain really likes sub tasks to see progress and track whatā€™s been done, but the Reminders implementation is not good in my opinion, too cumbersome.

I have read your guide recently! And again just now. I may apply some ideas from there, I really like the Daily Focus folder with lists for Priorities. Overall great piece, thanks for your work.