Add, change or delete reminders on Mac
Add reminders for to-dos, projects, groceries and anything else you want to keep track of. Use subtasks to organise your lists further — for example, organise your shopping list by supermarket aisles. Your new reminders and your changes appear on all your devices that you set up with the same accounts.
Note: All Reminders features described in this guide are available when using upgraded iCloud reminders. Some features aren’t available when using accounts from other providers.
Add a reminder
When you add reminders to a list, fields for the date, location and a flag are readily available for quick entry.
In the Reminders app on your Mac, choose View > Show Sidebar.
Select a reminder list in the sidebar, then click the Add button in the top-right corner (or use the Touch Bar).
Enter a title for the reminder.
Do any of the following:
Add notes: Type a note below the reminder text. Press Option-Return to start a new line in the note.
Be reminded at a date and time: Click Add Date, choose a suggested date or click Custom to use the calendar to pick a date. After you enter a date, optionally click Add Time, then choose a suggested time. If you don’t enter a time, the reminder is an all-day reminder.
Be reminded when you arrive at or leave a location: Click Add Location, then choose a suggested location or start typing the name of a location and choose from the suggestions.
Flag a reminder: Click the Flag button.
To quickly add multiple reminders to the same list, press Return after you enter each reminder.
Ask Siri. Say something like:
“Remember to get light bulbs.”
“Add bananas to my shopping list.”
Add a reminder using natural language
Create reminders faster by using natural language in the reminder.
In the Reminders app on your Mac, choose View > Show Sidebar.
Select a reminder list in the sidebar, then click the Add button in the top-right corner (or use the Touch Bar).
Type the reminder, including the date or time you want to be reminded.
For example, the reminder could be “Take Mia to choir practice every Wednesday at 5 pm”, “Rent a film on Friday at 4 pm” or “Pay bills on 16/9/19”.
Click a suggested date.
Change or add more reminder details using the inspector
After you create a reminder, you can change the details or add more details using the inspector. In addition to date, time and location fields, the inspector includes fields you can use to set up repeating reminders, get reminded when messaging a person and add a URL or image to a reminder.
In the Reminders app on your Mac, place the pointer over a reminder, then click the Info button .
You can also select the reminder, then use the Touch Bar.
Do any of the following.
Change the reminder title: Select the current text, then type new text.
Add notes: Type a note below the reminder text.
Flag a reminder: Click the Flag button.
Be reminded at a date and time: Select the On a Day tickbox, click the date, then use the calendar to pick a date or type the date in the month, day and year fields. After you enter a date, select the At a Time tickbox, then type a time in the hour and minute fields, or leave it unselected to make it an all-day reminder.
If you want to be reminded on a repeating schedule, place the pointer over the current repeat option, click the pop-up menu, then choose an option. To set an end date for the repeating schedule, place the pointer over the current end repeat option, click the pop-up menu, choose On Date, then use the calendar to pick a date or type the date in the month, day and year fields.
Be reminded when you arrive at or leave a location: Select the At a Location tickbox, click the Enter a Location field, choose a suggested location or type a location and select a suggested location, then select either Arriving or Leaving.
Be reminded when messaging a person: Select the When Messaging a Person tickbox, click Add Contact, then choose a person.
Change the priority: Place the pointer over the current priority, click the pop-up menu, then choose an option. Exclamation marks appear in the reminder list to indicate priority: one for low, two for medium and three for high.
Add a URL: Click the URL field and type a web address.
Add images: Click Add Image, choose Photos, select one or more images, then drag the images to the reminder. If you have an iPhone or iPad nearby, you can choose to take a photo, scan a document or add a sketch.
Tip: To easily create location reminders for addresses you visit frequently — like work or home — add those addresses to your card in Contacts. Then, when you set a location reminder, the suggested list of locations includes addresses from your card.
Add subtasks to reminders
Indent reminders to turn them into subtasks of the reminder directly above them.
In the Reminders app on your Mac, select one or more reminders.
Do one of the following:
Drag the reminders on top of another reminder.
Press Command-].
Choose Edit > Indent Reminders.
To turn a subtask back into a regular reminder, select the reminder, then choose Edit > Outdent (or press Command-[).
You can choose to show or hide a reminder’s subtasks by clicking the button to the right of the subtask. If you complete, delete or move a parent reminder, its subtasks are also completed, deleted or moved.
Delete reminders
If you don’t need to keep a reminder, you can delete it. If you might want to view it again, mark the reminder as completed instead.
In the Reminders app on your Mac, select the reminders you want to delete.
Press Delete.