# Discovering 187 Overlooked Apple Reminders with Shortcuts
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Chapter 1: Introduction to Forgotten Reminders
Imagine if Apple Reminders had a feature that allowed you to generate reports! What if you could easily identify reminders that had been forgotten, were taking longer than anticipated, or had been recently added yet buried in a long list? With the assistance of Shortcuts, that’s entirely possible!
Before you scroll away, let me guide you through a simple, step-by-step process to set it all up, complete with helpful videos. After getting accustomed to this method, you'll find yourself capable of performing various analyses on your reminders.
Once you implement this system, you'll be amazed at how you ever managed without it. Personally, I rediscovered 187 reminders that had slipped my mind, some of which were quite significant.
Take a deep breath and stay engaged with me. Let’s begin by categorizing reminders based on their creation date:
- Less than 7 days = Fresh
- 7 to 30 days = Ageing
- More than 30 days = Stale
Apple Reminders Smart Lists will help you filter reminders according to these categories. We will create a shortcut to identify “Fresh” reminders and then modify it to find both “Ageing” and “Stale” reminders.
Note: You’ll need iOS/iPadOS 15.4 or higher to utilize the tags feature.
Chapter 2: Setting Up Your Reminders
To streamline everything, let's establish a group within Reminders and create three Smart Lists, each corresponding to our tags.
- Create a Group Named "History":
- Open Apple Reminders and tap on Edit.
- Select the "Add Group" option and name it "History".
- Workaround for Tags:
- The first hurdle is that Apple Reminders will erase tags if no reminders are linked to them. To avoid this, I suggest creating a dummy list that holds a reminder for each of your tags, allowing us to keep them intact.
- Create a list called "For Automation" under the History group.
- Add a Dummy Reminder:
- Name it "tags".
- Assign the tags "Fresh", "Ageing", and "Stale".
- Mark it as complete.
Now, let's proceed to create our Smart Lists!
Section 2.1: Creating Smart Lists
To establish the Smart Lists, follow these steps:
- Tap on "Add List".
- Choose the option to convert it into a Smart List.
- Name the list (e.g., Fresh).
- Tap on Edit and access the History group info icon, making it easy to add lists to your group.
Repeat this process for each tag: Fresh, Ageing, and Stale.
Section 2.2: Crafting the Shortcut
This may seem daunting, but it’s quite straightforward. Essentially, you’ll want to:
- Retrieve all uncompleted reminders.
- Iterate through the list, extracting the tags for each reminder.
- Remove any irrelevant tags.
- Add the appropriate tag (Fresh, Ageing, or Stale).
- Attach the updated tags back to the reminder.
To simplify, we will create the shortcut to find Fresh reminders first, then duplicate it twice to find Ageing and Stale reminders.
Take a deep breath and let’s dive into the video walkthrough!
Section 2.3: Duplicating the Shortcut
Now, let’s duplicate the Fresh shortcut to create one for Ageing reminders. Modify the duplicated shortcut accordingly.
Next, create another duplicate for Stale reminders and make the necessary updates.
Section 2.4: Testing Your Shortcuts
Each shortcut has a command limit for finding reminders. Once you're satisfied that a shortcut functions correctly, you can disable that limit.
- Show Recent Reminders:
- Ensure the limit is set before running it.
- Create a reminder with all three tags (Fresh, Ageing, Stale).
- Run Show Recent Reminders. Your test reminder should only display the "Fresh" tag.
Repeat similar testing for Ageing and Stale reminders to confirm functionality.
Chapter 3: Conclusion and Final Thoughts
If you’ve made it this far, thank you! Now that your shortcuts are established, the possibilities are endless.
For instance, consider calculating the average time it takes to close reminders by subtracting the creation date from the last modified date.
Don't want to run shortcuts manually? You can automate them to execute overnight!
Apple Reminders offer immense potential; all it takes is a little effort to harness it!
Explore more articles on Apple Shortcuts for additional insights.