Organize notes, tasks and dates

Choose the tool for what you need

The three apps look alike, but each one solves something different. Choosing well keeps a to-do from getting lost among your notes.

• Notes: a note holds ideas and references.
• Reminders: a reminder represents something to do.
• Calendar: an event reserves a time or describes an activity.

These apps may combine personal and work accounts. Before saving or sharing, check the account so you do not leave work information in a personal place by accident.

Create a note, a reminder and an event

1. Open Notes and tap the New Note button, the square with a pencil.
2. Type Learn my iPhone on the first line: that line becomes the title.
3. Write three tasks or questions below it and tap the Done button, the checkmark.
4. Open Reminders and tap the New Reminder button, the circle with a plus sign.
5. Type a concrete action, give it a date and a time, and tap the Done button.
6. Open Calendar and, in Day view, tap the Add button, the plus sign.
7. Type the title, set the start and end times, add no invitees and tap the Done button.

So the reminder can alert you, open Settings, tap Notifications, then Reminders, and check that Allow Notifications is on. To review the alert on an event, tap the event, tap Edit, then Alert. If you have several calendars, check which one the event went into.

If the event involves another country, check the time zone. Costa Rica uses UTC-6 all year; other places may change their clocks.

Afterwards, go back to Notes, tap the Search button and type a word from your note. That way you find what you created without relying on remembering where you left it.

Share and complete with care

A note shared for collaboration may let another person make changes; sending a copy has a different scope. In a shared calendar, an event may be visible to participants.

Marking a reminder as completed is not the same as deleting a reference note. For a task that repeats, check the repeat rule so it appears when it should. Avoid creating several equivalent alerts that you end up ignoring.

Keep the routine simple

Review your to-dos and upcoming events at the same time each day. If you use widgets, which are small views of an app placed on the Home Screen, treat them as a shortcut and confirm important information inside the app. Synced accounts can carry changes and deletions to your other devices.