Meet Reminders, all new, both in iOS 13 and macOS Catalina. What’s new in Reminders app. If you use your Mac for work, life is impossible without a solid GTD app. And there are quite a few advanced task managers for Mac on the App Store like Things or 2Do. Until now, Reminders have been considered a very basic version of a GTD tool.

The betas of Apple’s operating systems are for the brave. And not only because of bugs. In many cases, you can’t get your hands on the updated functionality before the official version is out.

The recent macOS 10.15 is a good example. Even though Apple announced switching to 32-bit app architecture with macOS Catalina, they haven’t managed to update all the apps for the beta release. Not to mention over 200 third-party applications not working in Catalina beta.

There are a few good reasons to test Catalina beta, though. Many of Apple’s native apps arrive with cool enhancements. The Photos app will have the impressive feature of organizing photos by daily, monthly, or yearly views as well as remove duplicates across your library. But we are here to talk about another big update.

Meet Reminders, all new, both in iOS 13 and macOS Catalina.

What’s new in Reminders app

Best Reminder App For Mac

If you use your Mac for work, life is impossible without a solid GTD app. And there are quite a few advanced task managers for Mac on the App Store like Things or 2Do. Until now, Reminders have been considered a very basic version of a GTD tool — lacking functionality for complicated project management. Will the new Catalina update finally make it enough? Let’s see.

Making new design useful

I’ve been doing app descriptions for a while now. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, that would be this: “New look” is your best answer if you have nothing to say about an app update. This doesn’t work with apps like Reminders, though. The quality of a task manager can pretty much be estimated by how well it displays your tasks as well as by flexibility of editing and new task creation. That’s where the Catalina version of Reminders made a huge step forward.

Both iOS and macOS app now have four different sections for today’s tasks, all, scheduled, and flagged. So instead of a single list-style view, you have four — simplifying navigation across your jobs.

More flexibility with lists and reminders

A better way to describe, track, and complete your tasks. This is the ultimate goal of using a tool like Reminders. To cater for the job, Apple improved organization features in the new version of Reminders. You can group multiple lists and capture to-dos that are related to specific reminders. Thanks to smart views, the app will automatically organize your tasks by those you’ve flagged or scheduled for specific date and time.

New editing and customization options

Click on any reminder or task and you’ll get access to every editing asset you need. Change the date, time, and location, or flag your reminder and it will automatically appear in the “Flagged” view. You can also customize priority and set reminders to repeat.

As a nice perk, Reminders will have over 60 symbols and 12 colors in Catalina. So that you enjoy the view.

Attachments and tags

Enrich your tasks with attached docs, images, or links. This will help you plan your work right in the app, without switching anywhere. Plus, if you have multiple similar reminders, images might help you avoid confusion.

Reminders app in iOS 13 and macOS Catalina also has an integration with Messages, which allows you to tag people inside your reminders and get prompted whenever you chat with the person.

Enhanced Siri assistance

Once you upgrade to Catalina, your Siri support will move to the new level as well. Type longer sentences — Siri is strong enough to understand them and react with clever autosuggestions. But that’s only part of the magic. Whenever you chat with a friend in Messages and someone suggests a meeting, Siri will pick it up and prompt you to create a reminder.

Reminders alternatives for Mac

If you compare the latest version of Reminders to the one you used in Mojave, you’ll see a huge progress. Both visually and functionally, it’s just better. If you compare Reminders to its advanced analogues, Apple’s native app is still lagging behind.

The major reported user concerns are the following:

No support for projects

List grouping is useful, but it’s too limited in terms of project management. For instance, you can’t put tasks and subtasks of different complexity into a project.

Alternative: 2Do

Best Free Reminder App

It’s a combination of tasks, checklists, and projects. 2Do allows you to manage complicated sets of information as easily as possible. You can enable Project view to focus on specific flows of tasks, filter by tags, and batch schedule.

Reminder App Mac Desktop App

You need a better speed

The more shortcuts you can use in GTD tools, the better. As soon as you get used to the app, quick actions will be saving lots of your time. Apart from smart view organization, Reminders still has too few assets for speeding you up.

Alternative: TaskPaper

If shortcuts matter to you, TaskPaper is the best tool you can get. For instance, it’s enough to hit dash + space to create a new task in this app. It works for both simple to-do lists and projects. Once you open the app, you’ll be instructed on the quick actions and auto-formatting options.

Calendar sync

Some users report they don’t use Reminders because it doesn’t have any kind of calendar information. A good point, considering you plan your meetings in Apple’s Calendar. The

Alternative: GoodTask

The huge asset that Reminders doesn’t have is a Calendar sync. In GoodTask, you can integrate with both Calendar and Reminders, which allows to transfer lists across your native apps. Plus, it’s a great opportunity to enrich Reminders with GoodTask’s features like text snippets, quick actions, and more.

The new version of Reminders has been fully updated for the beta release, so you can try all the new perks. If you want alternatives for professional use, get all three of them mentioned in this article via Setapp subscription.

Meantime, prepare for all the awesome things you can do with Setapp.

Sign Up

If your New Year’s Resolution is along these lines, there’s no better time than now to make changes in your life and in your daily habits to help you meet your goal. If you own any of our sit-stand desks, then it could be a matter of finding a way to better utilize your desk and remind yourself to take a break and change positions while you work. If you don’t already own an electric standing desk, we can help you find what you need and get one on its way to you in time for making healthy changes in 2019.

Apps to use for a Healthier Workday with your Sit-Stand Desk

Mobile and Desktop Apps can help remind you to move and take advantage of your sit-stand desk all day long throughout the year. While some have a minimal fee, many are free. Here is a list of those we found that have no cost to the user, but when utilized, can provide valuable reminders to move, rest your eyes, and correct your posture throughout your workday.

You’ll need to do some research to make sure the applications listed here are right for you. HealthPostures does not endorse any one application, but rather this list was compiled to provide ideas and a possible starting point to finding something that works for you. If you have an application you use, please share it with us and others on our Facebook page.

Android Phones and Tablet Apps

Stretching & Eye Exercises Reminders to stretch and rest your eyes from the computer screen

Reminder App Mac Desktop Windows 10

Office Workout: Exercises Simple office workout ideas to give your body and eyes a rest from being at your desk

Randomly RemindMe Set any kind of reminder to stand up, form a new habit, drink water, etc.

Twenty: Stand up every 20 mins Reminders to stand up and move every twenty minutes

Postrainer-Posture Exercises Reminders to sit up straight and fix your posture.

iPhone and iPad Mobile Apps

Reminder App For Desktop

Move-Daily Activity to Stay Healthy Get reminded every so often to stand up and do a little exercise

Stand Up! The Work Break Timer Customizable intervals to fit your work schedules that send you reminders to stand up

Desktop Applications for Windows

Eye Leo Take short eye breaks from your computer screen

Big Stretch Reminder Reminders to stretch and take a break

Awareness Small audible reminders of how long you’ve been sitting or in one position- Works on Mac as well

Desktop Applications for Mac

Reminder App Windows

Time Out Reminders to take normal breaks and micro breaks

Awareness Small audible reminders of how long you’ve been sitting or in one position- Works on PC as well

You can create your own customized movement plan to incorporate one or more of these reminder applications. OSHA recommends that employees be aware of their posture and avoid static positions for long periods of time among other things outlined on the OSHA Fact Sheet for Laboratory Safety Ergonomics for the Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders

HealthPostures is a standing desk ergonomics developer with a complete line of ergonomic sit stand chairs, dual monitor stands and mounts, sit stand tables and sit stand and move equipment available. Shop now or contact us today with any questions you have. Together, we can make 2019 a year to better health and workplace safety.