I really like your comment on projects. I never was able to work that way because writing down subtasks that are logical takes too much time and I don’t need a reminder for them. This way you’re showing us is far better for me. Thank you.

@Carl_Pullein

3 жыл бұрын

Glad you like it, Olivier.

Thanks Carl, I found your video extremely valuable. Thanks brother take care

This is excellent, thank you! I only wish they allowed folders so that you could organize work vs home tasks better.

Super helpful. Thank you, Carl!!

@Carl_Pullein

3 жыл бұрын

Glad it was helpful!

This feels like a breakthrough. I am prone to over organizing my tasks and had to get away from Todoist because of it and started doing so again with Reminders. This is so incredibly helpful. Thank you so much for this video!

@Carl_Pullein

3 жыл бұрын

Glad it was helpful!

@gherbetto

2 жыл бұрын

Check out his other reminders videos!!!

Carl, you have a definitive method of teaching and I appreciate the time you take to create your videos. This one will help me become a tad more organized....something I've struggled with and as I get older, I don't want to fart around not getting stuff done :)

@Carl_Pullein

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you, Brian for you kind words. Good luck with your productivity journey.

Today under lockdown saw this video. It's wonderful, I just set up my reminders following your tips. Thanks.

@Carl_Pullein

4 жыл бұрын

Glad you liked it, Pravin. Good luck with your set up :-)

Thank you carl, I even organised reminders with sections and its more clean now Thanks again for sharing

@Carl_Pullein

7 ай бұрын

You're very welcome.

Hi Carl - amazing perspective! Which of your videos actually go into how to derive the single tasks from the „projects“ by importance and how/when to review them?

Carl - awesome video and system. I’m going to test this out for February and see how it goes. I use Things 3 currently and I feel this might help reduce that system “bloat” that so easily creeps up after a while in projects based systems & apps. Thanks for the suggestion!

@Carl_Pullein

4 жыл бұрын

You're very welcome, Michael.

Hi Carl - amazing perspective! Which of your videos actually tell about how to derive the single tasks from the „projects“ and how/when to review them?

Great job, as usual

@Carl_Pullein

4 жыл бұрын

Thank you, Carlos.

I don't think I've ever seen a British to do list video where they don't say the word "holiday". Every... Single... Time... But still, I appreciate the organizing idea. Thanks, Carl.

@Carl_Pullein

4 жыл бұрын

Ah, not on holiday at the moment. But stick around... I do use the work frequently ;-)

These time bound productivity systems are a fantastic. This simple little system with Apple Reminders has led to more productivity than my full blown GTD system on Evernote. As a musician I also find it Time based productivity systems really useful because my projects don’t really have next actions that are worth tracking in a GTD system. It’s just about putting the time in and finishing the projects

@Carl_Pullein

Жыл бұрын

Hi Beau, glad you have found a way that works for you. Ultimately, the only thing that matters is when you will do it.

Ohhh. ❤️this.

@Carl_Pullein

4 жыл бұрын

Glad you like it :-)

THANK YOU for this. Yours is such a streamlined and succinct version of what I am trying to work on. A question, should I be categorizing the tasks by type, too? Like family, work, personal and so forth, or in your opinion that's redundant?

@Carl_Pullein

3 жыл бұрын

I don't. For me, a task is a task that needs doing at some point in the day. But, if it works for you, then that's great.

I really like the sound of your Time Sector System. I just set up the time sectors' lists in Reminders on my Mac. I added one called Today so I had a place for today's tasks to live, though I'll be looking at the built-in Today (smart) list since it shows tasks with the date of today. All this is so when I look at This Week it won't have today's tasks. I like to see what else I have coming up separately from today's stuff. Also, I made tags for my "projects" and interest areas...for now. I very well might find, like you, that I don't need that in my task manager after all!

@Carl_Pullein

Жыл бұрын

Hi Doug, I try to avoid looking ahead until I have dealt with today. (I do anything to avoid overwhelm 😁

@architennis

Жыл бұрын

@@Carl_Pullein So in this video, how does the Today list work? If it's a smart list, where do the today tasks live?

@Carl_Pullein

Жыл бұрын

@@architennis I let them come up in the default today list. Apple does the hard work for me. Today's tasks will live in the This Week folder.

@architennis

Жыл бұрын

@@Carl_Pullein Thanks. That's what I figured. I'm a bit fussy and like to not see my today stuff when I look at This Week, hence my extra list called Today. Kind of redundant I know. Each to their own!

Carl, this may be my favorite video you have posted! I’ve been struggling with how to set up my system. I retired last year and have struggled with an approach that better fits my new world. After watching this video, I reconfigured my Reminders files to match your recommendations. I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly I could process my inbox!

@Carl_Pullein

4 жыл бұрын

That's what happened to me too,Terry. I was very surprised how fast processing was and I have also noticed I am not missing anything either. (that was my worry in not using a projects based system.)

@jenalynclaret2441

2 жыл бұрын

rr

As always very interesting, time for a next step for me.....Todoist....I understand that that tha app to go to for project based reminders.

@Carl_Pullein

4 жыл бұрын

This approach works very well in Todoist also, Marjon.

Thanks for showing me the ins and outs of reminders. How do you decide whether to put something (task, project, event, note, list, etc) in Reminders or Notes?

@Carl_Pullein

3 жыл бұрын

To me, a task requires some form of action--it contains an action verb (write, call, reply, prepare, do. Buy etc) a note is unclear at this stage and needs developing. There's no action clear action verb and often is just an idea.

Love this. - works a treat .. why didn’t i. Think of that? Hahaha

@Carl_Pullein

4 жыл бұрын

Glad you found it helpful, Stephen.

A informative video thanks. One point though I found it within the help section but a quick tip. To get the custom icons on the lists double click the icon then you will see to the left of the title a drop down color and icon selector.

@Carl_Pullein

4 жыл бұрын

Thank you for sharing, Martin.

@JessBess

3 жыл бұрын

i can only change the colour? not change the icon

It reminds me a little about Scrum: Backlog (Inbox), This Week (Current Sprint), Next Week (Next Sprint), and do it goes... Good stuff! I really like your videos and I’m enjoying the minimalist approach! Can’t wait for the next videos!

@LeonardAlves

4 жыл бұрын

Quick question: How do you decide when to set a date in the reminder or create an event in the calendar?

@Carl_Pullein

4 жыл бұрын

Hadn't thought of it that way. But does make sense.

@Carl_Pullein

4 жыл бұрын

An event to me is a fixed event where I either need to be somewhere for with someone. A task is something I have to do.

@LeonardAlves

4 жыл бұрын

​@@Carl_Pullein Got it. How do you handle the time spent in a task? In this video you check the calendar before setting the reminder. What if... When you check the calendar you see an event at 11am and set the reminder to the same day, but at 10am and the task takes more than 1h to complete? Do you track the effort (hours, points, etc) to complete that task? I understand that the reminder will help you to start the task, and you will only mark as complete once it's done. Right? Should we use the calendar to lock the time that we'll be working on the task? Or do we just stop around 11am (in this example), go to the meeting, and then come back to the task?

@LeonardAlves

4 жыл бұрын

@@Carl_Pullein I just can't see effort (hours, points, etc) and maybe WIP in this approach. Not that we need to track them. I'm just curious.

Hi Carl, do you give up your 2-8 priorisation system? You can add to more folders: ojectives and todays focus.

@Carl_Pullein

4 жыл бұрын

Oh no. 2+8 Prioritisation is integral to my planning and making sure I get the important things done. The only thing that's changed is I no longer organise by project. Instead I organise by when something is due or when I want to do it.

Carl, thanks for this and you’re right about the projects. If you have a task with multi steps, you can always put them in the notes of the reminder or attach Notes. I use digital with the Full Focus Planner and had been looking for a better way to hybrid, this set up should do the trick, thanks again...Joe

@Carl_Pullein

4 жыл бұрын

YOu're welcome, Joe. Happy to hear you got some ideas from it.

Is there a trick to displaying all your reminders (if already set with dates and times) on the calendar itself? I would like to see how my reminders fit/sit on the calendar view.

@Carl_Pullein

4 жыл бұрын

Not that I am aware of, Perry. The only way I know to do that is to use an app called Fantastical 2. That will show your reminders and your events.

This is really interesting. I recently started using Reminders (and trying to move away from Things) and while my work necessitates I use project-based lists, this is probably a good way to organize things.

@Carl_Pullein

4 жыл бұрын

It's worth experimenting with. It has speeded things up for me.

Thanks Carl! Is there a way to automatically tie in Apple Mail flags with Reminders? I have a system I use with Reminders and Mac Mail flags and folders. In Mail I move things into a "To-Do" folder, and then flag them for "Today", "Tomorrow", etc. Then in Reminders I just have a reminder to check my Mail To-Do folder. It would be nice to be able to tie these two apps together automatically. I'm sure there may be a way to program this using Automator, but I don't really want to get bogged down in this. Thanks again!

@Carl_Pullein

3 жыл бұрын

Sadly, not at the moment. It doesn't look like Apple are moving in that direction.

Hi Carl, how do you handle "Shopping List" within this format? I mean, it could be a task inside "this week" with all items as sub-tasks, but I guess this way is not so quick as input new tasks inside a list. Normally we use to think about this list as a "project". Could you give me any advice?

@Carl_Pullein

3 жыл бұрын

Hi José, I would have a separate list called "Shopping". That way all you need do is say "hey Siri add... To my shopping list". At least that's what I do.

Thanks Carl. Just seen this video. Quick question for you - why not just add these tasks as events in your calendar and forget the reminders app?

@Carl_Pullein

2 жыл бұрын

I've found adding tasks and events to my calendar creates an overwhelming mess. These tasks in Reminders do not have to be done at a specific time of day. They just need to be done.

Hi Carl love the time based approach. Just wondering... in this approach do you also add reminders to all the tasks so they also show up in those four tabs in the top left corner. How do you balance out the manually created date folders with the ones Apple already has.

@Carl_Pullein

4 жыл бұрын

The folder Apple have are smart folders so there's nothing I can do to remove them. But on a day to day basis I would only be interested in what I have scheduled for today.

@accentontheoff

4 жыл бұрын

Carl Pullein So in this scenario, other than (I presume) for hard core reminders, you hardly use the smart folders?

@Carl_Pullein

4 жыл бұрын

@@accentontheoff I use the Today folder and occasionally flagged. Scheduled doesn't help me very much.

@accentontheoff

4 жыл бұрын

Carl Pullein Very interesting. And simple. Thanks Carl.

Carl, when you have time blocked a specific task in your calendar. Do you then remove it from your Reminders or leave it duplicated (on Reminders and Calendar?)

@Carl_Pullein

Жыл бұрын

Ah, I time block in generalities and use my task manager for the specifics. For instance, I will block time out for writing (Writing time) and Reminders would tell me the tasks that need writing.

So simple yet so powerful. Just one question: how do you manage projects? Here you show how to work with tasks, but I have many projects running at the same time, and all of them have many tasks inside. How do you adjust this system in order to show which project is related to each task?

@Carl_Pullein

4 жыл бұрын

That's just it. I have removed my projects completely. Project notes are kept in their respective notes in Evernote/Apple Notes (which is the way I have always done it) So this tells me what. I want to work on today, and I just refer to my notes and get the work done.

@RabbiGlick

4 жыл бұрын

@@Carl_Pullein When you set things up like this, what role does a to do list manager (ToDoist) play? Why not just go directly from Evernote to your calendar?

@luishsteuer1660

4 жыл бұрын

Carl Pullein still don’t get it. How do you track project progress? Does that mean you have a duplicate list in your apple notes that tracks it? Or do you just set to dos for projects and never care for the progress bar?

You are such a Wiz at being brilliant and organized. When you do these extremely brilliant videos would it be too many trouble for you to also show on IOS devices? I know you are extremely busy but if you could that would be so much appreciated. I mainly use my Apple I-Phone for everything, and the devices setup seems a bit different. Thank you for sharing 👏👍👍

@Carl_Pullein

4 жыл бұрын

Thank you! I will certainly do that for you in future episodes.

@Spokenfan

4 жыл бұрын

Carl Pullein You’re too kind, that would be wonderful 👍. Thank you so much. 😃

@Spokenfan

4 жыл бұрын

Carl Pullein You’re too kind, that would be wonderful 👍. Thank you so much. 😃

How do you handle large projects? Reno bathroom, buy cuz, fix tile, install toilet, get new flange, fix ceiling fan, add plumbing adapter, seal tile etc etc?

@Carl_Pullein

3 жыл бұрын

These would be in my notes. I have all my project support materials in Evernote and I can manage all projects, large and small, easily there.

@thebestclassicalmusic

3 жыл бұрын

@@Carl_Pullein ah. Note apple notes? Interesting

Who else would rather have the list layout for the smart lists that appears when you edit the sidebar than that squared/box layout that you normally see?

I’m really not good at planning I try but fail at it a lot. Having said that reminders is the easiest to use.

@Carl_Pullein

2 жыл бұрын

Always remember, you never really fail until you give up. As long as you are still trying, you are working on the habit.

How can I replicate this in todoist? Did you move away from todoist?

@Carl_Pullein

4 жыл бұрын

I’ll be doing a video on this on Sunday this week showing how to do it Todoist. (It’s actually a lot easier to do in Todoist... don’t tell anyone ;-)

Have you considered doing the lists according to the Eisenhower method instead? 1) Important & Urgent 2) Important & Not urgent 3 Not Important & Urgent 4 Not Important & Not urgent (some day) Would that be an even better listing system for Reminders?

@Carl_Pullein

3 жыл бұрын

That could work, Johan, the issue I had when I tried that way was there was no sense of urgency. I also meant I ended up with a long list of tasks in my Important and Urgent folder and that made the list overwhelming. Doing it by date means you have to get real about how much you can do each week.

3 жыл бұрын

@@Carl_Pullein Thanks, I will consider what you are saying and I like your new minimalistic system. One more thing while I have you here. Why do you have different folders for Routines (I.e daily/weekly) and just don't put them all in one? In contrast to the regular tasks they will always just remain sitting in their folder. But I guess that is if you have many routines, so you won't get just one huge folder.

3 жыл бұрын

I am not using Todoist but started watching that video anyway. I see that you recommend using somewhat similar system there but a bit more sophisticated. Is that the current recommendation?

@Carl_Pullein

3 жыл бұрын

@ That's just for when I review my routines. It's much easier to manage them when they are in their own containers.

🤯 Apple has a tagging system right there in the Apple Pages app. If only they’d incorporate that into Apple Reminders.

Hmm..I am a bit confused. I am doing your “Create Your Own Apple Productivity System” which is very good. But in the setting up reminders video you have 1) Work 2 ) Personal 3) Routines. Here you have a completely different system. Which do you recommend?

@Carl_Pullein

4 жыл бұрын

Hi Johnny, both ways work very well. However, it really depends on how you work and how you want to see and organise your tasks. I don't really have a lot of projects so I don't need a project-based setup. You might have a lot of projects, so a project-based set up may work best for you.

I have never really been a Reminders fan, but you might very well be changing that. [Now if I only "Do not disturb" would realize that just because I don't want to be distracted by answering the phone doesn't mean I don't want to be reminded of stuff by Reminders, that would be nice.]

@Carl_Pullein

3 жыл бұрын

I find turning my phone face down sorts that little problem out for me. Once it is face down it automatically goes into do not disturb mode and that means all alerts are off.

Can Reminders integrate with Apple Calendar (or Google Calendar) so that I can see my appointments/meetings and reminders all in one screen?

@Carl_Pullein

3 жыл бұрын

No. I doubt Apple will ever do that, but then, they may surprise us one day.

@ChanceEvans222

3 жыл бұрын

Fantastical....

How do you track emails or waiting for response emails with your system?

@Carl_Pullein

4 жыл бұрын

Ooh, I haven't put emails into my to-do list for a long time now. I have an "Action This Day" folder in my email where I put actionable emails and I have a single task in my to-do list reminding me to clear that folder every day.

@ogdanem

4 жыл бұрын

@@Carl_Pullein So it means you do not have a lot of emails to track. Most of my work today is emails, and for a long time I'm searching for the best way to track, followup, waiting for, etc. I haven't find yet the best way.

@Carl_Pullein

4 жыл бұрын

@@ogdanem Well I think I get an average amount (between 100 and 150 /day) but when I used to send these over to Todoist it always felt I was just shuffling tasks and wasting time. Emails were not getting replied to any faster and I found having dedicated folders in my email where I could go and know everything in there needed some form of action made things a lot less complicated and ultimately faster. Now I just have one task that comes up every day in Todoist that reminds me to clear my action today folder.

@ogdanem

4 жыл бұрын

@@Carl_Pullein Welcome to my club; same I'm receiving many emails per day and many more I need to write. My frustration is that I'm in my inbox many hours managing emails instead of my business and tasks. So if you have a way, please present it, I will appreciate hearing about it.

@Carl_Pullein

4 жыл бұрын

@@ogdanem I did do a review of how I manage my email last year. That should give you an idea of how things are set up. The difference today is I send a lot less to Evernote and Todoist. kzread.info/dash/bejne/o6uem8aFdtbXgpM.html

How would you recommend using the Flagged feature? Any ideas anyone?

@Carl_Pullein

4 жыл бұрын

Hmmm I don't. Any email that requires a reply or some action is important to me, so that goes into my Action this Day folder.

@fcleder

3 жыл бұрын

I'm late to the party here, but here is what I do with flags in Reminders: when I look at my today list, I flag the task I start working on. If I get distracted by e.g. a phone call, I can easily see which tasks I was working on, due to the flag.

Can you make a video on sectograph for Android please

@Carl_Pullein

4 жыл бұрын

Unfortunately, no I cannot. I do not have an Android device and I would not know how to use one if I did.

@Sameer-sx7ek

4 жыл бұрын

I think this app is available in app store to please check them

Great info. Thank you for posting it. That said it took 3 minutes to get to the topic, which worked out to 30% of the total video time. To me, less than 15% of anyones "total event time" should be spent on setup, marketing, background....or you start to bore listeners. I find this it true in business meetings, seminars, classrooms....most places. Just an observation.

how do i create a folder?

@nedcpa

3 жыл бұрын

You need the latest version of iOS to get the folder functionality.

Damn poor Benji needs a lot of meds!

@Carl_Pullein

4 жыл бұрын

Hahaha getting old I guess.

Why doesn't Apple just have pop up notifications when tasks are due and if you need more time, just extend or chance the date due? Oh wait, they do, it's called calendar app! I see no need for this reminders app!

@Carl_Pullein

3 жыл бұрын

There you go.

I find it way to complicated to create time-based lists, moving items from Inbox to the different lists, then go to the lists and add dates, having to pay attention not to put a date of next week in the ‚this week‘ list, then at the end of each week/month, moving items from next week/month to this week/month. Sorry Carl, I don‘t think this is an effective way to organize reminders. If the items would automatically move from one list to the other at the end of the week/month, I would consider this approach!

@jppinnel

4 жыл бұрын

Lu Ko There is obviously the need to have REMINDERS apps and TO-DO apps (which emphasize more on priorities). When I use the Apple reminder app, it‘s for being simply reminded on a certain date/time to do something. Priorities can eventually be set by flagging the reminder with 1,2 or 3 exclamation marks, without having to move permanently items from one list to another, just to free up the next week/month...this is inefficient...in my humble opinion. But everyone his own opinion 🤷🏼‍♂️.

@Carl_Pullein

4 жыл бұрын

Hi Jean Paul, completely understand. I began using this method in Todoist (my usual To-do list manager) and it has really speeded up my processing and so far, touch wood, I've not missed anything. In fact, it has helped me to stop over scheduling myself. It's early days, but so far my planning and processing is very fluid.

@jppinnel

4 жыл бұрын

Carl Pullein Hi Carl, I understand that you prefer a weekly/monthly overview instead of a precise scheduling. I prefer a scheduling, due to the fact that I become more productive when I see the number of overdue tasks increase 😉! I was quite astonished when this video came out, because I was sure that you stay with ToDoist, due to the numerous videos you publish about it. Nevermind, still a fan 👍

@Carl_Pullein

4 жыл бұрын

@@jppinnel Oh I haven't left Todoist. Todoist is still my to-do list manager. This series was a result of a lot of requests for more ways to organise apps. I'm sticking with Todoist.

Sorry couldn't get through the lip smacking, and the excessive talking. Not the best work, but "A" for effort. I couldn't stay, after the 10th lip smack and swallow I was out!

@Carl_Pullein

4 жыл бұрын

And if I was born that way your comment would be incredibly insensitive. But I guess we are not all perfect as you presumably are, Greg.

@Greg-fg1rd

4 жыл бұрын

@@Carl_Pullein Guess you were born that way. Sorry, really didn't mean to set you off. May be I am just experiencing quarantine impatience. Keep up the good work. Not sure I could do better anyway.