Crush Procrastination with This Apple Calendar & Reminders Trick.

Summary

This video introduces a simple yet effective method to eliminate procrastination by combining reminders with your calendar. The strategy involves setting up distinct time blocks for various tasks such as project work, writing, admin, and communication in your calendar. By aligning your tasks with smart lists in reminders, you can focus on each category without distractions. The tutorial also demonstrates how to link relevant project notes to reminders, ensuring everything is organized and accessible. This system leverages Apple's built-in productivity tools to create a highly focused, organized workflow.

Takeaways

• 😀 Using your calendar to organize work categories helps eliminate procrastination and ensures tasks are aligned with your daily schedule.
• 😀 Organize your calendar by adding blocks of time for critical tasks like communication, admin, and core work to stay focused.
• 😀 Matching reminders with your calendar is crucial—make sure your reminders reflect your scheduled tasks for better productivity.
• 😀 Create 'smart lists' for each category of work (e.g., Project Work, Writing, Admin) so that you can easily view tasks for each focus area.
• 😀 Overdue tasks should be included in your reminders to account for missed work, as perfection is unrealistic.
• 😀 Use color coding and icons to easily distinguish between different tasks, like marking projects as critical with a red tag.
• 😀 Smart lists can be customized with tags to filter tasks by type, ensuring you're always focused on the most relevant work.
• 😀 Organize your lists into folders to keep related tasks together, improving the clarity of your daily workflow.
• 😀 Once tasks are categorized, you can quickly view all critical tasks for the day by opening your folders, which sync with your calendar.
• 😀 To link notes and reminders, you can generate a shareable URL from a note and paste it into the reminder’s URL field for easy access.

Q & A

What is the primary goal of the video script?

The primary goal of the video script is to help viewers eliminate procrastination by using a combination of calendar management and reminders to organize their work efficiently.

What are the first steps to managing your day using a calendar, according to the script?

The first steps involve dividing your day into blocks of time dedicated to specific tasks, such as meetings, project work, writing, audio-visual tasks, and administrative duties. These categories are then added to your calendar.

Why is it important to match reminders with your calendar?

It’s important to match reminders with your calendar because it ensures that your tasks align with the blocks of time you’ve already set. Without this alignment, reminders become ineffective and may just add to the chaos.

What are 'smart lists' and how are they used in the system?

'Smart lists' are dynamic lists that are organized by specific tags related to tasks, such as 'writing' or 'admin.' They help you focus on a particular task at a given time by showing only the relevant items for that time block.

What role do tags play in organizing tasks?

Tags help categorize tasks into groups, making it easier to create focused lists for specific categories like 'project work' or 'writing.' This organization helps prevent distractions and enables you to concentrate on one task at a time.

How can you set up a 'Today's Project Work' list in the system?

To set up a 'Today's Project Work' list, create a new smart list, select the 'projects' tag, set the date to today, and include any overdue tasks. This list will show all project-related tasks that need attention today.

How does the 'overdue' feature work in the task management system?

The 'overdue' feature allows tasks that were not completed on previous days to appear in the current day's smart list, ensuring that you don’t forget them. It helps maintain a continuous workflow without losing track of past tasks.

What is the significance of creating folders for different task lists?

Creating folders for task lists allows you to organize your work into categories like 'writing,' 'projects,' or 'admin.' It helps streamline the process, so when you access the folder, you only see tasks related to that specific area of focus.

How do you manage tasks once they are grouped in a folder?

Once tasks are grouped in a folder, you can easily focus on a specific category by opening the corresponding folder. This organization ensures that you aren’t distracted by tasks outside your current focus area.

How can you integrate notes into the task management system?

Notes can be integrated by copying a note link into the URL field of a task. This ensures that any relevant project notes are easily accessible and organized alongside the task, making it simpler to refer to them during work sessions.