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You tell yourself you’ll write it down later, but later never comes. That’s because memory is unreliable, especially when life gets busy. A good capture habit starts with reminders—ones that prompt you at just the right time to save those fleeting thoughts.
What Is a Capture Habit and Why Is It Important?
The capture habit is inspired by David Allen’sGetting Things Done (GTD) method, which emphasizes the importance of externalizing tasks and ideas into a trusted system as soon as they come to mind to free up mental space.
While it’s rooted in GTD, the capture habit is versatile and can be integrated into any productivity system.
However, a good capture habit isn’t about jotting down ideas and to-dos in notebooks, sticky notes, or random apps. That approach often leads to chaos and missed details. Instead, it’s about intentionally and consistently offloading everything into a reliable external system that aligns with your lifestyle and workflow.
This ensures that everything is stored in one central location, making it easy to access, organize, and act on when the time is right. Apple’s Reminders app is an excellent tool that I use as a trusted external system for capturing items quickly and improving mypersonal knowledge management system.
Why? First, it’s free and intuitive, making it accessible to anyone with an Apple device. Second, it syncs across all my Apple devices, so I can capture ideas on my iPhone while on the go and organize them later on my Mac. Third, its simplicity allows me to quickly add tasks or notes without getting bogged down by unnecessary features.
To truly unlock Reminders' potential for quickly capturing items, it’s important to set it up for optimal use. Here’s how to do that.
Create a Dedicated Capture (Inbox) List
Lists in the Reminders app are an effective feature fororganizing and categorizing related tasks. The first step to start your capture routine is to create a dedicatedCaptureorInbox list—or, better yet, rename the defaultReminders list.
This step is essential because the defaultReminders listis where tasks are automatically added when using Siri or other methods. So, while you can create another custom list for capturing items, your tasks will not be automatically captured there.
Renaming the defaultReminders listto something likeInboxorCapturehelps clarify its purpose and makes it easier to integrate into your workflow.
Here’s how to rename the Default Reminders list:
Once your dedicatedCapture listis set up, it becomes your temporary holding area for all incoming and unprocessed tasks and ideas. Think of it as a digital dumping ground where you’re able to quickly offload anything that comes to mind without worrying about organizing immediately.
Going forward, anytime you use Siri, the Reminders widget, the share sheet, or any other method to add tasks, they will automatically be added to yourInboxorCapture list. From there, you can review and organize it into appropriate lists during your daily or weekly review sessions.
Schedule Daily or Weekly Reviews to Process Your Captured Items
The purpose of capturing tasks and ideas is to offload them from your mind into a trusted system so you’re able to focus on what matters most. However, considering that you can still forget those captured items and end up missing your deadlines, the system only works if you consistently return to review and organize what you’ve captured.
That’s why it’s vital to schedule a daily orweekly review process to consistently crush your to-do list.
This review allows you to revisit your captured items, clarify their purpose, and organize them into their respective categories or projects. It also allows you to set deadlines, delegate tasks, or discard items that are no longer relevant.
The frequency of your reviews will depend on your workflow and the volume of tasks you handle. You may prefer a quick daily review or opt for a more comprehensive weekly review to plan. Regardless of your preference, the key is to choose a consistent day and time for your reviews and stick to it.
Here’s how to schedule a daily or weekly review in the Reminders app:
By setting up a recurring review reminder, you create a structured routine that helps you to consistently process and organize your captured items. This also allows you to maintain a clean and organized capture system, reduce mental clutter, and approach each day or week with confidence.
How to Quickly Capture Items in Reminders
Capturing tasks and ideas is all about speed—you want to add items to Reminders as quickly as possible to avoid forgetting them. Reminders offers several ways to capture items effortlessly, including:
1. Using Spotlight to Open Reminders
While Reminders doesn’t currently offer a system-wide keyboard shortcut (like OmniFocus’Quick Entry shortcut) to add tasks quickly, Spotlight provides a reasonable alternative. Although this method involves a few extra steps compared to a dedicated keyboard shortcut, it’s still a reliable way to open Reminders quickly and start capturing tasks.
To open Reminders using Spotlight, pressCommand + Spaceon your Mac, and then typeRemindersand pressEnterto open the app and add your task.
2. Using Siri to Add Tasks Hands-Free
Siri is one of my favorite ways to capture items in Reminders, especially when my hands are busy. Simply activate Siri by saying,Hey Siri, followed by your task. For example:
Hey Siri, remind me to call the plumber at 9 AM on Friday.
Hey Siri, remind me to email the client tomorrow at 10 AM.
If you’ve renamed your defaultReminders listtoCaptureorInbox(as described above), any tasks added through Siri will automatically go straight to this list.
3. Setting Up a Widget for Quick Access
Adding interactive widgets to your Mac’s desktopcreates a visual shortcut that keeps your favorite tools within reach. Adding a Reminders widget to your desktop allows you to quickly view, check off, and open the app.
To add the Reminders widget to your Mac’s desktop, control-click the desktop wallpaper and chooseEdit Widgetsto open the widget browser. Search forReminders, then select the widget size you prefer and drag it to your desktop.
While the Reminders widget primarily allows you to view and check off completed tasks directly, you may also click the widget to quickly open the Reminders app and add new items as usual.
A strong capture habit is a productivity hack that can help you reclaim mental clarity and focus on what matters most. With these tips, you may easily use the Reminders app to capture and organize tasks on your Mac.
