Take Control of Calendar and Reminders, 6th Edition

Manage your schedule more effectively using Calendar and Reminders!
Version 6.1, updated October 16, 2025

Learn how to unlock the full potential of Apple’s Calendar and Reminders! This book helps you get the most out of these two apps, showing you how to customize them, sync data across devices, and share meeting invitations and reminder lists. You’ll also learn how to use Siri as a shortcut and how to fix common problems.

In the days before personal computers and mobile devices, we had to rely on paper calendars and to-do lists to help us organize our time and activities. Now, we have powerful tools, like Apple’s Calendar and Reminders, that are much more responsive to our needs. Put an event on your schedule, invite others to join, or set yourself an alarm (or more than one). Or, keep a list of to-do items, add to it and view it on all your Apple devices, and share your list with family or friends.

The sixth edition features complete coverage of macOS 26 Tahoe, macOS 15 Sequoia, iOS 26/iPadOS 26, iOS 18/iPadOS 18, and watchOS 18 and 26, along with the new Apple Intelligence features on supported devices. Glenn guides you through getting to know these incredibly helpful apps, including lesser-known (but handy) features. For example, did you know that Calendar lets you set an alert that factors in public transportation schedules and time to get to your starting point, so you can leave early enough to catch the train, bus, tram, or ferry you need—and any connections—and arrive at your event on time? Or that Reminders can prompt you to do something not only at a certain time, but also once you’ve reached a specific destination, like the grocery store?

If you’ve never taken the opportunity to explore Calendar and Reminders, this book will show you how to make them an important part of your daily routine. If you’ve already been using Calendar and Reminders, you’ll learn how to use them more effectively, troubleshoot common problems, and delve deeper into their capabilities.

Learn how to get the best out of Calendar and Reminders, including how to:

• Customize Calendar to your liking, from setting time zones, to color coding specific calendars
• Create events, making them repeat at regular intervals or on certain dates
• Embed video links in Calendar events for quick launching
• Add reminders from within the Calendar app
• Use the new Multi Day view in Calendar for iPhone
• Set up notifications and alerts, so you never miss an event
• Invite people to events, or share your calendar with them
• Share calendars and reminders using iCloud Family Sharing, and assign reminders to a specific person
• Create, manage, and share lists in Reminders, including subtasks and powerful smart lists
• Organize reminder lists into categories and optionally view them in columns
• Designate a list as a grocery list, so that items auto-sort into supermarket departments
• Set alarms in Reminders at a certain time or a certain place
• Use Siri to save time when creating events or reminders
• Easily check events and reminders on your Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, or HomePod
• Recover deleted reminders within 30 days
• Print a calendar (to paper or PDF)
• Troubleshoot common problems in Calendar and Reminders