How-to

How to Use Shortcuts to Automate Apple Reminders

By Vyshakh Nair, Founder, Ultra Reminders · Updated May 9, 2026 · 8 min read
Part of the master guide: Apple Reminders for Power Users: The Complete System

Apple Reminders Shortcuts are pre-built automation recipes that capture, query, modify, and complete reminders from a hotkey, share sheet, or Siri trigger.

The Shortcuts app on iOS, iPadOS, and macOS has the most extensive Reminders integration of any Apple-built tool. You can read tasks, add tasks, complete tasks, query by list, query by tag, query by date, and trigger all of this from a hotkey on Mac, a Siri phrase, the Apple Watch, the Action Button on iPhone 15 Pro and 16, the share sheet from any app, or as scheduled automations that run at sunrise.

This is the automation Apple refused to build into Reminders itself. It's powerful. It's also fiddly. We've tested 40+ Shortcuts over the past year on macOS 26.1 and iOS 26 and the 12 below are the ones that actually survive.

This is part of Apple Reminders for Power Users: The Complete System.

What you'll achieve

By the end of this guide you'll have 12 working Shortcuts that handle capture, daily planning, batch tagging, weekly review, and cross-app handoffs to Notes, Calendar, and Mail. You'll also have a set of Siri phrases mapped to the Shortcuts you actually use, so capture becomes a voice command, not a tap dance.

What you'll need

  • iOS 16 or later, iPadOS 16 or later, or macOS Ventura or later
  • The Shortcuts app (built-in)
  • iCloud signed in with Reminders enabled
  • About 30 minutes for setup
  • Optional: a Stream Deck or Raycast for hotkey binding on Mac

Step 1: Build the brain dump capture shortcut

Captures multiple tasks separated by line breaks into a chosen list with one trigger.

The build:

  1. Open Shortcuts. Tap +.
  2. Add action: "Ask for input". Prompt: "Brain dump:". Type: Text. Allow multiple lines: ON.
  3. Add action: "Split text". Input: provided text. Separator: New Lines.
  4. Add action: "Repeat with each".
  5. Inside the loop: "Add new reminder". Title: Repeat Item. List: Inbox.
  6. Save as "Brain Dump".

Now bind it. On Mac, set a hotkey via Raycast or System Settings. On iPhone, add it to your Action Button. Trigger it, dump 5 tasks, hit done. Five reminders land in your inbox in 4 seconds.

This is, honestly, the single most useful Shortcut on this list. The brain dump pattern is well-documented in ADHD productivity research; see The I Want a Brain Dump App Problem for why this matters.

Step 2: Build the today triage shortcut

Pulls all reminders due today and asks you, one by one, whether to do, defer, or delete.

The build:

  1. New shortcut. "Find reminders where Due Date is today and Is Completed is false".
  2. "Repeat with each".
  3. Inside loop: "Choose from menu". Title: "[Repeat Item] - what now?". Items: Do now, Defer to tomorrow, Delete, Skip.
  4. Branch logic per choice. "Defer" sets Due Date to tomorrow. "Delete" removes. "Do now" opens the reminder. "Skip" passes.
  5. Save as "Triage Today".

Run this every morning. Takes 90 seconds for 15 tasks. Way faster than scrolling and tapping each one.

Step 3: Build the weekly review shortcut

Pulls all reminders not completed in the last 7 days, groups by list, and emails you a summary.

The build:

  1. New shortcut. "Find reminders where Is Completed is false AND Due Date is within last 7 days".
  2. "Group reminders by list".
  3. "Combine text". Format as a markdown bulleted list per group.
  4. "Send email". To: yourself. Subject: "Weekly review - [date]". Body: combined text.
  5. Schedule via Personal Automation: Sunday at 6pm.

The Sunday email becomes your weekly review prompt. Delete completed, defer overdue, archive what doesn't matter.

Step 4: Build the location-based capture shortcut

Triggers a capture prompt when you arrive at a specific location (home, office, store).

The build:

  1. New Personal Automation. Trigger: "Arrive". Location: your office. Time: weekdays.
  2. Action: "Show Notification". Title: "What needs doing here?".
  3. Action: "Ask for input". Type: text.
  4. Action: "Add new reminder". Title: input. List: Office.
  5. Save.

When you walk into the office, your phone asks what needs doing. You voice-dictate the answer. Done. The friction is so low you'll actually use it.

For the deeper version, see How to Set Location-Based Reminders That Actually Trigger.

Step 5: Build the batch tag shortcut

Adds a tag to all reminders matching a filter in one pass.

The build:

  1. New shortcut. "Find reminders where Notes contains [keyword]".
  2. "Repeat with each".
  3. Inside loop: "Set notes of reminder". Append "#[tag]" to the existing notes.
  4. Save as "Batch Tag".

Use case. You realize all your "send invoice" tasks should be tagged #billing. Run the Shortcut with keyword "invoice" and tag "billing". Twenty tasks tagged in 5 seconds. For more on building a tag system, see How to Use Tags in Apple Reminders (Complete System).

Step 6: Build the calendar handoff shortcut

Takes a reminder, creates a calendar event from it, and marks the reminder as complete.

The build:

  1. New shortcut. Input: reminder.
  2. "Get details of reminder": title, due date.
  3. "Add new event". Title: reminder title. Start: reminder due date. Duration: ask each time.
  4. "Mark reminder as complete".
  5. Save as "Reminder to Event". Add to share sheet so you can trigger from inside Reminders.

The pattern. Reminders for capture, Calendar for scheduled work. When a reminder graduates from "I should do this" to "I'm doing this Tuesday at 3pm", convert it.

Step 7: Build the email-to-reminder shortcut

Takes the currently selected email in Mail and creates a reminder linked to it.

The build:

  1. New shortcut. Input: Mail message.
  2. "Get message details": subject, sender, message URL.
  3. "Add new reminder". Title: "Reply to [sender]: [subject]". URL: message URL. List: Inbox.
  4. Save as "Mail to Reminder". Add to Mail share sheet.

Now in Mail, swipe the message, tap share, tap "Mail to Reminder". A reminder lands with a clickable link back to the email. This replaces the broken Apple-Intelligence email-to-reminder flow which, last we checked, drops the source link more often than it preserves it.

Step 8: Build the Notes-to-tasks shortcut

Takes a Notes note with bullets, splits each bullet into a separate reminder.

The build:

  1. New shortcut. Input: a Notes note.
  2. "Get text from note".
  3. "Split text" by line.
  4. "Filter" to keep only lines starting with "-" or "*".
  5. "Repeat with each".
  6. Inside loop: "Replace text" to remove the leading "- ".
  7. "Add new reminder". Title: cleaned text. List: Inbox.
  8. Save as "Notes to Tasks".

For the AI-powered version of this same pattern, see How to Convert Notes into Tasks Using Apple Intelligence.

Step 9: Build the morning briefing shortcut

Reads aloud your top 3 priorities for the day at 8am.

The build:

  1. New Personal Automation. Trigger: 8:00am, weekdays.
  2. Action: "Find reminders where Due Date is today and Priority is High". Limit: 3.
  3. "Combine text" with line breaks.
  4. "Speak text". Voice: your choice.
  5. Save.

Your phone, while you brush your teeth, reads "Today: ship the deck, call Vimal, sign the contract". You start the day knowing what matters. Small ritual, big effect.

Step 10: Build the recurring template shortcut

Creates a list of related tasks from a template (project kickoff, weekly review, trip prep).

The build:

  1. New shortcut. "Choose from menu": Project Kickoff, Weekly Review, Trip Prep.
  2. For each menu choice, branch with a "Dictionary" defining the task list.
  3. "Repeat with each task".
  4. Inside loop: "Add new reminder" with task title.
  5. Save as "Templates".

Apple does have a native templates feature in Reminders (long-press a list, save as template). Use it for simple cases. Use this Shortcut when you need conditional logic, dynamic dates, or cross-list creation.

Step 11: Build the Slack reminder shortcut

Captures a message you tap into a Slack-like inbox in Reminders.

The build:

  1. New shortcut. Add to share sheet for text.
  2. Input: shared text.
  3. "Add new reminder". Title: "Re: [first 60 chars]". Notes: full text. List: Slack Inbox.
  4. Save as "Slack to Reminder".

When someone messages you in Slack and you can't act now, share the message text into this Shortcut. The full context is preserved in notes, the title is searchable, and your Slack Inbox list becomes a reliable triage queue.

Step 12: Build the end-of-day cleanup shortcut

At 6pm, surfaces all reminders due today that aren't complete and asks you to either complete or defer.

The build:

  1. New Personal Automation. Trigger: 6:00pm.
  2. "Find reminders where Due Date is today and Is Completed is false".
  3. "Repeat with each".
  4. Inside loop: "Choose from menu": Mark complete, Defer to tomorrow, Defer to next week.
  5. Branch logic per choice.
  6. Save.

Closes the loop. Nothing rolls over silently. By 6:01pm, your "today" list is either zero or honestly carried forward.

For the AI-native version of this whole flow, see The AI-Native Mac To-Do Stack.

"Built 6 Shortcuts last weekend. Three of them survived. Now I capture from Mail, voice, and Slack into one inbox and triage in 90 seconds. Game changer."
paraphrased from r/shortcuts, March 2026

Common pitfalls

  • Building 20 Shortcuts before testing any. Build one. Use it for a week. Build the next.
  • Forgetting to bind the hotkey. A Shortcut you can't trigger fast is a dead Shortcut. Bind to Raycast, Stream Deck, or the Action Button.
  • Conflicting Personal Automations. Two automations both running at 8am can race. Stagger by 1 minute.
  • iCloud sync lag in batch operations. If you create 50 reminders in a loop, sync can take 30 seconds. Fine on a good network, awkward on hotel wifi.
  • Asking for input on iOS without confirmation step. The "Ask for input" sheet can be dismissed by accident. Add a "Show alert" confirmation for destructive operations.

Verification

The system is working when:

  1. You haven't opened Reminders manually to capture in a week (everything goes through a Shortcut).
  2. The 8am briefing tells you something useful, not random.
  3. The Sunday review email arrives and you actually read it.
  4. You added one Shortcut after week one based on a real friction you hit, and it stuck.

"Half my Reminders use is now invisible. I never see the app. Shortcuts shovel everything in and surface the right thing at the right time."
paraphrased from r/macapps, February 2026

FAQ

Q: Are Shortcuts the same on iOS and Mac?

A: Mostly yes. Shortcuts sync via iCloud and most actions work cross-platform. Some Mac-only actions (window management, AppleScript) don't run on iOS. Some iOS-only actions (NFC tag, Action Button) don't run on Mac. The Reminders actions in this guide all work on both.

Q: Can a Shortcut bypass Apple's notification limits?

A: Not really. Shortcuts use the same notification system as the rest of iOS. If your Focus mode silences Reminders notifications, a Shortcut-created reminder will be silenced too. For notification troubleshooting, see the dedicated guide on Apple Reminders notification fixes.

Q: Does Siri trigger Shortcuts reliably?

A: Mostly. Set the trigger phrase at the top of each Shortcut. Avoid phrases that overlap with built-in Siri commands (don't name a Shortcut "Reminders"). For more on Siri Reminders setup, see How to Use Siri to Create Reminders.

Q: How do I share a Shortcut with my partner or team?

A: Open the Shortcut, tap share, generate iCloud link. Anyone on iOS or macOS can install it from the link. Permissions get re-prompted on install.

Q: How does Ultra Reminders relate to Shortcuts?

A: Ultra Reminders does the heavy lifting Shortcuts can't: AI clustering of brain dumps, advanced recurring rules, real nested subtasks. You can still use Shortcuts for triggers and Ultra Reminders for the smart layer. Both read from the same Apple Reminders source via EventKit.

Ultra Reminders solves automation Apple Reminders refuses to ship in the app itself. Free 14-day trial at ultrareminders.com.