How-to

How to Set Up Smart Lists in Apple Reminders

By Vyshakh Nair, Founder, Ultra Reminders · Updated May 5, 2026 · 9 min read
Part of the master guide: Apple Reminders for Power Users: The Complete System

Apple Reminders Smart Lists are saved filter views that auto-collect tasks across all your lists by tag, date, list, priority, flag, or location with no manual sorting.

The first time I made a Smart List, it was a Sunday in January, I had 14 lists, three of them shared, and I had no idea what was actually due that week. So I spent five minutes setting up a "This Week" Smart List with one filter rule. Tasks due in the next 7 days. From all lists. Done. Suddenly I could see the whole week on one screen, no list-flipping. That single Smart List replaced about 40% of the work I was doing manually inside Reminders. This guide walks you through the setup with 12 ready-to-copy recipes. Ultra Reminders reads these same Smart Lists since it's built on top of the iCloud database, so anything you set up here flows through to Ultra Reminders too.

What you'll achieve

By the end of this guide you'll have a working Smart List system inside Apple Reminders that surfaces what matters today, this week, and per project, without you ever needing to manually drag tasks between lists. You'll also have a clean tag taxonomy and a daily routine for using Smart Lists as your home view instead of the cluttered All view.

What you'll need

  • A Mac running macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later, ideally macOS 26.1
  • iCloud Reminders enabled
  • An iCloud account that's been upgraded to the new Reminders database (Reminders will prompt you on first launch if not)
  • About 15 minutes for the initial setup
  • Tags already in use, or a willingness to add them as you go (see How to Use Tags in Apple Reminders if you don't have a tag system yet)

Step 1: Open the Smart List creation flow

Open the Reminders app on Mac. In the bottom-left corner of the sidebar, click "Add List." A panel appears asking you to name the list and pick an icon and color. Look for the toggle labeled "Make into Smart List" near the bottom of that panel. Flip it on.

The panel changes. You now see filter rules: Tags, Date, Time, Location, Flag, Priority, List. This is the Smart List engine.

If you don't see the "Make into Smart List" toggle, your iCloud Reminders database may not be upgraded. Go to System Settings, Apple ID, iCloud, Reminders, and look for an upgrade prompt. Apple sometimes shows this in the app itself instead.

Step 2: Pick your filter rules

Each Smart List can combine up to 7 filter types. The combination is AND by default (a task must match all rules to appear). Within a single rule, multiple values are OR (any selected tag matches).

Start simple. For your first Smart List, pick one rule. Don't try to build the perfect compound filter on day one. You'll iterate.

Common starting rules:

  • Tags: pick one tag like #work or #urgent
  • Date: today, tomorrow, this week, custom range, or "no date"
  • List: include or exclude specific lists
  • Priority: high, medium, low, or none
  • Flag: flagged or not flagged
  • Location: at, leaving, or near a saved place

Step 3: Save and verify

Give the Smart List a name (like "This Week" or "Today's Top 3"), pick a color and icon, and click Done. The Smart List appears in your sidebar, usually at the top under the iCloud section.

Click into it. You should see only tasks that match your rule(s). If you see tasks you weren't expecting, your filter is too loose. If you see nothing, it's too tight. Edit the rules by right-clicking the Smart List and choosing "Show Smart List Info."

For what it's worth, the Smart List engine is faster than the search bar for recurring queries. Once you've saved a filter, looking at it costs zero seconds. Searching for the same thing every morning costs about 10 seconds per search, multiplied by 365 days, which is an hour a year you don't need to spend.

Step 4: Build the 12 essential Smart Lists

Here are 12 Smart List recipes that cover most use cases. Set them up in this order. You can always delete the ones you don't use after a week.

Recipe 1: Today

Filter: Date is Today. Why: replaces the default Today view with one that includes flagged-and-overdue tasks alongside today's scheduled ones.

Recipe 2: This Week

Filter: Date is This Week. Why: planning view for the next 7 days. Catches stuff sliding into Sunday before it surprises you on Monday.

Recipe 3: Next 14 Days

Filter: Date is custom range, today through today+13. Why: project foresight. Shows what's coming so you can pre-empt conflicts.

Recipe 4: No Date

Filter: Date is None. Why: your inbox of un-dated thoughts. Triage these once a week. If they don't get a date or a tag, they're not real tasks, archive them.

Recipe 5: Flagged

Filter: Flag is True. Why: a quick way to see everything you marked important across all lists. Pair with a Friday review.

Recipe 6: High Priority

Filter: Priority is High. Why: critical work surface. Should never have more than 3 to 5 items. If it does, you're using priority wrong (see Flags vs Priority vs Tags).

Recipe 7: #waiting

Filter: Tag includes #waiting. Why: every task you're blocked on someone else for. Review weekly to nudge.

Recipe 8: #errands

Filter: Tag includes #errands. Why: batch your physical-world tasks. Pair with a Saturday morning loop.

Recipe 9: Work Today

Filter: Tag includes #work AND Date is Today. Why: separates your work day from personal items showing on the same Today view.

Recipe 10: At the Office

Filter: Location is "Office" (or your saved work address). Why: location-triggered tasks that fire only when you arrive. See How to Use Tags in Apple Reminders for tag system patterns that pair with location.

Recipe 11: Anniversaries

Filter: Tag includes #anniversary OR #birthday. Why: recurring date-based reminders that should never be missed.

Recipe 12: This Quarter

Filter: Date is custom range covering the current quarter, AND Tag includes #goal. Why: quarterly OKR or goal tracking. Helps you see whether you're actually doing the deep work or just shipping email replies.

Step 5: Reorder the sidebar

By default, Smart Lists appear at the top of the iCloud section. You can drag them into a different order or group them under a custom header.

I keep mine in this order: Today, This Week, High Priority, #waiting, then everything else. The first three are what I open first thing every morning. Their position in the sidebar matters because mouse travel time matters.

Step 6: Set your home view

Apple Reminders opens to whichever list was last selected. To make Reminders open to a specific Smart List every time, you need to manually click into that Smart List before quitting the app. There's no preference for "always open to X" as of macOS 26.1.

A workaround: pin your Today Smart List by right-clicking and choosing "Pin." Pinned lists appear in a separate sidebar section that's always at the top. Pinning isn't the same as defaulting, but it makes the Smart List one click away from any other view.

Step 7: Combine filters for power use

Once you're comfortable with single-rule Smart Lists, build compound ones. Compound filters are where Smart Lists get genuinely useful.

Examples:

  • Errands This Week: Tag includes #errands AND Date is This Week.
  • Work Calls Today: Tag includes #call AND Tag includes #work AND Date is Today.
  • Stuck Stuff: Tag includes #waiting AND Date is older than 7 days. (Use a custom date range ending 7 days ago.)
  • Personal Today, Not Errands: Tag includes #personal AND Tag does NOT include #errands AND Date is Today.

The "does not include" rule is hidden in the tag picker. You have to click the small button that flips a tag from required to excluded. It's easy to miss the first time.

For 15 more pre-built recipes, see 15 Smart List Recipes for Apple Reminders, part of our Apple Reminders for Power Users hub.

Step 8: Use Smart Lists as Kanban columns

A clever pattern from the power-user community: turn each Smart List into a column in a kanban-style workflow. To Do, Doing, Done.

  • "To Do" Smart List: Tag includes #project-x AND Tag does NOT include #doing AND Tag does NOT include #done.
  • "Doing" Smart List: Tag includes #project-x AND Tag includes #doing.
  • "Done" Smart List: Tag includes #project-x AND Tag includes #done.

You move a task between columns by editing its tags. Slower than a real kanban board but works without leaving Reminders. See How to Build a Kanban Board Inside Apple Reminders for the full setup.

"I use four Smart Lists for my consulting business: Today, This Week, #waiting, and one per active client. The #waiting list alone has saved more billable hours than any other change I made last year."

  • paraphrased from r/macproductivity, February 2026

Common pitfalls

  • Too many Smart Lists. If you have more than 10, you'll forget which one to open. Cull aggressively. Three to seven is the sweet spot.
  • Filters that drift. Tags evolve over time. A Smart List built on #urgent in January is broken if you've stopped using #urgent in March. Audit quarterly.
  • Smart Lists that include shared lists you don't review. A "Today" Smart List will pull in shared-list tasks. If you don't want your spouse's grocery list cluttering your work view, exclude that list explicitly using the List filter rule.
  • The Date is Today + Date is This Week trap. Setting both rules on the same Smart List shows tasks due in the intersection (only today). Pick one.
  • Smart Lists don't sync immediately on sluggish iCloud connections. If a Smart List looks empty when you know it shouldn't be, force-quit Reminders and reopen. If that doesn't work, see Apple Reminders Not Syncing Between iPhone and Mac.

Verification

You'll know your Smart Lists are working when:

  1. You stop opening individual lists for daily work.
  2. Your "Today" Smart List has fewer than 12 tasks (any more is a planning failure, not a Smart List failure).
  3. Your "No Date" Smart List shrinks during your weekly review instead of growing.
  4. You catch yourself thinking "let me check Smart List X" instead of "where did I put that task."

If after two weeks you find you're never opening a particular Smart List, delete it. There's no penalty for pruning.

"Honestly, I started with 11 Smart Lists, kept 4. The other 7 were ideas I had on Sunday that I never used by Wednesday."

  • paraphrased from r/macapps, March 2026

FAQ

Q: How many Smart Lists can I have in Apple Reminders?

A: Apple has not published a hard limit. In practice, users have reported 30 to 50 Smart Lists working without issues, though performance degrades past that. Most people end up with 3 to 7 they actually use.

Q: Do Smart Lists sync across devices?

A: Yes. Smart Lists sync via iCloud and appear identically on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch. Editing a Smart List on Mac updates it on iPhone within seconds, assuming iCloud Reminders is healthy.

Q: Can Smart Lists include tasks from shared lists?

A: Yes by default. The List filter rule lets you include or exclude specific lists, including shared ones. If you don't want shared lists in a Smart List, use the List filter to explicitly exclude them.

Q: Can I share a Smart List with someone else?

A: No. Smart Lists are personal to your iCloud account. The underlying tasks may be in shared lists, but the Smart List view itself is not shareable. Each person needs to recreate the Smart List on their own device.

Q: Why does my Smart List show old completed tasks?

A: By default Smart Lists hide completed tasks. If completed tasks are showing, you have "Show Completed" turned on. Right-click the Smart List, choose Show Completed, and toggle it off. This setting is per-list.

Ultra Reminders solves smart lists that show what matters today, not every task ever. Free 14-day trial at ultrareminders.com.