What is Just a reminder, and how is it different from a task?

Just a reminder is a name and a time, and nothing else. It goes off at its time, you press Done or Later, and that is all. It can repeat, for example every day at 8:00 AM. It is not a task: it never counts in your lists, goals or reports.

#Where reminders live

Open Tasks, click the three dots at the top right and choose Reminders. The page says “Not tasks: they never count, and never fill your history.” Under the title it counts them, such as “3 on, 1 paused”, and each one shows its repeat in words, such as “Every day, 8:00 AM”. Today’s reminders also sit in a small group called Reminders in the Tasks list.

#Make one

1. On the Reminders page, click New reminder.
2. Type what to remind you about, then pick a Day and a Time. A new reminder starts at 8:00 AM.
3. Choose Repeat: Once, Every day, Weekdays, Every week, Every month or Every few days. For Every few days, say how many, from 1 to 365.
4. Click Add reminder.

Two quicker ways:

• In Add with details, switch on Just a reminder. The switch says “A name and a time only. It is not counted as a task.”
• Start a line in Add a task, in Tasks or in the box on the floating icon, with “remind me to”, as in “remind me to take the tablet every day at 8am”. A grey chip reads “Just a reminder”.

#What happens when it goes off

The card has two buttons, Done and Later, and no arrow menu. Done on a repeating reminder moves it to its next round and says, for example, “Done. Next: tomorrow, 8:00 AM”. On a reminder that goes off once, Done ends it. A reminder waiting for an answer counts in the number on the floating icon. See what happens when a reminder is due.

#Edit, pause, delete

Hover a reminder on the Reminders page for Pause (or Resume), Edit and Delete. Its More menu adds Make it a task. A paused reminder never goes off. When you resume a repeating one, it picks up at its next round ahead, and the rounds missed while it was paused are not made up. Delete asks nothing and leaves an Undo for a few seconds. A deleted reminder waits in Recently removed for 30 days.

#When it does not work

A reminder needs a day and a time. Try: remind me to take a tablet tomorrow at 8am.

A reminder cannot join a goal. Take the @name out.