How to Get Task Notification from Reminders for Mac

by Heinz Tschabitscher | May 5, 2024 | Mac Tips and Resources

Wish Reminders would not only list things to do but also nudge you to do them? Find out here how to get a notification for a reminder (or the day’s tasks) in Apple Reminders for Mac.

First, Be Careful What You Tune On

Be careful, as they say, what you tune on. You might get it.

Ross Lazerowitz tells the wonderful tale of an AI writing assistant fine-tuned to match a team’s writing style—on the team’s Slack messages.

One session of prompting and response with that assistant apparently went like this:

write a 500 word blog post on prompt engineering

sure
I shall work on that in the morning

It’s morning now

I’m writing it right now
It’s 6:30am here

Write it now

ok

More dialog ensued, but, it seems, no blog post.

Now, these posts are more fun to write humanely anyway. Let’s… make it a task for tomorrow morning:

How to Get a Notification for a Reminder in Apple Reminders for Mac

Time needed: 1 minute

To get an alarm notification for a specific reminder in Apple Reminders on a Mac:

Open the reminder’s information.
Here’s how: You can either click the ⓘ︎ button, double-click the reminder or select View | Show Reminder Info from the menu.
Reminders keyboard shortcut: Reminders does not offer a keyboard shortcut by default, but you can add a shortcut key for the Show Reminder Info menu item, of course, using Command Option I, for instance.
Check On a Day under remind me.
Choose the day for the notification.
No time like the present: The reminder defaults to a reminder on the same day, except very late at night.
Now check At a time as well.
Pick the due time for the reminder.
Due time: You can enter the time when the task is due here and pick a different (earlier) alert time in the next step.
Already done: When you mark the task done before it is due, you will not get a reminder at the due time.
Optional: Choose an alert time under early reminder.
Enable notifications: Verify notifications are enabled for Reminders in macOS settings, of course; see below.

Add Time and Date to a Reminder Fast in Mac Reminders

You can also add time and date (but not an early reminder time or date) for a task in a list:

Click the reminder title or its note in the reminder list.
Now click Add Date.
Choose a suggested date or pick a custom date.
Entering days: You can also enter dates (Dec 15), the days today and tomorrow as well as relative days (in 350 days) directly in the Add Date field.
Now click Add Time.
Pick from suggestions or enter a time.

Create a Quick Reminder in Apple Reminders for Mac

To get a reminder at a specific time in the future from Apple Reminders:

Go to the desired list in Apple Reminders.
Start a new reminder.
Here’s how: Click in an empty part of the list.
Reminders keyboard shortcut: You can also press Command N to start creating a new reminder item.
Include the desired reminder time in your task description.
Relative time: You can use relative times (and dates) such as in 5 minutes or in 3 hours as well as next week or next weekend, for example.
Absolute time: Reminders also lets you enter time more absolutely, using at 6pm, for instance, or Dec 15, 2025 18:00.
Abbreviations: You can use abbreviations (such as min for minutes or h for hours)
Example: Write Tend to green tea in 3 min for a tea timer.
Highlight and pick the time under Suggested Time or Suggested Time.
Keyboard: Press the down key (↓︎), then Enter to choose the time using the keyboard.
It’s a must: If you do not highlight the suggested date or time, Reminders will not apply it to the task.
Optionally, but typically: Remove the text for the reminder time from the task title.

Reminders haphazardly turned something in your title or note into a tag? How to Remove Unwanted Tags in Apple Reminders

Get a Reminder for All-Day Tasks in Apple Reminders for Mac

To have Reminders send you one notification for all-day tasks when you start your day (or, of course, as a reminder later on):

Select Reminders | Settings… from the menu in Apple Reminders.
Turn on Today Notification.
Pick a time for the reminder.

The reminder will not list all items; instead, it will say <Reminder title> and <number> other items….

Enable Notifications for Mac Reminders

To make sure macOS will display notifications from Apple Reminders:

Open System Settings on the Mac.
Go to the Notifications category.
Select Reminders.
Turn on Allow notifications.
Choose the alert style and further notification options.

How to Get a Notification for a Reminder in Apple Reminders for Mac: FAQ

What is the earliest early reminder I can get?

You can set an early reminder up to 200 months (a bit shy of 16 years and 8 months) before a task’s due date or time.

The numerical limit of 200 also applies to minutes and hours in advance, which translate to 3 hours and 20 minutes and 8 days and 8 hours respectively.

The latest “early” reminder is 1 minute. before the task is due.

Can I get multiple reminders for a task?

Each task can have a reminder when it is due and one early reminder. You can snooze any reminder with the standard

To get reminded about a task three times a day, for example, create three (repeating, if desired) reminders.

Do notifications work for list templates?

Yes.

You can add due dates and times to reminders that are part of a list template in Apple Reminders. These become active once you start a new list from the template.

(How to get a notification for a reminder in Apple Reminders for Mac tested with macOS Sonoma 14.1–14.3; first published December 2023, last updated May 2024)