Notes vs Reminders Which should you use?

Рет қаралды 9,779

Күн бұрын

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📝 Notes vs. Reminders: The Ultimate Showdown! 🖥️
Hey MacWhisperer Fam! Dylan Stewart here, your go-to MacWhisperer. It's time we finally answer the age-old question: Should you use Notes or Reminders? Stick around and we'll find out!
In today's video, I'll compare these two powerful applications in five separate categories to help you decide when to use one versus the other. But don't slip out the back door before hearing my MacWhisperer Power Tip - it will make everything easier, regardless of which app you choose! 🙌
🔗 Timestamps:
[00:00:00] 📣 Intro
[00:00:43] ⚖️ Category 1: Ease of Use
[00:03:23] 📋 Category 2: Level of Detail
[00:05:55] 🔍 Category 3: Searching
[00:07:53] 🗂️ Category 4: Filing and Sorting
[00:10:50] 🚀 Category 5: Productivity
[00:14:38] 🏆 Conclusion: Who Won?
[00:16:38] 🌟 MacWhisperer Power Tip: Using Siri with Notes & Reminders
Key Takeaways:
⚖️ Ease of Use
Notes is incredibly simple and intuitive, earning 5 Steves. Reminders, while powerful, can be overwhelming for beginners, earning 2 Steves.
📋 Level of Detail
Notes allows for rich formatting, images, and secure notes, earning 5 Steves. Reminders excels in list management and collaboration, earning 4 Steves.
🔍 Searching
Notes shines with easy and effective search capabilities, earning 5 Steves. Reminders struggles with search, earning just half a Steve.
🗂️ Filing and Sorting
Notes offers folders and subfolders but requires manual organization, earning 3 Steves. Reminders automatically sorts tasks into lists, earning 5 Steves.
🚀 Productivity
Notes is great for quick to-do lists but falls short for complex projects, earning 1.5 Steves. Reminders excels in task management and collaboration, earning 5 Steves.
🌟 MacWhisperer Power Tip: Using Siri with Notes & Reminders
Siri enhances both apps significantly. Use Siri to quickly add reminders and notes, set location-based reminders, and even search for specific notes with ease.
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📣 Join the Conversation!
What did you think of today's lesson? Drop your comments and questions below! If you learned something amazing, give this video a thumbs up 👍 and while you're down there, don't forget to subscribe and hit the notification bell 🔔 so you never miss out on new content!
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I'm Dylan Stewart, The MacWhisperer, and it's my passion and profession to help you get more done with your Apple products than you ever thought possible. See you next time! 👋
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Пікірлер: 60

@andricheli 7 күн бұрын

For me these are two very different apps. Notes is for writing and making long lists and snipping information from various sources. Reminders is for task management and reminding yourself of things that need to be done at specific times.

@TheMacWhisperer 7 күн бұрын

You’re absolutely right, but there is overlap and I am constantly being asked which one I should use. People who are familiar with both understand the difference, but the average user crisscrosses the two things thinking that you should only use one for everything or the other one for everything. This video was meant to have some fun with that concept and show that both of them are extremely valuable for their own purposes, exactly as you said!

@rhorchar 5 күн бұрын

Hi, thanks for the video and the distinctions. I created a table of contents in notes to find and open my notes quickly, works great.

@TheMacWhisperer 4 күн бұрын

That's a super smart way to do it! Great job!

@rhorchar 3 күн бұрын

@@TheMacWhisperer Thanks. I wish I could take the credit but I saw it online. Have a great day.

@JERL-d9x 6 күн бұрын

Good wrap up at the end of the video. Providing a short summary on the key points of each tool was helpful

@TheMacWhisperer 6 күн бұрын

Awesome, thank you!

@donbiagio1 6 күн бұрын

Hey my friend. 👕😎here. This video definitely deserves “100 Steve Jobs” 😉. You out did yourself again. This was absolutely useful and excellently presented. Sincerely Your fan in Winnipeg. Stay safe 👕😎👍💕 BB

@TheMacWhisperer 6 күн бұрын

Thanks again! Glad you enjoyed it.

@dougdurham6780 7 күн бұрын

Good video, I was thinking it would be good to see you do the same type for reminders vs. calendar. That's where I struggle. Thanks for your time and efforts on the vids.

@TheMacWhisperer 6 күн бұрын

Great suggestion! I'll add it to my future videos list. Thanks for watching!

@lorensims4846 6 күн бұрын

Fascinating! I've been practically living in Notes for several years now. Folders just add more complexity than I want. I've been using Reminders for specific tasks I want to remember to do, though I do have a problem with schedules like "the third Wednesday of every month." For tasks like this I create a Calendar event and manage it manually. Or "ten minutes before sunset." I need to use a custom app for this one. I recently hear of people keeping their grocery lists in Reminders which is just something I would have never even considered doing. Now I see how that could be useful, but I still keep my grocery list in Notes.

@TheMacWhisperer 6 күн бұрын

Reminders makes a much better (and easier to use through siri) grocery list. ASnd you can also use reminders to create very specific recurring dates (like you are referencing). In the next OS (Mac, iPad and iPhone) Reminders will get fully integrated with calendars, eliminating your need to use calendars in that specific way... In the long run all three (notes, reminders and calendar) are part of what I call The Pillars of Productivity and have their own functionality that brilliantly interconnects ewith each other, so there will always be a place for all three, but learning to use each of them for their strengths is valuable.

@justlookin61 4 күн бұрын

Wow...a whole lot left out! TAGS and smart lists are an integral part of reminder organization and functionality! Tags can also be used in Notes! I use Both tags and folders and the combo makes it much easier to hone in on what I'm looking for.

@TheMacWhisperer 4 күн бұрын

Yeah, without a doubt I left a ton out. If you see some of my other recent notes and reminders videos I talk all about how to use tags and smart lists to really sort and organize things properly. The purpose of this video was more about a global overview comparing the two, rather than a "how to" on any of their major functions. Have you seen my other videos on both of them?

@fdecca64 7 күн бұрын

Love this comparison video!! Brilliant - I give it 5 STEVES!

@TheMacWhisperer 7 күн бұрын

Thanks! It was a lot of fun to make and I’m thinking of which other comparisons we can do… Thanks for watching!

@jamesashby4334 8 күн бұрын

You can create a reminder from a note by highlighting text in a note then using the share sheet. The resulting reminder includes a link to the note. Unfortunately the note does not have a link to the reminder.

@TheMacWhisperer 8 күн бұрын

Awesome tip!!!

@AlanLarkin5063 7 күн бұрын

I also found a shortcut in the Shortcuts library, but when I tap on it, it creates a new quick note with the day, date, and time, already inserted right at the header of the new note, which I really like a lot. Which saves me a lot of time.

@nathan6899 7 күн бұрын

Great video, thanks. I love both of these apps and would go as far as saying they are probably in my top 5 used apps. Add voice memos with these two and you have 3 FREE powerful productivity apps that are more than good enough for most people. HOWEVER, one of the biggest flaws with  notes is the fact that you can’t recover previous versions of notes. This means if you accidentally delete part of a note then come out of it, when you go back into it, the deleted info is gone and you can’t get it back. (The option to ‘undo’ isn’t available once you come out of the note). Other than that both excellent apps (IMO).

@TheMacWhisperer 7 күн бұрын

You are correct about that "flaw". My fix is to be careful about what you do in notes, and keep a Backup Copy of critical notes. And yes, Voice Memos are an important part of the puzzle... so is the Files App!

@mohammadd4792 7 күн бұрын

A few days ago, I discovered your channel and found it very helpful. Recently, I bought an iPad Air 2024 11-inch for education. I am not familiar with Apple products because I am an Android user. So, I request you to please make a series on "How to set up and use iPad for Beginners". For which purpose apps are used and how to use them as a student.

@TheMacWhisperer 7 күн бұрын

It’s a good topic. I will start putting it together…

@mohammadd4792 6 күн бұрын

@@TheMacWhispererThank you! I am waiting for this series.

@Gudbrand57 7 күн бұрын

Why can’t Reminders be integrated as point list in Notes?

@TheMacWhisperer 6 күн бұрын

It's just not the way it's made. Maybe in a future update? But until then...

@carlharvey7098 7 күн бұрын

Thank you so much for this! Excellent video😊

@TheMacWhisperer 7 күн бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching.

@user-qi9wy4jv7z 4 күн бұрын

So good for you brain 🧠 Especially at my age NOT

@TheMacWhisperer 4 күн бұрын

I'm not sure I understand your comment. Please elaborate.

@AlanLarkin5063 7 күн бұрын

Nice video. I’ve been using Notes and Reminders a lot more, as I learn more. Would you be willing to do a video just for “ #Tags ” ? How to use tags in Reminders and Notes. I have watched a lot of videos on the use of them and still don’t get it. I was hoping it would help me in searching my notes, especially. It says that it automatically creates tags in notes but yet I never really ever see any. Hi, also see there’s a place for tags inside of Reminders and assuming that they have to be manually made there? But my main interest in tags, was hoping that it would help me keep track of the people and be able to search for them quickly, in notes, Reminders , in calendar ,that I deal with in business. in my notes, And help me search my notes very quickly to find pertinent information containing with that business situation. I hope this doesn’t sound like a silly request. I’m hoping since you thoroughly explain things is such an easy to understand way, that may be if you did a video on tags and searching tags and how they’re made, example, do you make the tag First had the beginning of the note or afterwards or during? It definitely does not auto generate tags from my experience. I guess what I’m really asking, can you tie calendar, reminders, and notes together using tags and how is it done? At that point, how do you use the tags when searching? I see people and videos talking about it, but they never explain how you do it? Most of my work is getting done on my iPhone and iOS and then later polished up on my Mac when I get home. I’m sure I’m not the only person that doesn’t understand, tagging or tags and how to use them together with Calendar, Reminders, Notes?

@TheMacWhisperer 7 күн бұрын

Tags are a super complicated concept that most people get wrong. Tags exist on the Mac in the Finder, in notes, and in reminders… But they don’t connect to each other at all. You can have the same tags in multiple places, but they work differently in each each separate app. Which is a little annoying… But most people overuse tags (just look at any Instagram post) And if you were to do that with your Apple products, you would make a mess of things rather than simplifying them. Make sure to check the recent notes and reminders videos I’ve made because many of them touch upon tags… But I am happy to make a video just about tags because I think it’s a great topic. Thanks for watching.

@AlanLarkin5063 7 күн бұрын

Wow, thank you for the reply. That’s pretty cool. Thanks for the explanation and I guess I won’t be adding so many tags to things. I used to go to the Notes app and go to the top and search from there on my phone, but I actually found it easier to search online phone just by swiping down and letting spotlight do the search for me; which pretty much searches everywhere and I get to choose what I open and where. By the way, thank you for The work that you put into these videos 👍

@TheMacWhisperer 7 күн бұрын

I love spotlight, but it is too global for me. It's like looking for a red sock and being told about the history of socks over the millenia... just too many results. If I know it is a note, I go there first. Plus, I like to "Sort" and know where things are rather than searching whenever possible. Tags can help, but they can also make you crazy. Not everything neeeds to be a tag. There should only be a handful. And the most helpful thing about tags is that they can find things across multiple folders and subfolders. So where I have all my recipes sorted by type in a dozen different subfolders, by having a tag called "recipes" I can find them all in one click rather than going from folder to folder. Great discussion, and I already started planning a tags video so keep your eyes out for that in the next few weeks. In the meantime, thank you so much for watching and commenting!

@RalphHueske 7 күн бұрын

Great video. Thanks for all the information. I look forward to more!

@TheMacWhisperer 7 күн бұрын

Thanks for watching!

@thewebstylist 8 күн бұрын

Great video comparisons!

@TheMacWhisperer 8 күн бұрын

Thanks for watching!!!

@froufroufeatherstone6291 8 күн бұрын

Thank you for this video.

@TheMacWhisperer 8 күн бұрын

My pleasure! Glad you enjoyed it!!!

@baconmike67 7 күн бұрын

What a bizarre comparison. Apples and oranges are more comparable than Notes and Reminders. It's like comparing a post-it note to a loose leaf binder. So when you put some info into an Apple Note, how do you remember it's there and needs action? Maybe set a reminder? 😉 When I do a brain dump into an Apple Note, I actually do create a Reminder so I know it's there and needs action. Reminders is not intended to be a Note-taking app and Notes isn't intended to be a to-do list, even though you can keep a to-do list in Notes - but there's nothing to prompt you to return to those actions. Being able to set a reminder to re-visit a note would be a game-changer. Wait a minute... near the end of the video you say they aren't comparable.... doesn't that negate the first 15 minutes? lol

@TheMacWhisperer 6 күн бұрын

I agree with you 100%, but over the last 5 years this is the question I get more than anythign else about Notes and Reminders. People are constantly asking which one to use. My hope was that this video could shine some light on how different there are and explain to use one vs the other. But you are right, they are totally different tools...

@NinoTheCorso 7 күн бұрын

Great video.

@TheMacWhisperer 7 күн бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it

@NinoTheCorso 7 күн бұрын

@@TheMacWhisperer I'm trying to come up w a system for work of what docs/files to save in apple notes, vs in Files. Maybe xls in Files and everything else in Notes... dunno

@uwemaier7294 7 күн бұрын

Well done, MacWhisperer. I wish, there was another category referring to integration. How can i link to other apps, especially link notes to reminders and vice versa. This point is a bit frustrating for me due to lack of skills ;-) Also in ingegration i would consider automation. Best regards, Uwe

@TheMacWhisperer 7 күн бұрын

In a word, you can link a note to a reminder, but you cannot link a reminder to a note. There are several ways to link a note to a reminder, my favorite is from the phone by telling Siri. “remind me about this“ while you are on a note. You can also use the share button or copy and paste things from a note directly into a reminder… But not the other way around. I don’t do it very often, because to me notes and reminders are very different things and it’s rare that I need to be reminded about a note, but it happens.

@bigmig4574 7 күн бұрын

Great video thank you. Curious if anyone else having issues with search on notes now. Used to be fantastic but I find that it has become extremely unreliable and misses notes in search even when have also set whole title of a note in the search.

@TheMacWhisperer 7 күн бұрын

I still think that notes searching is pretty good… Occasionally, after a new update on my phone or computer it may get a little sloppy, but there are some fixes for that that you could do. The problem is that searching while great is never as good as sorting. The more notes you have the more you need other tools whether it’s tags or folders or some folders to be able to keep track of all of the separate pieces. I see search issues, most notably, with people who have everything in one folder rather than separated. Because the indexing on that one folder gets complicated… You should definitely be using tags to help organize, folders, and some folders to simplify, and searching only when there’s no other way to easily find it. At least that’s my philosophy. Where were you seeing the search issues the most? On your phone, computer or iPad? And do you have separate folders and tags?

@bigmig4574 7 күн бұрын

@@TheMacWhisperer Mate can I firstly say what a pleasant surprise for you to read comment and to take the time to reply with so much detail ! I use a combo of Folders and Tags to organise and am noticing search missing notes on iPad & MacBook. Actually got so frustrating this week I have switched my note taking to Bear Notes which am pretty impressed with though am still a fan of Apple Notes particularly with the new teaks coming in IOS 18 & Sequoia. Thanks again 🙂

@TheMacWhisperer 4 күн бұрын

How frustrating! There are two major reasons why I see search in effective for notes. 1. Everything is in one folder rather than sorted. This is a super common issue, and the index just gets overwhelmed with all the information. Sorting things into folders can generally solve this issue. 2. On the computer the index can sometimes get corrupted. You can easily reset it by going into your applications folder and opening "Terminal" and copying and pasting the text I will share at the bottom of this link. When you do that it will completely reset the index and almost always solve searching issues. Here's the command. Paste it exactly like this into Terminal, and hit return. It will ask you for your password for the computer, and it will reset the index. sudo mdutil -E /

@Will_Roman7 8 күн бұрын

they both have their strengths . I use reminders for short term and notes to for long term notes.

@TheMacWhisperer 8 күн бұрын

Absolutely, there’s no right app to use. It just depends on the project… The video was really made to just highlight the strengths and weaknesses of both of them, but you’re right, they serve different purposes.

@rjmcneely8545 6 күн бұрын

Why can’t you just add a reminder date to a Note? Is it too obvious and simple. If Google keep can do it"………….

@TheMacWhisperer 6 күн бұрын

It's just not the way Notes was made... technically you can axd a note to a reminder, but it isn't necessary... reminders is a much better system to be reminded by than notes... and notes is a much better note-taking system than reminders. Sometimes it's best when separate tools have their own strong functionality... a swiss army knife is great, but not when you need a steak knife.

@rjmcneely8545 6 күн бұрын

I agree with you. What I hear is that Notes was made poorly. Especially if best answer is “that’s just the way they made it. My question is why not make it more useful for users.

@TheMacWhisperer 4 күн бұрын

OK… That's not quite what I said but I understand that that's what you heard. Notes is not for reminding… That's not how it's made. There may be integration in the future, but to me notes and reminders serve completely different purposes and notes is a phenomenal program for NOTES. It is amazing at keeping track of documents, links, recipes, travel arrangements and all sorts of other information. Reminders is phenomenal for doing reminding. For keeping track of lists, for managing projects, and for getting specific reminders about specific tasks. I don't want notes to be a reminding system… In many cases, the more you pile into one app the less it does the specific things it needs to properly. For me notes doesn't need to remind me, I have reminders for that… Notes is there for me to store information, documents and have quick access to them.

@Gudbrand57 7 күн бұрын

…..but keep it simple. Don’t take an Evernote🙄

@TheMacWhisperer 6 күн бұрын

So true. Evernote is barely hanging on by a thread at this point.