In this chapter, you learn how to use the iPad’s Calendar and Reminders apps to manage your schedule and to-do lists.
Sometimes it’s tough to keep track of your time. How are you supposed to juggle all the various things you’re supposed to do—appointments, events, and everything that’s on your to-do list?
Fortunately, you can use your iPad to help you manage just about everything on your schedule. Use the Calendar app to manage your appointments and events, and the Reminders app to track all the items on your to-do list.
Apple’s Calendar app was included with your iPad. Use the Calendar app to track everything you have on your schedule—what the app calls events.
From the Home screen, tap the Calendar icon to open the Calendar app.
Tap the Day tab to view a daily schedule. Scroll down to view times later in the day.
Swipe the calendar to the left to view the next day.
Swipe the calendar to the right to view the previous day.
Tap a specific date at the top of the calendar to view events for that day.
Tap a specific event on the calendar to view details about that event.
Tap Delete Event to delete the selected event.
Tap the Week tab to view all events this week.
Swipe the calendar to the left to view the next week.
Swipe the calendar to the right to view the previous week.
Tap an event to view details about that event.
Tap the Month tab to view all events this month.
Scroll down the page to view events in the future.
Tap an event to view details about that event.
Tap the Year tab to view a yearly calendar.
Tap within a given month to view that monthly calendar.
By default, the Calendar app imports important dates from your contacts list—birthdays, anniversaries, and the like. It also creates events for major national holidays. (These show up in color shading.)
The real value of the Calendar app, of course, is evident when you add your own events to the calendar. You can add events for meetings, parties, sports games—you name it.
From within the Calendar app, navigate to the day, week, or month you want and then tap the New (+) icon.
Tap within the Title field and add the name of this event.
Tap within the Location field and enter the location of this event. (This information is optional; the more detail you include—such as the street address—the better.)
If this event lasts all day, tap on the All-Day switch. Otherwise…
Tap the Starts field to expand the panel.
Use the spin control to select the date of the event.
Use the spin control to select the start time of the event. (The date, hour, minutes, and AM/PM controls spin separately.)
If necessary, select the appropriate time zone for the event.
Tap the Ends field to select the end date and time for the event.
If you need to travel to this event, tap Travel Time and add the appropriate travel time.
Tap Add to add this event to your calendar.
Some events repeat. For example, you might have a standing golf match every Saturday morning, or a neighborhood meeting the first Monday of each month. Fortunately, the Calendar app lets you create recurring events.
From within the Calendar app, create a new event as normal and then tap the Repeat field.
Tap how often this event recurs—Every Day, Every Week, Every 2 Weeks, Every Month, or Every Year.
If the occurrence is more complex, tap Custom.
Tap Frequency to select how often the event recurs—Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or Yearly.
Tap Every to determine how the event recurs—every 1, 2, 3, or so days, weeks, months, or years.
If you selected Weekly frequency, select which day(s) of the week this event recurs.
If you selected Monthly frequency, select which day(s) of the month this event recurs. Or…
Tap On The and select which day(s) you want (First Sunday of the month, Second Thursday of the month, and so forth).
If you selected Yearly frequency, select which month(s) of the year and days of the week this event recurs.
Tap the back arrow to return to the Repeat panel, then again to return to the New Event panel.
Tap the End Repeat field, unless the event is ongoing. (If it’s ongoing—that is, if it doesn’t have a set end date—don’t tap End Repeat, and skip steps 12 and 13.)
Use the spin controls to select the last date this event occurs. (If the event is ongoing, skip steps 12 and 13.)
Tap the back arrow to return to the New Event panel and finish creating the event. Tap Add when done.
Sometimes you want to be notified when an event is coming up. Maybe you need a full day to prepare for a big event, or just a five-minute reminder to let you know what you need to do next. You can add alerts to any event you create in the Calendar app.
From within the Calendar app, create a new app as normal and then tap the Alert field.
Tap when you want to be alerted, anywhere from at the time of the event to 1 week before. Your iPad displays an alert for this event at the designated time.
Some events are personal. Others are quite public, involving lots of other people. (We’re talking meetings, parties, and the like.) With the Calendar app you can invite your friends and family to new events you create, so they’ll have these events on their calendars, too.
From within the Calendar app, create a new event as normal and then tap the Invitees field.
From within the Add Invitees panel, tap the To field and enter the name or email address of the person you want to invite.
Alternatively, tap the + to display and select from people in your contacts list.
This person is added to the invite list. Repeat steps 2 and 3 to add more invitees.
Tap Done. Each invitee is sent an email inviting them to your event.
I have trouble remembering things. Always have—it’s not an age thing. As such, I can use all the help I can get to help me track all the various things I need to do.
Apple’s Reminders app, included with your iPad, lets you create a digital to-do list containing all the various tasks and chores you need to remember. Add an item to the Reminders list and you’ll be prompted (or nagged, as the case may be) to complete that task.
By default, upcoming and past-due reminders are displayed in the Reminders widget on your iPad’s Cover Sheet screen (on your Lock screen). You can also review them all in the Reminders app itself.
From the Cover Sheet screen, tap a reminder to view it in the Reminders app. Or…
From the Home screen, tap the Reminders icon to open the Reminders app.
Tap Reminders to view items you have not yet completed.
Tap Scheduled to view items you want to complete by a given date.
Tap the circle next to a given item to mark that item as completed.
Change the Order
To change the order of the items in your Reminders list, tap Edit at the top of the list and then tap and drag any item to a new position.
Adding a new item to your reminders list is as easy as adding a new event to your calendar.
From within the Reminders app, tap Reminders.
Tap next to the + within the reminders list and enter the item you need reminding of.
Tap Done.
To add an item that has a set completion date, tap Scheduled.
Tap next to the + within the scheduled list and enter the item you need reminding of.
Tap the Information (i) icon to display the Details pane.
Tap the Alarm field and select a day and time for the completion of this item.
If this is a high-priority item, go to the Priority section and tap from one to three exclamation marks (!).
Tap Done.
>>>Go Further: USE SIRI
Instead of entering events and reminders manually, you can use Siri to create new items for both the Calendar and Reminders apps.
To add a calendar event, activate Siri and speak as much information as you know about the event. Say something like, “Schedule a meeting Monday at 3:00 at the Mounds Conference Center” or “Create an event on Tuesday the 29th at 4 pm.”
To add a reminder, activate Siri and speak about the task. Say something like, “Remind me to pick up milk on the way home” or “Remember to pay the rent on the first of the month.”
As you’ve seen, it’s easy enough to mark an item as completed; when completed, the item no longer shows in the Reminders list. But what about items that you haven’t completed and don’t want to show any more? Fortunately, they’re easy to delete.
From within the Reminders app, tap Reminders.
Tap Edit at the top of the reminders list.
Tap the red – next to the item you want to delete. The event slides left and you see additional controls.
Tap Delete. The item is deleted.