How I Created a Weekly Planner Using Apple Reminders

From paper planner to Apple Reminders: my weekly system

Fourteen years ago, I relied on a paper planner. Every Sunday, I would sit down with my Moleskine and map out the week ahead. The part I loved most was the weekly view — everything on one page, clear and simple.

When I moved to digital tools, I lost that feeling for a while. Most apps made things more complex than they needed to be. Over time, I rebuilt that same weekly clarity using Apple Reminders.

This is the system I use regularly. It is simple, flexible, and built entirely on Apple’s default apps.

Why Most Planning Systems Break

The problem is rarely the app. It is the lack of a clear system.

If everything goes into one long list, you end up scrolling instead of deciding. If you plan daily without structure, you react instead of focusing.

What helped me was separating capture, storage, and execution.

The Core System

This setup has four parts:

1. Inbox — where all new tasks go

2. My List — your main storage for tasks

3. Month — a focused list for the current month

4. Weekly Planner — your daily execution lists

You can skip the monthly layer, but I would not recommend it.

Planning the month first reduces friction during the week. Instead of reviewing everything repeatedly, you work from a smaller, focused list.

Step 1: Create Your Task Log (My List)

Start by creating a list called My List.

Inside it, create two sections:

• Later

• Month

This becomes your task log.

All incoming tasks land in Later. Nothing gets lost, but nothing demands attention yet.

Once a month, review this section and move selected tasks into Month.

From that point on, you only focus on the Month section. This reduces noise and makes weekly planning faster.

If you switch Apple Reminders to column view on iPad or Mac, you can see both sections side by side, which makes this process easier.

Step 2: Build Your Weekly Planner

Now create six lists:

• Monday

• Tuesday

• Wednesday

• Thursday

• Friday

• Weekend

These are your execution lists.

Next, group them:

• Drag one list onto another in the sidebar

• Rename the group to Weekly Planner

This keeps your week organized in one place as a folder. In Apple Reminders it’s called group btw.

Each week, you assign tasks from your Month section into these daily lists.

Step 3: Plan Your Week

At the start of the week:

• Open your Month section

• Decide what actually matters this week

• Organize tasks across your daily lists

This step is where the system starts working.

You are not planning from everything you could do. You are planning from what you already decided for this month.

Step 4: Use Widgets for Visibility

This is what brings back the feeling of a paper planner.

On iPad:

• Add a large Apple Reminders widget for each day

• Assign each widget to a specific list (Monday, Tuesday, etc.)

You can place multiple widgets on one Home Screen and see your entire week at once.

On iPhone, you can recreate a similar layout, depending on screen space.

This works because your plan is always visible. You do not need to open the app to remember what you decided.

Why This Works

This system is effective for a few reasons:

• You separate capturing from planning

• You reduce weekly decisions by planning monthly first

• You keep daily lists focused and realistic

• You always see your week at a glance

It is simple, but that is the point. Complexity usually breaks consistency.

Practical Summary

If you want to try this system, start here:

• Create an Inbox list for quick capture

• Create My List with Later and Month sections

• Review Later once a month and move tasks into Month

• Create daily lists and group them as Weekly Planner

• Plan your week from the Month section

• Add widgets to keep your week visible

Final Thoughts

This setup brought me back to what I liked about paper planners: clarity.

The tools changed, but the principle stayed the same — see your week in one place and focus on what matters.

Thanks for reading!

-Robin

I write weekly about Apple systems like this in my newsletter.