February 19, 2025
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How to
#tasks #integrations

How to integrate Apple Reminders with Morgen

John
Software Development

Integrate Apple Reminders with Morgen to effortlessly plan and time block Reminders directly in your calendars. This is a local integration for macOS.

In this guide, learn how to:

  • Integrate Apple Reminders with Morgen
  • Effectively time block your Reminders in your calendar

Integration requirements

Because this is a local integration for macOS, you will need Morgen installed on the same macOS device as your Reminders.

Connect Morgen and Apple Reminders

To add this integration, from the Morgen desktop app:

  • Click on your profile photo or initials in the bottom left corner
  • From the menu, select Preferences
  • Under Local Integrations, select Apple Reminders

Select Apple Reminders from the local integration options.

From there, click on the Connect button.

You will then be prompted to grant Morgen permission to access your Apple Reminders. Select “Allow” in the pop-up.

To grant Morgen permission to access your Reminders, select Allow.

Alternatively, you can select "Don't allow", then from your device's Privacy and Security settings > select Reminders > then toggle on Morgen's access.

Alternatively, approve Morgen in your Privacy and Security settings.

Once you've connected your account, you will now see an Apple Reminders tab in your Morgen task panel.

Once connected, an Apple Reminders tab will be added to your task panel on Morgen desktop.

Sync Reminders from other devices (optional)

To see your Reminders on other devices, you must have Apple Reminders synced via iCloud. Ensure all devices are logged in and synced to the same Apple account.

If you're syncing to a mobile device (iPhone and/or iPad), note the integration is importing from your macOS Reminders instance. As a result, only Reminder properties available on desktop will be visible in Morgen. This means the additional properties available on the Reminders mobile app will not sync to Morgen, including tags, flagging reminders, images, etc.

See shared lists in Morgen

If you want to see Reminders from shared lists, there are syncing limitations. If you are not the owner of the list, when you mark a Reminder as complete in Morgen, the change will only be reflected in your instance of the shared list and not in the owner's. If however, you own the list and are logged in with that account on Morgen, when you mark a Reminder as complete in Morgen, the status update will be reflected in the shared list and be visible to all collaborators.

Time block Apple Reminders in your calendar

Once connected, your Reminders will be visible in your task list. You can start time blocking by scheduling Reminders in your calendar in two ways. Manually drag them from the list and drop into the calendar, or use the AI Planner to recommend when to schedule those Reminders.

Reminders are easily distinguishable in your calendar. Like all tasks, they are transparent and have an open check box on them (until you mark it as complete). Additionally, they will have the Reminders icon in the upper right corner.

Distinguish Reminders from other scheduled tasks by the icon in the upper right corner.

You can adjust the duration of these Reminders in your calendar by dragging the bottom border up or down. Alternatively, if you include duration in the Reminder name, Morgen will appropriately size it when added to the calendar. To do so, add a duration tag such as [1h] or [30m] for 1 hour or 30 minutes respectively (ex. Book dentist appointment [10m] or Renew passport [2h]). Otherwise, the duration of your Reminders will default to 30 minutes or, if using the AI Planner, your selected default duration.

Once you've completed the task, click on the empty check box. By doing so:

  • the Reminder will be archived and removed from your task list
  • a check mark will be added to the scheduled task in your calendar
  • the status will be updated to complete in Apple Reminders

Tune your time blocking settings

Once you have a feel for time blocking Reminders in Morgen, you may want to adjust your settings.

You can do so from the General Preferences menu (open with shortcut P). There you can select:

  • Your default calendar: Your default calendar for tasks is where your Reminders will be scheduled. You can always adjust this manually when open the details of your scheduled task.
  • Whether scheduled Reminders should be busy: Set the transparency of scheduled tasks to busy or free. This impacts whether scheduled Reminders should be reflected in your availability (ex. scheduling links). This can always be adjusted on a case-by-case basis.
  • Privacy levels: If others have visibility into your calendar (ex. colleagues), you can decide whether scheduled tasks should be private or public (in the case of the former, no one else can see the details of your scheduled Reminder).
Adjust your time blocking settings in the General Preferences menu.

Additionally, for those Reminders with a due date, you can choose to display those in your calendar. Morgen treats due dates as distinct from time blocked tasks - the former reflects when the task must be completed, whereas the latter reflects when you'll work on the task.

Due dates, visualized with a grey finish line icon, appear in the all-day section of your calendar unless they also have an associated time. In the latter instance, they will appear in the calendar at the appropriate time. These due dates are not added to your underlying calendar and are simply visual queues of what's coming due. If you find these due dates distracting, you can turn off the “Manage due dates” option from the task preferences menu. (Learn more about how to use due dates in Morgen in this guide.)

Finally, you can decide how to view Reminders in your task list. To do so, at the top of the task panel, click the “View” button at the bottom right of your list of integrations. Here, you can choose how to order and group Reminders (ex. by list, priority, etc.) and the information you want displayed.

Have feedback?

This integration is currently in Beta. If you have feedback or related feature requests, please share that with us in Discord or in our public feature requests.

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