Diurnal and Apple Reminders
Reminders is a list that nudges you. It is on your iPhone, your Watch and your Mac already, it costs nothing, and for groceries and “call the dentist at four” it is hard to beat. Diurnal is a planning overlay: ⇧⌘A over any app, one line typed, filed on a day beside your meetings.
The difference is the day. Reminders shows you what is due. Diurnal shows you the hours you actually have left, with your Google Calendar drawn into them.
Side by side
| Diurnal | Reminders | |
|---|---|---|
| Shows your whole day in the overlay | ||
| Shows your Google Calendar events | ||
| Comes installed with macOS | ||
| Creates calendar events | ||
| Works without any account | ||
| Shares a list with other people | ||
| Has a built-in focus timer | ||
| Runs on iPhone and Apple Watch |
The day, not the list
Connect Google Calendar and your meetings and your tasks sit on one timeline, so the question stops being what is due and becomes what fits. Type /cal to book an event, or edit one you already have, without opening a browser.
Capture is ⇧⌘A over whatever you are in, or ⇧⌘L to speak it. A focus timer runs 25 and 5 with a longer break every fourth round, and finished rounds land in the Log.
Where Reminders is the better answer
It is everywhere and it costs nothing. It is on the iPhone in your pocket, the Watch on your wrist and the Mac on your desk, it syncs through iCloud with no setup, and Siri adds to it hands free. Diurnal is a Mac app that requires an account, which is a real cost against an app you already have.
It also does things we do not: location reminders, shared lists a household can edit, and smart lists.
Which one suits you
Stay with Reminders if what you need is a list that follows you onto a phone and a Watch, or if you share lists with family. It is genuinely good at that and nothing here suggests replacing it.
Pick Diurnal if your problem is the shape of the day rather than remembering items, your calendar is Google, and you plan on a Mac.
Questions
- Why use Diurnal when Reminders comes with the Mac?
- For the day rather than the list. ⇧⌘A opens your tasks, your Google meetings and a timeline together, over whatever you were doing.
- Does Diurnal show my Google Calendar?
- Yes, directly. Your meetings draw beside your tasks on one timeline, and /cal books a new event without a browser.
- Which platforms does Diurnal run on?
- Macs, today, on macOS 15 or later. Reminders is on every Apple device you own, which is a real advantage.
Other comparisons
Facts about Reminders were checked in . Software changes; if something here has gone out of date, it is a mistake rather than a position.