How to Use Flags vs Priority vs Tags in Apple Reminders
Apple Reminders flags vs priority vs tags is single-state pin vs four-level urgency vs multi-value labels: flags mark, priority ranks, tags categorize.
I spent two years confusing these three signals. Flagged everything that felt important. Set Priority High on tasks I just wanted to think about later. Tagged things with #urgent that weren't urgent at all. The result was a Reminders database where search returned nothing useful and Smart Lists pulled in noise. The fix took 30 minutes. Once I understood that flags, priority, and tags do three completely different jobs, the system started behaving. This guide is the decision tree I wish I'd had on day one. Ultra Reminders respects all three signals when it builds your AI-generated daily plan, so getting the foundation right matters even more if you're using it.
What you'll achieve
By the end of this guide you'll know exactly when to flag, when to set priority, and when to tag. You'll have a working decision tree that takes under 1 second per task. Your search and Smart Lists will start surfacing real signal instead of noise. And honestly, you'll feel less guilty about your task list because the visual cues will mean what they say.
What you'll need
- Apple Reminders on Mac, iPhone, or iPad (works the same on all three)
- macOS 14 Sonoma or later (older versions don't support tags)
- About 30 minutes to read this and audit your existing tasks
- A willingness to undo two years of bad habits in one afternoon
Step 1: Understand what each signal does
Three signals, three different jobs. Get this distinction right and the rest is easy.
Flags are a single-state pin. A task is either flagged or not. There's no "level" of flag. The flag exists to mark something as needing your attention without ranking it against other tasks. Apple intends flags as a "deal with this soon" marker.
Priority is a four-level rank: None, Low, Medium, High. Priority is for ordering tasks within a list when you have a long queue. High priority tasks float to the top of the default sort.
Tags are multi-value labels. A task can have zero tags or twenty. Tags categorize: #work, #errands, #waiting, #call, #project-x. Tags don't rank or pin; they group.
In one sentence: flags mark, priority ranks, tags categorize.
"I treated all three the same for years. Flagged everything, set everything to High Priority, tagged everything #urgent. My Today view was 40 items. Useless. Once I got the distinction, my Today view dropped to 5 items and the work got done."
- paraphrased from r/macapps, February 2026
Step 2: Use flags for "deal with this soon"
Flag a task when you want to come back to it within a day or two but don't want to date it yet.
Use cases:
- A reply you owe but haven't drafted
- A task you're waiting to discuss with someone before deciding when
- An item you want to revisit at end of day
- Anything that should appear on your "Flagged" Smart List for review
Don't flag:
- Every task you create (defeats the purpose)
- Things that are properly dated (the date IS the marker)
- Things that should just be deleted
A good rule: at any moment, you should have under 15 flagged items. If you have 50, the flag has lost its meaning. Audit and unflag aggressively.
Step 3: Use priority for ranking within a queue
Priority is for ordering tasks when a list has 30 items and you need to know which 3 to do first.
The four levels:
- None: default, most tasks
- Low: nice to do, no real cost if skipped
- Medium: should do this week, real consequence if missed
- High: must do today, this is the highest-stakes 3 items in your life right now
The trap most people fall into: setting everything High because everything feels important. If 80% of your tasks are High, none of them are. Reserve High for the genuine top 3 daily items. Use Medium and None for everything else. Low is mostly cosmetic.
Pair priority with a Smart List filter ("Priority is High") so you can pull up your top items instantly. See How to Set Up Smart Lists in Apple Reminders for the setup.
Step 4: Use tags for categories and contexts
Tags are multi-value labels that let you slice your tasks across lists. The hashtag syntax is built in: type #work anywhere in the title or notes and Reminders converts it to a tag.
Useful tag patterns:
- Context tags: #work, #personal, #errands, #home, #office
- Action-type tags: #call, #email, #read, #buy, #write
- Status tags: #waiting, #blocked, #review
- Project tags: #project-x, #q2-launch, #website-rebuild
A single task can have many tags. "Email Sundeep about Q4 numbers" might be #work, #email, #q4-planning. That's correct.
For the full tag system playbook, see How to Use Tags in Apple Reminders.
Step 5: Apply the decision tree
When you create or edit a task, ask three questions in this order:
- Does this need attention soon, but doesn't have a date? Flag it.
- Is this in the top 3 of my whole day? Set Priority High. Otherwise, leave it None.
- What categories does this belong to? Add 1 to 4 tags.
Total time per decision: under 5 seconds.
If you find yourself debating which tag to add, your tag taxonomy is too narrow. Add the obvious one and move on. You can always add more tags later during your weekly review.
If you find yourself flagging things "just in case," you don't need to flag them. The flag is for active attention, not insurance.
Step 6: Audit your existing tasks
Spend 20 minutes auditing your existing Reminders database. The goal is to fix the years of bad habits in one pass.
Open All Reminders. Sort by Flag. Look at every flagged item.
Ask: "Does this still need attention soon?" If no, unflag. If yes but it should have a date, add a date and unflag (date supersedes flag). You should end this pass with under 15 flagged items.
Next, sort by Priority. Look at every High priority task. Ask: "Is this genuinely top 3 of my life this week?" If no, demote to Medium or None. You should end with 3 to 5 High priority tasks total.
Finally, look at your tags. Open the tag browser in the sidebar. Look for tags with one or two items. Either delete those tags (unused) or merge them into a more general tag (#urgentish becomes #urgent or just no tag).
This audit is uncomfortable for the first 10 minutes because you'll see how many things you flagged "just in case." Push through it. The cleanup compounds.
Step 7: Set up Smart Lists for each signal
Now that the signals are clean, build three Smart Lists to use them:
Smart List 1: Flagged Review Filter: Flag is True. Use: open every Friday afternoon to triage what's been hanging.
Smart List 2: Top 3 Today Filter: Priority is High AND Date is Today. Use: morning view of what must get done. Should never have more than 3 items.
Smart List 3: This Week #waiting Filter: Tag is #waiting AND Date is This Week. Use: see who you're blocked on and whether you need to nudge them.
These three Smart Lists exercise all three signals. If you're not using all three signal types, you're leaving capability on the table.
Step 8: Avoid the common confusions
The four most common mistakes I see, and how to fix them.
Confusion 1: Using flag as priority. Flagging everything important means you can't tell what's actually urgent. Fix: flag means "soon, no date yet." Priority means "rank against other dated tasks." Different jobs.
Confusion 2: Using priority as a tag. Setting High Priority on a "future project" task because it feels important. Fix: tags categorize, priority ranks today's queue. Future projects get tags like #q2-goal, not High Priority.
Confusion 3: Using tags as flags. Tagging everything #urgent. Fix: a tag named #urgent is fine but should follow the same rules as Priority High. Reserve it for under 5 items at any time.
Confusion 4: Using flags as a "favorite" or bookmark. "I flag tasks I like." That's not the flag's job. Use a tag like #favorite or #idea for that.
"Honestly, my breakthrough was just realizing flag and priority are not the same thing. I'd been using them interchangeably for years. Took me 10 minutes to fix and the entire system suddenly made sense."
- paraphrased from r/productivity, December 2025
For the broader power-user system that makes flags, priority, and tags work together, see Apple Reminders for Power Users: The Complete System.
Common pitfalls
- Re-flagging during triage. If a task has a date set, don't flag it. The date is the signal. Flagging dated tasks creates Smart List collisions.
- Setting Priority Medium on everything. Medium becomes the new None. Use None for default, Medium sparingly, High very rarely.
- Tagging at capture time. Don't. Tag during your morning triage or weekly review. Capture should be under 1 second; tagging adds 5 to 10.
- Tag explosion. Hitting 80 tags in your taxonomy. Audit quarterly. Most people need 12 to 25 tags total.
- Mixing flag and high priority on the same task. Pick one signal. Two signals on the same task means neither is doing useful work.
Verification
Your system is working when:
- Your flagged Smart List has under 15 items.
- Your High Priority Smart List has 3 to 5 items.
- You can answer "what's the top thing today" in under 2 seconds.
- Search returns useful results because tags are clean.
If after a week none of these are true, audit again. The audit gets easier each time.
For other ways tags and Smart Lists combine, see 15 Smart List Recipes for Apple Reminders and the daily ritual in How to Plan Your Day in Apple Reminders.
FAQ
Q: Can a task have a flag and a priority at the same time?
A: Yes, technically. But it's usually redundant and creates Smart List collisions. Pick one signal per task. Flag for "needs attention soon, no date." Priority High for "this is in my top 3 today."
Q: Do flags sync between iPhone and Mac?
A: Yes. Flags sync via iCloud and appear identically across iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch. If a flag isn't appearing on another device, see Apple Reminders Not Syncing.
Q: Why does Apple have both flags and priority? Aren't they the same?
A: They're different by design. Flag is binary (yes or no) and visually marks a task in lists. Priority is ordinal (None, Low, Medium, High) and changes sort order. Apple intends them as complementary, not redundant.
Q: How many tags is too many?
A: For your taxonomy, more than 30 tags is usually a sign of fragmentation. Merge similar tags. For an individual task, 1 to 4 tags is typical. Some power users use 5 to 8 on complex project tasks. Above 10 tags on one task and you're using tags as notes.
Q: Should I delete tags that are unused?
A: Yes. Unused tags clutter the tag picker and make it slower to find the tags you actually use. During your weekly or monthly review, scan the tag list and delete anything that hasn't been used in 30 days.
Ultra Reminders solves stop confusing flags, priority, and tags so search actually works. Free 14-day trial at ultrareminders.com.