How-to

How to Use Hot Corners and Keyboard Shortcuts for Reminders

By Vyshakh Nair, Founder, Ultra Reminders · Updated May 10, 2026 · 8 min read
Part of the master guide: The Quick Capture Bible for Mac

Reminders keyboard shortcuts on Mac use Cmd+N for new task, Cmd+T for new section, and a custom Hot Corner or hotkey for one-press capture from anywhere on the screen.

Honestly, the people who fly through Reminders all share one thing: they almost never touch the trackpad. Cmd+N to create. Tab to indent. Enter to save. Hot Corner to summon the app. The whole capture-to-saved cycle is two seconds. Compare that to the trackpad path, which is closer to ten seconds and breaks your flow every single time. This guide is the keyboard-only Reminders setup, plus the Hot Corner trick that turns "open Reminders" into "flick the cursor to the corner".

What you'll achieve

A keyboard-first Reminders workflow on Mac where you never have to click. You'll know every shipped shortcut, you'll have a Hot Corner set up to summon the app instantly, and you'll know how to set a global hotkey for capture from anywhere on the OS (the part Apple does not ship by default, which third-party apps fill).

The end result is sub-3-second capture, every single time, from any app you happen to be in.

What you'll need

  • macOS 26 or later (most shortcuts work back to macOS 13, but some are new)
  • Reminders app open or installed (it's installed by default)
  • Optional: a third-party hotkey-capture tool like Ultra Reminders for the global capture from anywhere
  • A keyboard you actually like typing on. The whole point of this is keyboard-first.

Step 1: Learn the shipped Reminders shortcuts

Apple ships a small but useful set of keyboard shortcuts inside the Reminders app. Here's the full table as of macOS 26.1:

Shortcut Action
Cmd+N New reminder in current list
Cmd+L New list
Cmd+T New section in current list
Cmd+1 Today view
Cmd+2 Scheduled view
Cmd+3 All view
Cmd+4 Flagged view
Cmd+5 Completed view
Cmd+0 Show inbox/sidebar
Tab Indent reminder (make it a subtask)
Shift+Tab Outdent (move out of subtask)
Enter Save and create next reminder
Cmd+Enter Save and close
Cmd+I Show info pane (date, list, priority, tags)
Cmd+Shift+F Toggle flag
Cmd+, Open Settings
Cmd+F Find in Reminders
Cmd+Z Undo
Cmd+Shift+Z Redo
Cmd+Backspace Delete selected reminder
Cmd+Shift+G Show Today

Most people know Cmd+N. Most people don't know Cmd+T (new section), which is the one that makes inside-list organization fast. Hit Cmd+T, name the section, hit Enter, and you've got a new sub-bucket inside your list. Pair it with Tab to nest tasks under it.

"Took me three years on Reminders to discover Cmd+T for sections. Total game-changer for organizing a long list without making subtasks."

  • paraphrased from r/macapps, March 2026

Step 2: Set up a Hot Corner to summon Reminders

Hot Corners are Apple's "flick the cursor to a corner of the screen and trigger an action" feature. You can wire one to summon the Reminders app.

System Settings -> Desktop & Dock -> Mission Control -> Hot Corners (a button at the bottom).

You get four corners. Top-left, top-right, bottom-left, bottom-right. Each can trigger one action.

The default options are limited (Mission Control, Application Windows, Desktop, Notification Center, Lock Screen, Quick Note, etc.). Reminders is not in the default list.

The workaround: pick "Quick Note" for one corner. This isn't Reminders directly but it's an instant-capture flow into Notes that you can later convert to a reminder via Shortcuts. It's the cleanest "flick to capture" path that ships with macOS.

For the actual "Hot Corner -> open Reminders" path, you need a third-party app. Hot Corners app (free), BetterTouchTool ($10), or Raycast (free) all let you bind any application launch to any corner. Pick one, bind Reminders to a corner you don't use accidentally (top-left if you don't use Mission Control there), and you've got summon-by-cursor.

Step 3: Bind a global hotkey for new reminder

Apple does not ship a global "new reminder from anywhere" hotkey. This is the gap that frustrates power users the most.

The fix paths, in order of effort:

  1. Use Spotlight. Cmd+Space, type "remind me to buy bread tomorrow", hit Enter. Siri (via Spotlight) creates the reminder. Works system-wide, no third-party install. Slow if Spotlight is laggy.
  2. Use a Shortcut bound to a system-wide keyboard shortcut. Open Shortcuts, build a shortcut that runs "Add New Reminder" with Ask Each Time as the input. Right-click the shortcut, select "Add to Menu Bar" or assign it a global keyboard shortcut via System Settings -> Keyboard -> Keyboard Shortcuts -> App Shortcuts.
  3. Install a third-party capture app. Ultra Reminders ships with Cmd+Shift+. as the default global capture hotkey. Hit it from anywhere, capture window appears in 200ms, type, hit Enter, capture writes back to Apple Reminders via EventKit. This is the path most power users settle on.

For the broader quick capture playbook covering all the capture surfaces, the dedicated guide goes deeper.

Step 4: Build a keyboard-driven daily routine

The shortcuts only matter if they're part of a routine. Here's the loop that works:

  • Morning, 9am. Cmd+Space, type "Reminders", Enter. Hit Cmd+1 (Today view). Scan. Pick three.
  • Throughout the day. Cmd+Shift+. (or your global hotkey). Capture. Hit Enter. Move on.
  • Mid-afternoon, 2pm. Cmd+Space, "Reminders", Cmd+0 (sidebar), pick Inbox, scan and reassign anything dropped earlier.
  • Evening, 5pm. Cmd+1 (Today). Anything still incomplete, hit Cmd+I and bump the date.

Total time touching the trackpad: zero. The whole loop runs on keyboard alone.

Pair this with the daily task capture routine for the broader once-a-day cadence and you've got a system that scales.

Step 5: Set up Shortcuts as keyboard-driven helpers

Shortcuts is the Mac feature that takes the shortcuts story from "good" to "obsessive". Build small shortcuts for repeating patterns and bind them to Cmd+Option+ shortcuts.

Examples worth building:

  • Cmd+Option+R: New reminder in your "Inbox" list, asks for title, sets no date.
  • Cmd+Option+W: New reminder in your "Work" list, due today.
  • Cmd+Option+G: New reminder in your "Groceries" list, tagged #shopping.

Once these are bound, you don't even open Reminders. You hit a hotkey, type the title, the reminder lands in the right list with the right tag and date. Two seconds, blind.

The full Shortcuts automation guide has more of these patterns.

Step 6: Bind the menu bar app

For users who want a menu bar capture without a third-party app, the path is: build a Shortcut that calls "Add New Reminder", drag it into the macOS menu bar via Shortcuts -> right-click -> "Pin in Menu Bar". The shortcut becomes a clickable menu bar icon.

Click the icon, the shortcut runs, the capture dialog appears.

It's not as fast as a global hotkey but it's keyboard-friendly if you use the menu bar's keyboard shortcut (the option key + click pattern). Most people who try this end up moving to a dedicated menu bar capture app eventually, like the ones covered in Best Mac Menu Bar Task Apps, but the built-in path works.

For the Reminders widget setup which is the visual companion to the menu bar approach, see the dedicated guide.

Step 7: Practice for one week

Shortcuts only stick if you use them every day for at least a week. The first three days you'll keep reaching for the trackpad. By day five your fingers will start hitting Cmd+N before you think.

Force the habit by deliberately disabling the trackpad clicks for one day. Tap-to-click off, Force Click off. You'll discover all the places your workflow secretly relies on a click. Replace each one with a keyboard shortcut.

After a week the keyboard-first flow is natural and you save 10-30 minutes a day on Reminders interactions alone.

Common pitfalls

  • Cmd+N doesn't work. You're probably in the wrong app. Confirm Reminders is the frontmost window.
  • Tab doesn't indent your reminder into a subtask. You need to be on a reminder that has a parent reminder above it in the same list. Tab only works if there's something to indent under.
  • Hot Corner triggers when you're trying to click the dock. Move the trigger to a corner you don't use. Top-left is usually safest if you don't use Mission Control.
  • Spotlight "remind me to" creates a reminder with no date. You have to phrase it with a clear date: "remind me tomorrow at 6pm to buy bread". Spotlight's NLP is shallower than Siri's.
  • Your Shortcuts hotkey collides with another app. macOS warns you. Pick something less common. Cmd+Option+ combos are usually safe.

Verification

You know your setup is working when:

  • You can create a reminder, add a date, and dismiss the dialog without touching the trackpad.
  • Your global capture hotkey works from any app, even fullscreen ones.
  • The Hot Corner reliably opens Reminders (or your capture tool) within a second.
  • You haven't clicked "+ New Reminder" with the mouse in three days.

FAQ

Q: What's the fastest way to add a reminder without opening the Reminders app?

A: Spotlight (Cmd+Space) with the phrase "remind me to X tomorrow at Y" is the fastest no-install path. The fastest overall is a global hotkey from a third-party tool like Ultra Reminders, which gets you to a capture window in under 200ms.

Q: Does macOS have a default "open Reminders" Hot Corner?

A: No. You have to use a third-party app (Hot Corners, BetterTouchTool, Raycast) to bind app launches to corners. Apple's default Hot Corners only support a fixed list of system actions like Mission Control and Quick Note.

Q: Can I customize the keyboard shortcuts inside the Reminders app?

A: Partially. System Settings -> Keyboard -> Keyboard Shortcuts -> App Shortcuts lets you override or add menu-bar shortcuts for the Reminders app. You can't change shortcuts that aren't tied to a menu item (like Tab to indent).

Q: Is there a keyboard shortcut for setting a date on a reminder?

A: Cmd+I opens the info pane where you can tab through to the date field. There's no single keyboard shortcut to "set a date" directly. Most people who want this build a Shortcuts action that prompts for a date and creates the reminder with the date pre-set.

Q: Why does my global hotkey stop working in fullscreen apps?

A: Fullscreen apps capture all keyboard input by default. The fix depends on the capture tool. Ultra Reminders has a setting (Settings -> Hotkey -> Allow in Fullscreen) that grants it system-wide priority. Most third-party hotkey tools have a similar option.

Ultra Reminders solves capture without ever lifting a hand off the keyboard. Free 14-day trial at ultrareminders.com.