iOS scheduling and calendar integration with a twist
January 5, 2025 6:48 PM Subscribe
Is it possible to create an event on a specific calendar in calendar.app and have it auto generate an entry on a to do list in reminders.app? Twist: multiple devices including a very locked down iPhone is in the mix.
My partner has a very locked down iPhone for work (doctor, super locked down) She cannot share much of anything between work laptop (IBM), work phone (iOS) and personal iphone/ipad…there’s no Dropbox, no Files.app, no Google apps, no logging into gmail/Google from the work devices.
We’ve managed to create a calendar in the native iOS app that we can see on her work and personal phones, as well as on her personal iPad. What she’d like to do is to be able to block out time on her Calendar on any device, and have that auto generate an entry on a to-do list in her personal ios ecosystem. Right now she can make an event on a calendar on her work or personal phones and see it everywhere, but she wants to make an event on any device and also have it auto generate an entry on a given To-Do list in the Reminders app as well.
So the workflow would be Create Event on VerySpecificCalendar->Save Event->when event appears in personal iOS->Auto create entry in VerySpecificRemindersList.
Is this possible using only native apps (like Shortcuts?) or does she need something like IFTTT? She’s all up to date on latest versions everywhere, all very new devices. Ideally there should be no new apps to subscribe to, but if there is one, which is the most universally useful?
My partner has a very locked down iPhone for work (doctor, super locked down) She cannot share much of anything between work laptop (IBM), work phone (iOS) and personal iphone/ipad…there’s no Dropbox, no Files.app, no Google apps, no logging into gmail/Google from the work devices.
We’ve managed to create a calendar in the native iOS app that we can see on her work and personal phones, as well as on her personal iPad. What she’d like to do is to be able to block out time on her Calendar on any device, and have that auto generate an entry on a to-do list in her personal ios ecosystem. Right now she can make an event on a calendar on her work or personal phones and see it everywhere, but she wants to make an event on any device and also have it auto generate an entry on a given To-Do list in the Reminders app as well.
So the workflow would be Create Event on VerySpecificCalendar->Save Event->when event appears in personal iOS->Auto create entry in VerySpecificRemindersList.
Is this possible using only native apps (like Shortcuts?) or does she need something like IFTTT? She’s all up to date on latest versions everywhere, all very new devices. Ideally there should be no new apps to subscribe to, but if there is one, which is the most universally useful?
Response by poster: She’s on the latest versions all around, auto update everywhere.
posted by nevercalm at 9:29 AM on January 6
posted by nevercalm at 9:29 AM on January 6
I played around with Shortcuts today and couldn't figure this out. This is perhaps a question you should put to Youtuber Stephen Robles who frequently takes Shortcut requests from the public and solves them for free.
I have to say that as I tried to solve this, part of the issue might have been that I could not understand the reason for it. Are you able to explain why someone would need this?
If it's just a matter of having everything in one place, the generic Apple Calendar app on iOS already displays calendar and reminders together in the Today view, as does the Calendar widget.
posted by dobbs at 5:28 PM on January 6
I have to say that as I tried to solve this, part of the issue might have been that I could not understand the reason for it. Are you able to explain why someone would need this?
If it's just a matter of having everything in one place, the generic Apple Calendar app on iOS already displays calendar and reminders together in the Today view, as does the Calendar widget.
posted by dobbs at 5:28 PM on January 6
Response by poster: I admit I've tried to talk her out of it myself, but Super Type A people want what Super Type A people want. She's a physician and a professor and a researcher writing papers, so she wants a list of stuff in the reminders app so she can prioritize research, and she also wants to schedule reading/writing time on specific materials/topics/projects. So she wants the two apps to talk and to not have to do multiple entries, and ideally to be able to hack something together to kind of tiptoe around all the security of her workplace tech, all of it available to her really kind of anywhere, whether she's just walking out of a procedure and only has her work phone or whether she's got all the devices with her at the same time. And honestly as the household IT guy, now I've got a bug in my craw about why this isn't something she can just do.
As for the why of it, I think it's driven by the really hyper-locked-down nature of work provided gear...she's already wrestling with not being able to join projects and zoom calls that are initiated to her corporate/hospital email due to security and having to re-request links and invites over and over because of that, so I think the simpler everything can be with the iPad/iPhone setup the better. Essentially the iPad part of this whole workflow exists because she was carrying two laptops everywhere just to be able to do her regular work, so the more intuitive we can get everything the better off she'll be.
And to explain the security, she's in patient files all day every day...so it's as restricted as you might want to be for your own data. It's actually reassuring to see, as a person who consumes medical services, to think that my Dr might be forced to be this conscientious, but I've also seen how frustrating the non-patient facing aspects of the job become as a result.
posted by nevercalm at 2:43 PM on January 7
As for the why of it, I think it's driven by the really hyper-locked-down nature of work provided gear...she's already wrestling with not being able to join projects and zoom calls that are initiated to her corporate/hospital email due to security and having to re-request links and invites over and over because of that, so I think the simpler everything can be with the iPad/iPhone setup the better. Essentially the iPad part of this whole workflow exists because she was carrying two laptops everywhere just to be able to do her regular work, so the more intuitive we can get everything the better off she'll be.
And to explain the security, she's in patient files all day every day...so it's as restricted as you might want to be for your own data. It's actually reassuring to see, as a person who consumes medical services, to think that my Dr might be forced to be this conscientious, but I've also seen how frustrating the non-patient facing aspects of the job become as a result.
posted by nevercalm at 2:43 PM on January 7
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posted by dobbs at 6:04 AM on January 6