Kanban in Apple Reminders: when the column view is enough, and when you need a real board
How to build a Kanban board in Reminders (sections plus the column view), the honest list of where it runs out, and how a dedicated board like Hense fills the gaps.
The short answer. Apple Reminders can show a list as a Kanban board: add sections to a list and switch to the column view, on iPhone (since iOS 18), iPad, and Mac. It is free, already installed, and a good way to find out whether boards suit you. Its limit is that a list is still a list: columns are a display mode, with no board colors, no per-board labels, no board templates, and no board-to-board search. When you hit that, Hense is the dedicated board on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, free to start, that syncs through the same iCloud.
Start with Reminders. Really.
Nobody selling a Kanban app will tell you this, so here it is: you may not need one. Apple Reminders has been able to display a list as columns since iPadOS 17 and macOS Sonoma, and since iOS 18 on iPhone, and for a first board it is more than enough. It is free, it syncs through iCloud, it has notifications and Siri, and it is on your devices right now.
If you are new to boards, make one in Reminders and live with it for two weeks. If it keeps working, you are done and you saved $9.99. If you run into the limits below (most people do around the time they want a second board), the rest of this guide is for you.
How to make a Kanban board in Reminders
- Create a list (or open one) in Reminders. The column view is set per list.
- Add sections. Open the list’s menu (the three dots) and choose Manage Sections, or add a section from the toolbar. Name them for your stages: To Do, Doing, Done.
- Switch to the column view. From the same menu choose View as Columns. Each section becomes a column, and you drag reminders between them.
- Add reminders in the right column. Use due dates and the Today smart list as you normally would.
On iPhone the same steps work on iOS 18 or later (on iOS 17, iPhone shows sections as headings in a single list). The columns are narrow on a phone, and you scroll sideways between them, which is workable for a short list and tiring for a long one.
Where Reminders runs out
These are the limits that actually push people to a dedicated app, in the order they usually appear:
- Columns are a view, not a structure. The board is a display mode of a list. There is no board-level color, no board-scoped set of labels, and the list of lists in the sidebar does not read as a set of projects.
- Tags are global. Reminders tags work across everything, which is fine for a few and cluttered fast when each project wants its own set of three.
- Search is list-search. There is no way to ask “every reminder in the Waiting column across all my lists.”
- No board templates. To reuse a set of stages for a new project, you rebuild the sections by hand.
- Subtasks are subtasks. They work, but there is no progress badge on the item telling you 3 of 7 at a glance.
None of these are bugs. Reminders is a reminders app that can look like a board. The moment you want the board to be the thing, you want a board app.
What a dedicated board adds
Hense is built around the board rather than the list, which changes the things above:
- A board built for the phone: one full-width column per screen when you are checking in, the whole board zoomed out when you are planning, with drag and drop between columns. The iPhone guide shows both views.
- Boards are objects: each has a name, one of fifteen colors, and its own labels. The sidebar on iPad and Mac reads as your projects.
- Labels per board, so a client board and a home board do not share a tag namespace.
- Search that spans boards (Pro), with
label:andcolumn:filters, and results that scroll straight to the card. - Copy a board (Pro) to reuse its columns and labels as a template.
- Checklists with a progress badge on the card face, plus start and due dates, and photo or file attachments that open in place.
- The same iCloud sync, no account, so moving up from Reminders does not mean creating a login anywhere.
Where Reminders still wins
Be fair to the incumbent. Reminders has notifications, time and location alerts, and Siri, and Hense has none of those; Hense shows due dates in color when you open it and never buzzes. Reminders has shared lists, and Hense boards are personal. Reminders is also free with no upgrade at all, while Hense’s free version has limits (2 boards, 5 columns, 3 labels) and a one-time $9.99 USD Pro unlock.
The combination many people settle on: Reminders for alarms and the shared grocery list, Hense for the boards.
Moving a Reminders board into Hense
There is no import, and for a personal board that is fine; rebuilding takes minutes and is a natural prune.
In Hense
- Create a board with the same name as the Reminders list and pick a color.
- Add a column for each section (To Do, Doing, Done, and whatever else you had). Five columns are free per board.
- Add a card per reminder, skipping the ones you were never going to do. On iPad and Mac, ⌥⌘N adds cards quickly from the keyboard.
- Move the due dates over for the items with real deadlines, and add a checklist where a reminder had subtasks.
- Keep the Reminders list for anything that needs a notification, and delete the rest.
Frequently asked questions
Can Apple Reminders be used as a Kanban board?
Yes. Add sections to a list and choose View as Columns; each section becomes a column you can drag reminders between. The column view is available on iPad and Mac since 2023 and on iPhone since iOS 18.
Why do I not see View as Columns on my iPhone?
The column view on iPhone requires iOS 18 or later. On iOS 17, a list with sections is displayed vertically with section headings, and you move items by dragging them up or down the list. Update iOS, then open the list menu and choose View as Columns.
What does Hense do that Reminders does not?
Boards with their own colors and labels, a one-column-at-a-time view on iPhone, checklists with a progress badge, attachments on cards, search across boards with filters (Pro), and copying boards as templates (Pro). It syncs through the same iCloud with no account.
What does Reminders do that Hense does not?
Notifications and location-based alerts, Siri, and shared lists. Hense shows due dates in color but does not send alerts, and its boards are personal rather than shared.
Is Hense free?
Yes. The free version includes 2 boards, 5 columns per board, 3 labels, checklists, one attachment per card, board search, and iCloud sync across iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Hense Pro is a one-time $9.99 USD purchase with no subscription.