How to Set Reminder Priority on iPhone (Without Marking Everything High)

Set reminder priority on iPhone by tapping a reminder, opening the info button, and choosing Low, Medium, or High. Exclamation marks re-sort that list. They do not change alert volume.

If your Work list has twelve items all marked High and you still cannot tell what to do first, this is for you.

What every guide says (table stakes)

Apple Support and the top how-to posts all walk the same path:

• Open Reminders and tap a reminder. New or existing both work.
• Tap the info button (ⓘ). The details sheet slides up from the bottom.
• Tap Priority. Choose Low (!), Medium (!!), or High (!!!).
• Tap Done. Exclamation marks appear beside the title. Higher priority items float toward the top of that list.

That is the whole button tutorial. Useful, but incomplete. Nobody tells you priority only sorts inside one list, or what to do when every line already has three exclamation marks.

Your takeaway: the Priority menu is easy. The cap and the fork from flags are what keep it honest.

High vs. Medium vs. Low vs. no priority

Four levels, four jobs. Mix them up and nothing feels urgent.

• High (!!!). The blocking step inside one active project. One per list. Example: "Send draft contract" before three smaller follow-ups.
• Medium (!!). Important but not first. Good for prep work that must happen this week but not before the High item.
• Low (!). Nice-to-have ordering inside a long list. Rarely needed on personal errands lists under ten items.
• No priority (no marks). Default capture lines, someday ideas, and anything waiting on someone else. Cleanest look for inbox-style lists.

Priority is not a substitute for an orange flag or an urgent alarm. Flags pull tasks into one Smart List across every list you own. Urgent rings on silent at a set clock. Priority only bumps sort order where the reminder already lives.

For daily must-dos, start with our flag reminders on iPhone guide and the PICK rule. Come back here when one project list needs internal order.

Your takeaway: flags triage your day. Exclamation marks triage one list.

The TIER Rule (your comparison method)

Name the method so you repeat it. TIER runs when you open a project list with more than five open items.

1. T — Target one list. Priority only re-sorts inside the list you are viewing. It does not surface tasks from Home or Errands into Work. Fix the list first, then assign marks.
2. I — Isolate one High. Scan the list. Pick the single step that blocks everything else. Mark it High. Demote any other High lines to Medium before you close the sheet.
3. E — Exclamation marks are order, not alarm. High priority does not make the notification louder or earlier. Need a hard clock? Set a due time and flip Urgent, or flag it for your morning scan.
4. R — Review on Friday. Open each active project list. Demote stale Highs to Medium or clear priority entirely. A !!! that survived two weeks was never really blocking.

Your takeaway: one list, one High, no fake urgency, weekly cleanup.

Walkthrough: order a "Kitchen Reno" list

Your Kitchen Reno list has eight open lines. The contractor needs cabinet measurements before tile samples ship.

1. Open Reminders. Tap Kitchen Reno in the sidebar.
2. Tap Measure upper cabinets. Tap ⓘ → Priority → High. Tap Done. Confirm !!! appears beside the title.
3. Tap Pick tile samples. Set Priority to Medium. It sorts below the measurement line but above loose ideas.
4. Leave Look at pendant lights with no priority. It stays at the bottom until measurements are done.
5. Do not flag all three. Flag only Measure upper cabinets if it must happen today. Flag is your cross-list scan. Priority is list order.

When the measurement is done, tap Complete, demote tile samples to High if it is now the blocker, and clear priority on the light fixture line until you are ready.

Run the same TIER pass in Divux when a project list crosses five items. One High, the rest ranked, inbox lines clean.

Common mistakes (and the fix)

• Marking everything High. Twelve !!! lines sort the same as zero. Fix: demote all but one blocker to Medium. Run the I step every time you add a new task.
• Using priority instead of a due date. High without a date never hits Today. Fix: add a real deadline first. See our due date vs reminder on iPhone guide for the Deadline-Work-Ping split.
• Stacking flag and High on every item. Pick one system per task. Flag for daily must-dos. High for order inside a project. Both on the same line adds noise without clarity.
• Expecting priority to fix silent alerts. Exclamation marks do not touch notifications. Fix alerts first with our reminder notifications on iPhone PING Ladder, then layer priority on top.
• Setting Low on everything "just in case." Low (!) still clutters the title. Default to no marks. Add Medium or High only when order inside the list actually matters.

Your takeaway: if the list still feels chaotic after TIER, the problem is too many open items, not the wrong button. Archive or defer before you add a fourth exclamation mark.

Frequently asked questions

Open your messiest project list. Run TIER once. One High, ranked Medium lines, inbox items clean.

More iPhone task workflows live on the Divux product page, or grab Divux free on the App Store.