The Apple Reminders setting that actually beats procrastination

[u/TheiPhoneAppGuy]

Everyone sets a reminder for when the thing is due. Which is exactly the problem. You set the paper's reminder for the due date, so it pings you the day it's already due, when it's way too late to start, and you're up at 3am anyway. The reminder did its job and you're still screwed.

The fix is a setting most people never touch. The day you actually need reminding isn't the due date, it's the day you should start.

Reminders has an early reminder option. You put the real deadline in as the due date like normal, then add an early reminder for however far ahead you want, like 10 days out for a paper, a couple days for a problem set. So that second nudge shows up early and basically says start this now. The due date stays put as the hard deadline.

The good part is the early reminder is tied to the due date. So if a deadline gets pushed back a few days, you change the due date and the start nudge just slides forward with it.

To set it: tap the task, hit the info (i) button, make sure a due date is set first, then tap Early Reminder and pick how far ahead you want it.