How to see today's events and due reminders without opening Calendar on a Mac

Open the NotchStar notch and the Home tab shows the next two events and the next two reminders. The Calendar tab shows more. Click the circle beside a reminder to mark it done, and it saves straight back to the Reminders app. You can check a deadline without opening Calendar.

Steps

1. Hover over the notch. The Home tab shows Today with up to two events and Reminders with up to two items.
2. For more, choose the Calendar tab. Up Next sits on the left with up to four events, each with its calendar colour and start time, or All day. Reminders you still have to do are on the right, up to four of them.
3. Click the circle beside a reminder to complete it.
4. The first time, macOS asks for permission to read Calendar and Reminders. If you decline, the tab explains how to allow it in System Settings.

Making it useful for coursework

NotchStar reads what is already in your accounts, so the setup is in the Calendar and Reminders apps. Add a reminder for each assignment there, with a due date, and name it so you recognise it at a glance, such as “Essay draft, history”. The notch then shows it next to your events when it is due. Pair the check with a work block in Timers once you have picked what to do next.

What it covers and what it does not

• Today and tomorrow only. It looks ahead to the end of tomorrow, so a deadline next week will not show as an event. Reminders that are not completed still appear in the list.
• Read and tick only. It cannot create or edit events, or change a reminder’s date.
• No notifications. NotchStar does not alert you about an event. Calendar and Reminders do that.
• No sync of its own. It reads through macOS and does not copy your calendar anywhere.
• Calendar colours are shown, but it has no filter to hide a calendar.

Mixed accounts

If a university or work account is added to macOS, its calendars appear alongside your personal ones, with each calendar’s colour. If an event does not show, check that the calendar is ticked as visible in the Calendar app. This is what the macOS permission covers, not something NotchStar controls.

The Calendar and Reminders page lists the limits. For a look at your next meeting specifically, see checking your next meeting.