How Apple's Calendar and Contacts Apps Can Make You More Productive

We all have busy lives, and for many iOS users, the Calendar and Contacts apps have become key to meeting daily communication and productivity targets. With these tips, you'll be far more productive when using either app.

Picture Your Contacts

When someone calls, your iOS mobile device displays their number and name on the screen. The iOS operating system is smart enough to guess who might be calling by taking a look at your email messages if a phone number is not in your contacts.

However, one way to make it easy to tell who is calling you is to add an image of your contact. That way, you know who is calling with only a glance.

1. Tap the Phone app and select Contacts.

2. Tap a person's name for which you want to add a photo.

3. Tap Edit (located in the upper-right corner).

4. Tap Add Photo (located in the upper-left corner of the screen).

5. Select either Take Photo (with your device's Camera) or Choose Photo (by tapping one in your Photo library).

6. The photo displays in a circular window. Move and scale the image by using your finger to move the image around within the frame and using pinch gestures to scale the image to the right size.

7. When you have the contact's picture just the way you want it, tap Choose to add the photo to the contact.

In the future, a picture of the contact appears on your iPhone display when they call you.

Never Miss Email From Anyone Who Matters

The Mail VIP feature provides an excellent way to monitor incoming mail from important contacts. It combines all the messages from key contacts inside one easy-to-watch folder. You can also set your iOS device to alert you when you receive messages from key people. Here's how to set up VIP mail.

1. Open the Mail app on your iOS device and go to the Mailboxes view. If you see a VIP mailbox already in the list, skip to Step 4.

2. If you don't see a VIP mailbox, tap Edit (located at the top of the Mailboxes screen).

3. Tap the circle next to the VIP mailbox to turn it on. Tap Done to return to the Mailboxes screen, which now contains a VIP mailbox.

4. Tap the circled I (information button) to the right of VIP to open the VIP List.

5. Tap Add VIP to select contacts you want to add to the list.

   You can also add contacts to your VIP mailbox by moving your cursor to the immediate left of the sender's name in an email and clicking the star that appears.

6. After you have chosen the people you want in your VIP List, scroll to the bottom of the list and tap VIP Alerts.

7. Enable Allow Notifications, then set the style of notification you prefer.

Reschedule Events in Calendar

When you need to change the time of a scheduled event, you can:

• On iPhone and Mac, tap the event to open it, tap Edit, then change the time, day, or location.
• On iPhone and Mac, use Siri to reschedule an event. For example, say something like “reschedule my 2 p.m. meeting on April 24 to [new time].”

Add Calendar Events From Mail

Apple created a series of data detectors that make it easy to add events from Mail. Here's how it works: When you receive an email containing an event, you'll see a small item appear at the top of your mobile device screen. It features a Calendar icon and a phrase: Siri found an event in this email.

If you want to add the event to your Calendar, tap Add to Calendar. A new calendar event is created for you.

Change Calendar Default Alerts Times

You may find that you need to change the time of the alert when creating new Calendar alert items. Why not change the default time to one that suits you better?

To achieve this, open Settings > Calendar > Default Alert Times. This is where you choose the most appropriate time for alerts to remind you about Birthdays, Events, and All-Day Events. In the future, when creating an Event alert, the default time is your usual preference, saving you a few seconds when setting up new events.

Set Travel Time Alerts in Calendar

One of the most useful Calendar features is its ability to figure out how long it will take you to travel to scheduled events. To use this, follow these steps:

1. Create an event in the usual way, then open that event.

2. Tap Edit.

3. Enter the event location and allow Calendar to access your Location data if it asks you to do so.

4. Tap Alert, then create a Time to Leave alert in the drop-down menu. You can create multiple reminders, including conventional reminders that the event is about to take place. When you set the Time to Leave alert, your device reminds you when to leave for your meeting destination.

Share Calendars With Others

The ability to share Calendars with others is a little-used gem. This can be useful when you want to share family or work-related calendars.

When you share a calendar, anyone you choose to share it with can read or edit the calendar and add entries, which is why you should create a specific calendar to share, rather than sharing your private schedule data.

To create and share a new calendar, follow these steps:

1. Open Calendars and tap Calendars (located at the bottom of the display).

2. Tap Add Calendar, name the new calendar, and assign it a color.

3. Tap Done, which returns you to the list of calendars.

4. In the list of calendars, tap the I (information button) to the right of the calendar you just created and want to share.

5. On the next screen, tap Add Person.

6. Enter the email addresses of the people you want to share the calendar with to send an invitation to them to share the calendar.

7. Tap View and Edit next to the email address you entered. Then, turn on the Allow Editing toggle switch.

After the people you emailed accept your invitation, you and your family or colleagues can keep track of one another's schedules to ensure you don't clash.

Use Nicknames With Contacts

If you use nicknames, you can ask Siri to "call my mom" or "call the doctor" or "send a message to the boss." Siri is smart enough to look for people's nicknames when performing a command for you, although you need to assign these names first.

There are two ways to do this:

Method One: Use the Contacts Screen

1. Open the Contacts screen for the person you want to add information about.

2. Tap Edit (located at the top of the screen).

3. Scroll down and tap add field.

4. Select Nickname from the options.

5. Tap the Nickname field near the top of the card.

6. Type a name or relationship, such as Dad, Mom, or My Boss, then tap Done.

The nickname appears immediately beneath the Contact's name near the top of the screen.

Method Two: Use Siri

Launch Siri and ask it to call a nickname (Dad, for example). If you haven't assigned the nickname to a contact, Siri asks who the correct person is.

After you name the correct person, Siri asks if you want it to remember that the nickname relates to that contact. Say "yes," and you can use that nickname to refer to the contact in the future.

Work With Other Services

Your Calendar and Contacts apps can sync with third-party services, including Yahoo!, Google, and Microsoft Exchange compatible solutions. That's useful for casual Gmail users but essential for people who need to access corporate systems from an iPhone.

To sync to a third-party service:

1. Open Settings.

2. Tap Passwords & Accounts.

3. Select Add Account.

4. Select the type of account you want to sync data with. Tap Other if you don't see your option on the list.

5. Select the type of account you use and enter the relevant details to establish contact with the service.

After you set up these accounts on your iPhone, your iPad and Mac automatically sync with the services, which means you can access work calendars and schedule appointments using your Apple product.

Bonus for Mac Users: A Scheduling Tip

The ability to open almost any kind of file to schedule is a little-known task. You can use it to, for example, maintain timesheets or ensure presentation materials are at hand when you are on your way to a meeting.

The feature is a little hidden, but here's how it works:

1. Create a new event in Calendar. Either press Command+N or click the plus sign (+) at the top of the screen.

2. Double-click the event to open the information window.

3. Click the date in the information window to expand it.

4. Tap the Alert field to open a drop-down menu.

5. In the drop-down menu, select Custom.

6. In the dialog box that opens, select Open File in the top field.

7. Choose the file you want to open, then set the time at which the alert activates.

8. Click OK.

When that event is scheduled to take place, your document opens so you can go straight to your meeting. To add additional alarms, tap the + button beside the alert.