I have tried a few different systems for reminders that each have had issues for me. I initially was trying to find reminder/todo specific software that was great for organization but I found that if I dismissed a notification, it would just disappear until I opened my reminders again. I’ve ended up just using scheduled emails to myself for reminders so that if I miss a notification, I’ll see it next time I open my inbox.
I’ve also found post-it notes on my computer monitor to be effective for long-term things.
Do you use reminders or a to-do list? What system are you using and does it work well for you?
I use Another Notes App on the phone for shopping lists and sometimes appointments. On the tablet I have Orgzly for more involved tasks. It can also show reminders. Desktop apps like Zim can’t, but I mostly use it for unimportant tasks. Even the mobile apps aren’t perfect: I’ll often forget to check if something came up. But by the same token, I’ll often remember to do stuff without looking; the simple act of writing stuff down matters a lot.
I set reminders with Google Tasks since it will show up on my calendar as well, but I find if I set a reminder I just remember to do it anyway. So I guess the reminder does help but not in the intended way…
I’ll get the notification and be like “Okay, I gotta finish this first!” and then completely forget 10 seconds later and not remember again until three hours later when I finally notice the notification I left unread.
Writing things down tends to be more helpful for me so I have a whiteboard calendar for appointments and events, but that doesn’t really work for daily things… like taking my ADHD medication! Haha.
Yes. In my personal life, I use the Apple Reminders app. Just for things I need to do at a certain time. And recurring reminders for every running subscription I have. To remind me to consider cancelling before it renews.
I also use the calendar for knowing where I need to be, and when. Between me, my wife and our two kids, I (and the kids) would miss out on half the stuff we’re supposed to be doing if I weren’t very diligent about using the calendar. It really is my only chance of keeping up! Don’t use reminders here, as checking it daily is part of my routine.
Got a whole other system at work. It doesn’t really overlap much. If one thing encroaches on the other, there will be a calendar entry in my work calendar for whatever private thing I need to do. And the other way around, on the rare occasion that I’m doing work stuff outside of normal business hours.
I’m also just using Apple Reminders for time-sensitive work meetings etc. I don’t have my phone on me most of the time in my house.
I will have a Pebble watch this summer and I am going to see if my spouse can code me a bare-bones reminder/habit app, which will be the only thing on the watch besides its ability to tell time.
I have a few different Apple products (Mac, phone, and tablet), so it’s easier for me to just use the stock Calendar for reminders / planning and sync between all three devices. I don’t like being quite so dependent on the Apple ecosystem, but I also don’t like having half a dozen different accounts with different services that force me to pay for syncing privileges, so…
Yeah, I use rather plain calendar (CalDAV) reminders synced with a self-hosted Baikal instance. It works pretty well for me because I don’t dismiss the notifications, but always select “remind me again in x hours / tomorrow / …” from the notification.
It can be a bit much sometimes when I miscalculate how my day will be going (and when I will actually have time for the things that I plan to do), but other than that it works really well for me.
i just use my google calendar for most of my reminders tbh… i also have a physical planner which works great when i actually fill it out instead of just ignoring it for weeks.
