Email and reminders?

E

ecowtent

Recycles dryer sheets
Joined
Mar 25, 2016
Messages
84
I am down to just a few days and finding it difficult to choose a way to track reminders and such. How did you keep track of tasks, appointments and email reminders once you left work? I detest g mail, but it seems the easiest email choice. Did you utilize the calendar on your phone to remind you of appointments and reminders? I live by my work task bar and feel lost transferring over to my phone calendar. Any suggestions?



M
 
Google Calendar with email reminders of upcoming events/appointments. PITA to maintain using the phone app so 90% of my entries are via my laptop.
 
Last edited:
Everything now goes on my calendar. It syncs across my phone/PC/iPad/laptop. It's great. You will adjust easier than you think.
 
+1 on Google calendar. DW also uses Google calendar and we "share" them so it helps reduce conflicts. It comes in handy that a list of upcoming events are on the home page of my phone. Thankfully, I don't have many appointments to worry about.

For the standardized stuff, (HVAV filters/dog flea tick meds/etc) I do those on the 1st of the month to keep it simple.
 
I use my iPhone calendar.
I also have a small desk calendar(Franklin system from work) that I still use, as DH does not use the electronic ones.

Once I left work, my calendar cleared up pretty quickly!
A few appointments here and there, occasional reminders for household things(filter replacement, etc).
I had task lists when I first retired, but they were tossed in the wind. I get to things when I do. No timelines anymore :)
 
Another user of Google calendar and email. I use it mainly through the calendar app on my iPad and iPhone.

Very flexible on reminders and notifications plus my wife, son and I use some shared entries.
 
Last edited:
Apple Calendar and Apple Reminders apps both send us notifications to remind us of time critical things. These work both on MacOS and iOS so are shared across all devices. The alerts are very customizable including multiple alerts if desired. Even more you can share calendars and reminders with others. DH and I share several. We also use the Reminders app for shared shopping lists and it’s very effective!
 
Last edited:
REWahoo said:
Google Calendar with email reminders of upcoming events/appointments. PITA to maintain using the phone app so 90% of my entries are via my laptop.
Click to expand...

+1 This is what I use also. I have used gmail with Thunderbird at times when I was tired of the gmail interface. I also have my own domain hooked into it so people don't see a gmail.com address.

Also DW and I both maintain separate google calendars, but we share them with each other so that we both can see an integrated view of our calendar.

For intra-day reminders I make generous use of Alex timers and alarms.

For things that I wan't to make sure I don't forget (ie renewing my cellphone plan every month to prevent the loss of all the rollover data), I will also toss a post-it note in my breakfast area a few days before when I first get the google calendar reminder.

-gauss
 
Only started using Apple calendar on my ipad and iphone a few months ago, and it’s been a great organizer in my life.
 
Gmail - because I can use it across devices. No matter where I am I can load a new appointment, or change one. It's a good product, and I maintain security so that no one can see it.

AND!

A small whiteboard in the space where my laptop sits - to remind me what I have going on this week. The whiteboard is a holdover from when I was working where I recorded my meetings for the day, so my team could see where I was.

- Rita
 
Apple calendar. If I don’t get to a task, it’s easy to drag it to another day.
 
DW and I are children of the 70's, we still write everything on the wall calendar first. We also enter most of our appointments on Google calendar. Microsoft Office was my go to at work, hard to beat that system! Old habits are hard to break.
 
REWahoo said:
Google Calendar with email reminders of upcoming events/appointments. PITA to maintain using the phone app so 90% of my entries are via my laptop.
Click to expand...

I've been using Google calendar for many years. I love getting the email reminders, as many as I think I want for each event.
 
Apple’s calendar syncs ipad, phones, and macbook to keep me on track. Other repetitive things go to my Amazon Echo devices in the form of reminders or alarms. “This is a reminder: Give dog pills. Take out the trash. Turn off the irrigation. Pay bills”
 
ecowtent said:
Did you utilize the calendar on your phone to remind you of appointments and reminders?

M
Click to expand...
I tried the phone calendar thing once I retired, but quickly realized that wasn't working for me. Unlike many folks I don't maintain a calendar, shopping lists, or any reminders on my phone. I guess I'm more of a pen and paper guy. DW and I have so few appointments in retirement, that we just mark them on a wall calendar. Shopping list, reminders, and to do list (for the next several days) just go on note paper and/or white board in pantry.

I do maintain a worksheet within an excel spreadsheet that is dedicated to reminding me about upcoming task. All items are due on the 1st of month and I filter and sort every month to see what is due that month. I have 100+ line items from changing the furnace filter; to sweeping the chimney; to blowing out the smoke detectors, to cleaning my exterior oak doors, to checking car tire pressure, etc., etc. It work well for me, but it is probably too low tech for most folks on this forum. Once a task is completed I update the completion date column and the next due date column (or delete the row if it is one time reminder, e.g., move $50,000 out of Ally back into Barclay on 2/1/2023).
 
I use Thunderbird as my email app, and it has a "Task" and "Events" list (I just use 'task', I forget the distinction between that and 'events'). You can right click an email to add it as a Task. Very flexible to set up repeat reminders, and when a reminder pops up, it's easy to set the 'snooze' time so you can come back to it in 5 minutes, 5 hours, a day, a month - whatever.

I tried Google Calendar alerts, but it seemed the only 'snooze' option was 5 minutes? That doesn't work for me - some things I want to be reminded in a few minutes (something in the oven), or a few days , or a month. Am I missing something in Google?

-ERD50
 
I use Google calendar for myself and a shared google family calendar with the wife. The shopping lists are synced through Alexa. We normal add items with an Echo then check the app at the store to cross things off. Finally I use Google Keep for tasks and lists. They have a very nice android widget and you are able to create different types of lists and notes as well as attaching documents to them including pictures right from the phone camera. These are of course accessible on computer and other devices.
 
Google calendar on phone, PC, and tablet. I have it send me an email four hours before the event, then send a text notification one hour before the event.
 
I’m a big Apple user. So I use the calendar and reminders apps on my iPhone, iPad, and MacBook. They keep me on track and overly organized. I use gmail for email only.
 
A regular paper notebook, one page per week serves as scheduling/to do list and I usually fill out 2-4 weeks in advance depending how busy things are. Longer stuff I put on a wall calendar and might put a reminder on my phone (mostly birthdays and medical/dental check ups) but do not use my phone to manage my life.
 
Too funny. You won’t need much of anything, at least not like when working. I use the Google ecosystem of Calendar, eMail, Maps, etc. but I laugh when I see how empty it is compared to my work calendar that literally was booked a minimum of 8 hours every day, sometimes in 5 minute increments. I am SO glad to have distanced from those days!

I just glanced at my calendar and have entries for golf and pickleball. Like I really need a calendar for that. The reminders to cancel free subscriptions do come in handy, though.
 
One of the good things about the digital calendars is it is easy to schedule reoccurring or annual stuff: bid insurance, change furnace filter, renew or cancel subscriptions, get annual physical, take RMD, turn off/on drip system, etc, etc.
 
COcheesehead said:
One of the good things about the digital calendars is it is easy to schedule reoccurring or annual stuff: bid insurance, change furnace filter, renew or cancel subscriptions, get annual physical, take RMD, turn off/on drip system, etc, etc.
Click to expand...
Quicken serves me well for financial reminders like bill pay, taxes due, certainly insurance and property tax payments etc.

But yeah the other items go in my calendar, set up as recurring events. This includes reminding me when various bank statements should be available.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

A
Need to Repair or Replace Cell Phone
2
Replies
33
Views
1K
Another Reader
A
Jerry1
Sad November. Changed Life Ahead
2
Replies
47
Views
5K
Koolau
Koolau
prudent_one
Which advisory option for spouse surviving me?
2
Replies
41
Views
4K
RetiredHappy
R
M
Depressing Thoughts about Retirement
5 6 7
Replies
155
Views
17K
Koolau
Koolau
Tranquility Base
Role of Financial Consultant at Discount Brokerages
2 3
Replies
53
Views
4K
FLJim
F

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom