The Reminder Trick

Published on Mar 1, 2016 (updated Feb 5, 2024), filed under misc (feed). (Share this on Mastodon or Bluesky?)

This tool is so powerful and at the same time so trivial to make a routine that I ask everyone who regularly employs it to transcend their disappointment—I’m mentioning it for the people I meet who don’t use it.

Use reminders.

Use reminders not just for meetings and events and, though discouraged by some, tasks, but also for important facts and insights and affirmations.

Use reminders to remind yourself of what you have learned.

Use recurring reminders to keep really important lessons in mind.

Use reminders.

Though any web-based calendar should do, and even if Google had put it on life support, I recommend using Google Calendar. Then, I suggest to think about a simple syntax for recurring reminders like, for example, “[monthly] Review personal goals”, alongside a notation for everything optional (parentheses?), as with “[2weekly] (Trust your impulses)”. (You’ll like the allusions.)

I use reminders this way for years and believe they’re way too helpful not to be used extensively. That’s all.

About Me

I’m Jens (long: Jens Oliver Meiert), and I’m a web developer, manager, and author. I’ve been working as a technical lead and engineering manager for companies you’ve never heard of and companies you use every day, I’m an occasional contributor to web standards (like HTML, CSS, WCAG), and I write and review books for O’Reilly and Frontend Dogma.

I love trying things, not only in web development and engineering management, but also in other areas like philosophy. Here on meiert.com I share some of my experiences and views. (I value you being critical, interpreting charitably, and giving feedback.)