Constantly dismissing Reminders.

Last week I read a tweet that really hit me:

I am a heavy user of Apple Reminders. For a time I relied on the reminders in Clear , which I still use occasionally, but either way, everything I need be reminded of finds its way into my Reminders App.

It’s got a very low barrier to entry – I can quickly launch it on my Mac or my iPhone, and it’s the #1 thing I use Siri for (I don’t trust her for much else).

But I absolutely swipe away reminder notifications every single day, to the point that it’s natural. Reading this tweet made me realize it shouldn’t be that way. The way the app currently works, it doesn’t seem to care how you use it.

I use Reminders in at least two different ways.

  1. Critical reminders / Important Deadlines. For example, I need to move my car before a certain time or else I get a huge ticket (or towed) and it’s very important I take action on this reminder.
  2. Passive reminders / Todos. For example, I set a reminder for this afternoon to look into something specific in the codebase I’m currently working in. If I get to it tomorrow or Friday, it’s not a big deal.

It’d be really useful if I could tell Apple Reminders to treat each of these types differently, with respect to how to handle notifications.

Critical/Deadline reminders would be handled exactly like all reminders are handled today. They require some response: either completing or snoozing.

Passive/Todo reminders would be handled with the understanding that I’m most likely to get to them when I am available. Rather than notifying me on an individual basis, what if the app bundled together the 4 Passive reminders and every 2-3 hours on that day, pinged me, asking if I was “available”. If I’m not, I can snooze on everything passive. If I am, it presents me with the individual items, and I can deal with as many as I’d like.

If anyone knows of a reminders app that works this way, please reach out!

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