Oh, the reminders. Without them, I'm not sure how I could possible get by. (Again, what were we discussing?)
I use reminders for practically everything, including making sure I answer critical messages, take on urgent tasks, and do a plethora of embarrassingly simple daily tasks that are related to both work and personal life. (Technically, putting on pants counts as both, right?)
And, my gosh, let me tell you: Google offers some really helpful reminder settings for various Android apps. If you didn't know where to search, you wouldn't even come across the majority of them as alternatives.
But once you find them, holy moly, these mind-numbing jigglers with a definite purpose may be so helpful for the mushy-minded among us.
Therefore, remind yourself to use all of these Android-focused reminder options going forward. I promise you, you'll be happy you did.
Android reminder option
1: The spoken task-saver
We'll start with the most straightforward Android reminder feature available, but it's still hidden and far too simple to overlook.
That's the Google Assistant-connected feature that lets you create a reminder for anything at any time and have it appear in the Google Tasks app, my fellow memory-challenged animal.
This one is a little perplexing because Assistant had its own separate reminder system until quite recently. However, Google replaced that system with one that was already a part of Tasks a while back when it implemented Its Google ThangTM.
However, the method remains the same: simply say Hey Google to catch your phone's attention, regardless of what you're doing on it or even if the screen is off. (If that still doesn't work, check the Assistant area of your system settings to see if voice activation is enabled.)
Then just state: "Remind me..." and then state what you want to remember and when.
- Google, please remind me to give Jim-Bob a call at 2:00 PM tomorrow.
- Google, please remember me to perform a little jig on Friday at four o'clock.
- Hello Google, let me know when I need to buy new dance pants on Saturday afternoon.
You understand. Regardless of the amount of nonsense you say, the Google Tasks app will save your request and your reminder will reappear on your phone on the designated day and time.
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| Although you can still access it through Assistant, Google Tasks now serves as the primary Android reminder system. |
And that is just the start.
2: Total note recall
When I mentioned the next Android reminder option as a reader-submitted suggestion in a recent edition of my newsletter, I was astounded by the sheer number of readers who were taken aback by its depths.
It is, however, rather simple to miss, particularly given the confusing and constantly-changing Android reminder priority set by Google.
Thus, this is it: You can still establish reminders via the Google Keep Android app in addition to the Assistant-integrated Tasks reminder setting. Not only do these reminders assist you to remember a lengthier, more complicated note or list, but they also contain an extra-helpful hidden feature.
As you can see, the only kind of Android reminder that supports location-based firing for now is the Keep reminder. This implies that you may instruct your phone to remind you of anything the moment you go into a certain physical location, such as your workplace, a client's place of business, a store, or even the airport in a particular city.
Let's just say that there are a ton of amazing productivity opportunities that result from it. You can really kick your reminders up a level by linking them to a place instead of simply a date and time. Examples of places you may attach reminders to include: reminding yourself of a security code at an office building, or presenting yourself important agenda information at a specific meeting location.
Additionally, Keep allows for the standard date and time reminders, giving you even more possibilities.
To begin, just create a new note or access any already-existing note within Locate the little bell symbol in the top-right corner of your phone. When you tap it, a date or location reminder will appear for you to select, and you may adjust it as needed.
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| One feature of the Android Keep app that is sometimes neglected is location-based reminders. |
3: The email no-fail
Email is a never-ending minefield of chances to forget deadlines and expectations for responses. And even with the greatest tool out there for managing your email, it's still quite simple to forget about things from time to time and not reply when it's appropriate.
This is where the snooze feature in your email app, which is essentially an enhanced reminder, comes in handy.
Sending any message out of your inbox and scheduling its return at a specified future date and time is made simple with email snoozing. It's the go-to tool for productivity masters to keep their inbox organized and make sure nothing crucial gets lost.
By touching the three-dot menu symbol in the top-right corner of the screen while viewing any email in the Gmail Android app, or by pressing and holding an email to select it in your main inbox view, you may access the snooze feature.
See if you can locate a plain-text "snooze" option or anything that looks like a clock or calendar in your preferred email client. If you're not using Gmail, most other Android email apps offer a comparable snoozing function someplace.
Your future self will be appreciative.
4: The message memento machine
The following Android reminder app is one of my all-time faves, however there's a strange catch right now:
For a great deal of us, it's mysteriously absent from the action right now.
However, this has happened previously, and the choice has come back. Hopefully, its current partial absence is a result of a bug rather than a planned removal, and soon everyone will be able to see it again.
The feature we are discussing is a basic Android Google Messages app reminder mechanism. When it is, you have a deliciously simple method to set a reminder for any particular text message in your inbox: To access each message, simply press and hold it, and then tap the clock symbol that appears in the top-right corner of the screen.
After that, all it takes is a few more taps to choose precisely when you want that alert to reappear and catch your eye. It's the ideal approach to make sure you never forget to reply to something, even when it comes at an awkward moment.
Even now, you can still create a reminder through the notification of an incoming message on your phone, even if for many of us that option is vexingly absent. Although it's just available for one hour rather than the entire range of days and times, it's still something! Hopefully, the whole Messages reminder feature will soon be available to all of us again.
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| Reminders for the Android Messages app may be accessed through alerts and, often, within the app itself. |
5: The image memory genie
One of the most recent and soon-to-be-introduced Android reminder options is found in the always good Google Photos app.
It's rolling out right now, so it might not be accessible for you yet, but it looks like a helpful new tool for our Android reminders toolkit.
Reminders may be automatically established in relation to particular screenshots or photographs by navigating to the photo gallery straight from your phone. Simply search for the reminder-creating option beneath any image that depicts a time-sensitive item, such as a ticket or an upcoming flyer, and Photos will instantly display a panel allowing you to quickly create a reminder around it.
You will then receive a notification from the Android Calendar app when the time comes to review that photograph.
If you haven't already, keep a watch out for this one in Photos any time soon!
6: The contact memory-jogger
For any animal with memory loss, remembering things about the people in their life—coworkers, acquaintances, cousins, or even their partner—is one of the biggest obstacles. (Hey, sweetie!)
It's easy to forget someone's birthday, the anniversary of when they began working with you, or the day they got the slimy turtle pet that keeps in their cupboard, regardless of how essential they may be. (Hey, I'm curious in the types of weirdos you deal with.)
Be aware, though, that the Google Contacts app for Android now has a useful function that will ensure you never forget such an event again. Although it's worth noting that this software differs significantly from the default Contacts app on Samsung phones, you may download and use it on any Android smartphone.
Once you have it, just launch the Google Contacts app on your phone and choose any contact from your list.
How about tapping the three-dot menu symbol located in the top-right corner of the screen? Nestled under that menu is a handy, somewhat new feature named "Reminders."
After you tap that, you may create as many reminders for significant dates pertaining to that particular individual as you'd like. If you truly want to be prepared, you may set your phone to remind you every year on the day of the event as well as two days, a week, and two weeks beforehand.
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| The built-in reminder feature of the Android Contacts app is a clever method to save vital information about the people in your life. |
7: Your location saver
The deep-buried feature on your Android phone that allows you to save any location at any time and then retrieve it later on is maybe the most useful feature of all.
It's fantastic that the system, which is integrated into the Google Maps app for Android, is technically made to assist you in remembering parking spots! However, you may also utilize it to assist you find your way back to any actual location later in the day by serving as a reminder of it.
Simply launch Maps and press the tiny blue circle that shows where you are right now. This will bring up a bottom-of-the-screen data window, and one of the first options should be a white button labeled "Save parking." (If that button is hidden, you may need to scroll down the "Share location" line in order to view it.)
If you hit that button repeatedly, both the Maps app and a reminder on your default system notification panel will remember and display your current location. No matter how far you've traveled, all you have to do is press that notification when you need it, and Maps will instantly return you to that spot and assist you in finding your way back.
8: The all-purpose notification reminder
Certain Android alerts, such as the location reminder we just discussed, lack a built-in timing mechanism that would allow them to disappear and then reappear at a later date.
But keep in mind that Android lets you ignore any notification and use it as a kind of reminder. That implies that, based on your preferences, it will reappear and catch your eye after fifteen minutes, thirty minutes, an hour, or two hours.
When something unexpected comes up in your alerts, it's a terrific method to make sure you remember it—especially if you're distracted or otherwise occupied.
Simply search for the little clock or bell-shaped indicator in the lower-right corner of any notification. If you don't see one, push the notification's little down-facing arrow to make it larger.
When you tap that icon, options to snooze the notice and see it again in fifteen, thirty, one, or two hours will appear.
Some Android versions need you to press the notification again in order to see the whole list of potential reminder options and change the default snooze period, which is one hour.
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| The snooze feature of Android's built-in notifications is an excellent method to quickly make a reminder for any alert on your phone. |
Whatever method you choose, your alert will vanish from your hair and then reappearance at a later time to remind you not to forget.
Bonus: 2 top-notch Android reminder enhancers
As of right now, every reminder feature we've looked at is native to Android, or at the very least included in Google's de facto default system applications for Android.
However, if you really want to up your Android reminder game, you can supercharge your on-the-go reminder capabilities with a few really sophisticated tools that you can install to your handset.
One is an extremely focused tool that will turn your missed call and message alerts into perceptive, hard-to-miss informational bursts. The other is a very potent add-on that functions much like Gmail filters for alerts on your phone. It's one of my best-kept secrets as an Android power user.
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