As a person trying to manage a household of five people, I live and die by my calendar, reminders, and to-do list. My brain simply cannot handle it all.
And rather than try to force one app to do everything (because I haven’t found one), instead I rely on various apps that are best at “one thing.”
1. Shared family calendar
Many years ago, we realized that we needed a shared family calendar, rather than individual Google calendars. It started as a shared Google account between my husband and me (in addition to our personal Gmail accounts). Anything that pertains to the family goes on the shared calendar. If it goes on our individual calendars or work calendars, we “invite” the family calendar.
As my kids have gotten older, we’ve given them access and told them that they need to add their own events. I set up a notification so any time they add an event, I get an email. That way I’m not surprised if they add something three weeks in the future and I don’t see it until that morning.
The shared family calendar is connected to the Echo Show in our kitchen, as well as our Skylight Calendar on the wall. No one can claim that they don’t know what’s going on.
2. Alexa reminders
We’ve been longtime users of Amazon Alexa devices, since the first Echo Tower back in 2014. We now have devices in almost every room of the house, which work like an intercom system (”Alexa, announce ‘Time for Dinner!’”
But we also use the Alexa reminders for recurring events, mostly related to school. Every morning, Alexa gives two reminders before the bus arrives, the first saying, “Time to get ready for school!” and the second saying, “Time for the bus!” That way, if anyone isn’t paying attention, they can kick into high gear before they miss the bus.
3. Siri reminders
I use Siri on my phone when I need a reminder that isn’t regular, and is time-sensitive. An example would be moving my laundry from the washer to the dryer. If I didn’t set a reminder, I’d leave the room and promptly forget that the laundry exists. And my home office is too far away for me to hear the washing machine’s alert that it’s done.
I’ll set a reminder on Siri to take the laundry out, based on the length of the cycle, and Siri will gently buzz when it’s time.
Now, ideally, a fully integrated smart home could give me an Alexa announcement when my laundry is done, but the technology isn’t there yet.
4. Pebble Index 01 reminders
My latest set of reminders comes from the Pebble Index 01 ring. I have a perpetual problem that I remember something I need to do, and I’m nowhere near my phone to add it to my to-do list. Happens in the car. Happens when I’m moving laundry from my washer to the dryer. Happens all the time.
The Pebble Index 01 is a ring with a tiny microphone. I push a button and record a tiny reminder to myself, and it shows up on my to-do list. It will work with a phone’s built-in reminders, but I actually have mine routed to Todoist, which is the to-do app I use.
I have it set up so it always uses a due date of “today.” That way, I see it immediately. If it’s not actually due today, I move it to a later date once I sit down to see what’s on my list.
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