Automating appointment reminders - MS Outlook

[Harry Bloomfield]

For years I have used Post-It notes as reminders of things to remember to do and appointments. Recently I looked at some way to automate the reminders and ideally, because I check email regularly, I wanted an email delivered at a set time and date. I use MS Outlook and looking round that, found the Calender, which could flag up reminder notifications. That works and is very flexible, but I would still need to check what the notification was for, so still easy to miss.

Looking at the possibility of a simple email, with delayed delivery again - Outlook can do that too. Just type a suitable email reminder up, addressed to oneself, click Message, along the top, then Tags in the 'importance' setting column, in the panel which appears tick the Do Not Deliver Before box then set the date and time you want to receive the reminder.

 

[@tlan]

I had to read this 3 times thought it was a joke ffs

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

I had to read this 3 times thought it was a joke ffs

No joke, I struggle to remember appointments, or rather I am obsessive about them and hate them with a vengeance. I don't like letting others down. I keep checking obsessively for fear of missing them, so anything which passively reminds me is worthwhile.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

If only there was some kind of mobile device you add a calendar to.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

If only there was some kind of mobile device you add a calendar to.

As I think you are probably aware, most mobile devices do have one - thing is, I tend to only use a mobile device when mobile. The first thing I check on rising is email via the laptop, so that is where I would prefer my reminders to show up.

MS Outlook delays the send operation, holds it in the outbox, until the set time and date, then fires it off. Suites my way of working fine.

 

[trwils]

If it works for you then why not?
Just curious why you dont use reminders in the outlook calender?

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

I just find emails less easy to miss, I get them regularly, so I scan through them regularly - I am also finding it more straight forward to use. To be fair, I am running both in parallel at the moment, so I may well swap back to the calender.

 

[trwils]

I just find emails less easy to miss, I get them regularly, so I scan through them regularly - I am also finding it more straight forward to use. To be fair, I am running both in parallel at the moment, so I may well swap back to the calender.

As i said if it works for you! then why not

My director sends himself emails as reminders too. Which is why he currently has a 68gb outlook mailbox and refuses to let me delete stuff.. i had to change his licence to allow a new 100gb limit!

 

[Tigercubrider]

I use office 365 at work and all our calendars are synced
so when invited to a meeting/ teams meeting the email automatically sets a meeting or appointment up in your calendar and will remind you. Your phone/iPad is also synced.

I basically use it like a timetable and can look at it over breakfast to figure out the day

 

[trwils]

I use office 365 at work and all our calendars are synced
so when invited to a meeting/ teams meeting the email automatically sets a meeting or appointment up in your calendar and will remind you. Your phone/iPad is also synced.

I basically use it like a timetable and can look at it over breakfast to figure out the day

Yeh i do the same, but sometimes wish i didnt have outlook/teams on my phone!

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

I use office 365 at work and all our calendars are synced
so when invited to a meeting/ teams meeting the email automatically sets a meeting or appointment up in your calendar and will remind you. Your phone/iPad is also synced.

I basically use it like a timetable and can look at it over breakfast to figure out the day

Yeh i do the same, but sometimes wish i didnt have outlook/teams on my phone!

I just don't need the complexity of interacting with anyone else's appointments. I just wanted a simple reminder of needing to make doctors appointments, then the actual doctors and hospital appointments. I also wanted reminders for such things as putting the caravan on charge and to take it off charge every couple of months.

I'm great at remembering things the first few times I need to do them, but eventually, when I have had to do them a few times - the remembering drops down into the noise of things to remember.

 

[Tigercubrider]

My point is that the system is capable of many things.
I have a commitment at work nearly every Wednesday lunchtime
To make it easy, I set it to repeat every week 52 times a year because it is easier to ignore than set it up for 40/52.
all my birthdays and other appointments are set by me. But I mentioned the work meetings because being notified of a meeting links to my calendar simply by accepting the invite. Later, it will pop up as a reminder.

linking your phone to your PC means that you are aware on any device

 

[JohnD]

perhaps you should buy a diary

or a calender

 

[trwils]

I work in IT, so i guess i should be all for complete integration, i just find that when i am away from the office it is much harder to ignore work commitments now that i always have teams etc

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

perhaps you should buy a diary

or a calender

Both of which need you to actively check, I prefer passive - in that it appears in front of me, in the course of doing something I would normally do.