Getting back on track post-getaway: Remind yourself to text yourself

One of the joys of getting away for a break like Thanksgiving is the chance to slow your roll, to set down a bunch of regular “need to do’s” and just chill with your people.

At the same time I find breaks like these exacerbate my already growing tendency to forget stuff I need to do, stuff that could ease re-entry but that when forgotten makes coming back more stressful.

“Get doggie daycare appointment for Gus”… “re-fire the milk and eggs delivery”…and particularly relevant in a week like this… “remember to square away my meals order for the week after we get back from Thanksgiving.”

So I’ve resolved in recent years to more proactively remind myself to remind myself. And this year I’m moving that effort to texts which are most likely these days to get my attention and jog the memory.

The service I’m using is called oh don’t forget. Basically it’s a web app that let’s you send yourself (or others) text reminders in the future, i.e. “don’t forget to get meals all set for next week”.

So far pretty simple to use and comes across in that texty way that gets your attention.

Pros

• Quick sign up on the web
• Pretty easy to use, including set multiple reminders at a time
• Inexpensive given the value —  get’s you 150+ texts

Cons

• No phone app yet, usable on phone browser but not responsive, etc.

So far I’m really digging it, particularly for a small set of items that I know I’m likely to forget without prominent/repeated reminders.

Now to try it with the many phone holders, my wife and daughters, in our family. I suspect restraint will be important at some point… but why hold back now?

P.S. Text reminders from us about things like getting an order in before weekly deadline, prods to remember to customize your order, heads up on any credit card processing issues, etc. are definitely on our list and common improvement asks from customers.

Til then, if you give this self-texter tool a try, have other good reminder resources you dig or want to share feedback on reminders we could offer, I’m all ears at [email protected].