W Christian Consulting

Despite my protests to the contrary, I do not have a great memory for one-time tasks. I like to think that I have so many grand thoughts going through my head that I simply cannot be bothered by such narrowly defined things. Fortunately, the iPhone was made with geniuses such as myself in mind. Enter the Reminders App.

The Reminders App allows you to record those things you need to do; however, it is more that a simple “To Do List”. Nay, as you would expect, you can set an entry for a reminder at a particular date and time. However, by tying the Reminders App with your iPhone’s GPS, the iOS allows you to create reminders for when you arrive at or leave from a particular location. For example, your phone can remind you “Bring Project X folder to work” when you leave the house. Of course, you’d love to be reminded before you leave but the technology just isn’t at mind reading level yet. Anyway, if you have to turn around, it would be better to do so at the end of your street rather than in the parking lot at work.

On the home front, you can send yourself a note to “Ask my wife about her day” when you arrive Home. Similarly, if you wake up and realize it’s your anniversary, you can have your phone remind you to “Pick up flowers” when you leave work. The Reminder App may save your job and your marriage. Since you’re on a roll, go ahead and set a reminder to “Talk to my kids about drugs” for some time Thursday evening.

As if saving your family and job were not enough, as always, Siri adds another dimension to the awesomeness. You can ask your friendly digital assistant to create time-based and location-based reminders for you (yes, and untriggered ones, too). Do you remember that restaurant I mentioned in a post last summer? As I was driving to work one morning, I wanted to know if it was still open. I didn’t have time to stop by at that moment, but I would have time on my way home. If I set a reminder for a particular time, chances were good that I wouldn’t be near the restaurant when it went off. A reminder when I was leaving work would be too early because my mind would be on other things during the drive home and I’d forget. When I got home, I was not going to turn around just to find out about a restaurant. Instead of those, as I turned the corner and began to head in the direction opposite of the restaurant, I asked Siri “Remind me to drive by the Creole restaurant when I arrive here”. That evening, as I drove up the street and approached the corner where I usually turn, my phone buzzed. Having completely forgotten about my quest, I was pleasantly surprised by the reminder and proceeded to the restaurant. Unfortunately, it was closed for good but that’s a story for another day.