HOW SETTING REMINDERS CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE

The human brain is limited in its capacity to process and store information. Without a little help, we might forget important things such as dates, names, or even emotions. The invention of reminders, is one of the most important breakthroughs for the modern human.

Reminders have become a ubiquitous part of life. Whether you use a physical daily planner or your smartphone, they go everywhere with us. And it’s not limited to just work reminders, we also use them in our personal lives as well.

The beauty of reminders is that it frees our mind so that we can fully focus on things that really matter. It keeps us locked in on tasks that need to be done by a certain time.

However, reminders have a negative side which may have deleterious effects on our mental health if left unchecked - they can take over our lives. So, in this instance, we can definitely have too much of a good thing. The constant nudge of the ding from a smartphone reminder or the sea of tasks listed neatly on our daily planner are perfect recipes for our overwhelm. And when this happens, reminders end up doing exactly the opposite of what it is designed to do. It ends up becoming potent distractions rather than tools for our focus.

Constant reminders can also become less influential when, at a certain point, we become desensitized to the barrage of reminders. Let’s look at how you can best keep your reminders working for you.

AIM TO TRANSFORM SOME REMINDERS INTO HABITS

There was probably a time when your parents had to remind you to brush your teeth after dinner. As you age, however, toothbrushing has become a task that you automatically do without any prodding. Such is the power of habits.

One sure way of not forgetting to do something is to turn it into a habit. The key here is to decide which activities you’d like to form into a habit. Want to be a good writer? Then you may want to make a habit out of writing. This way, you eliminate the number of reminders that could distract you from an important task.

PRIORITISE YOUR REMINDERS

Not all tasks are created equal. Reminders for more important tasks, therefore, need to be prioritised. If you’re using a planner, you could change the colors of important tasks. If you usually use black pens to write down your tasks for the day, use red for the most important tasks and blue for the less important ones. This way, you see a physical distinction between two different tasks of different priority levels. On the other hand, if you use smartphones as your reminder setting tool, you can change the priority levels of each reminder or notification in the settings menu of your device. Both of the major operating systems in Android and iOS have these features. Some apps also have their own reminder and notification management settings in themselves so be sure to check those out too.

THE DO NOT DISTURB FUNCTION IS YOUR FRIEND

Yes. Reminders and notifications are important. However, there are times when they become more of a distraction rather than a boon to our focus. So, if you want to truly focus on an important task, you could turn them off altogether. Your phones usually have features that let you turn them both off for a certain number of hours. This should help you manage your time a little bit better by postponing reminders for when you’re ready for them again.