Stephen Downes

I pretty much depend on reminders. No, it's not because I forget dates and appointments and such; I can retain this knowledge pretty effectively in my head or on a notepad. No, it's because I tend to become overly focused on what I'm doing (especially if I'm writing or coding) and lose all track of what's going on around me. A qualify reminder will break me out of that with enough time to spare to allow a quick break. Reminder systems, though, are notoriously fickle for me because I don't have a single source of data - my work and personal calendars, for example, are completely separate. If I'm on the wrong system when the reminder comes in, it's easy to miss. And the software can be flakey - my Thunderbird email client, for example, is constantly tooting reminders at me long after the event has passed.