Google Just Wrecked Keep Reminders

[ellobogrande]

Learn about Google Keep reminders in Google Tasks​

Although I knew that this change was coming, I didn't grasp how it would affect my GTD system. Little did I know it would have such adverse impacts to my action lists in Google Tasks.

I use Google Keep extensively to maintain checklists and routines. I set time and location-based reminders to make Keep Notes appear in front of me at the right time and place.

Google has moved Keep reminders into Google Tasks, which creates poorly-formatted duplicate records in my Tasks list and removes the ability to set location-based reminders. This change has cluttered up my Action lists in Google Tasks and has destroyed a useful feature of Keep upon which I have come to depend.

Google messed with my extended brain and I'm really perturbed. I let Google know that in no uncertain terms, but my comments are likely to go unread by human eyes and completely disregarded. They're not going to revert the change, no matter what feedback they receive.

To those who implemented GTD in Google, how are you adjusting to this change short of migrating to another service? I'd appreciate any insights you could share. I'll share insights in replies as I adjust to this change as well.

Thanks and have a productive day.

 

[ellobogrande]

I found a workaround to implement time-based reminders, both one-time and recurring, for Keep Notes as Google Tasks.

When you create a reminder in Google Keep, a new Google Task is created in the first task list with a clickable link back to the original note. The entire content of the note is added to the task title without any formatting. Fortunately, Google allows you to edit the task and move it to another task list without affecting the contents of the original note or breaking the link back to it.

Since Google uses the first list as a default with Gemini and Keep, it makes sense for the first list in the system to be a capture bucket. The first list in my system is named #In. I created a new list, #Reminders as my second list. As I edit the tasks that Keep creates in #In, I move the final edited task to #Reminders.

For example, I have a Morning Routine Checklist (with checkboxes) in Google Keep. I want a reminder to look at the list to appear as a mobile notification at 6:00 AM Daily. I created the reminder on the note in Keep, switched to Tasks, found the task that Keep created, removed the excess content from the task title so it reads "Morning Routine Checklist", and moved the task to #Reminders. I'm going to stick with this system for a while and see how it goes.

I did try to create a recurring task called Morning Routine Checklist with each item on the list as a subtask, but Google Tasks does not allow recurring reminders on tasks with subtasks. I'm not a huge fan of subtasks in Google Tasks anyway but there are some places where they make sense. For example, I use them on my @Agendas list in Tasks, which I originally had kept in Keep until the change to Keep Reminders was announced.

Hopefully this information can help others to navigate this most frustrating change.