Recurring Alarm in PDA - A sure way to numbing

[Ashok Atluri]

One of the most important tools that I now use in my PDA is the alarm. A most obvious thing to do. But I almost stopped using it.

Most of the PDAs have the option of keeping repeat daily alarm. And some of us try to use repeat daily alarm feature to remind of us some task that we want to do as soon as possible. Over the years I have seen that it is a sure way to become numb to the alarm system. And over some time we tend to stop using the alarm system.

In fact the alarm system is a very useful, in fact indispensable, tool in time management for most of us. A sure recipe for disaster is to keep As soon as possible items in the calendar system (as in a PDA). As DA says in GTD all different categories should be kept "pristinely distinct" from one another.

So the bottomline is: if any of you has stopped using the alarm system because you were keeping as soon as possible stuff in it then please stop doing it. As soon as possible stuff should be organized by context (as "At Computer", etc.).

Please treat the calendar as "sacred territory" and put only those items which have to be done on that day. This would enhance the utility of the alarm system.

Ashok

 

[ext555]

It's also possible to become numb to these things in your next actions lists by doing the exact same thing , setting "to-do" alarms ! (if your program /device supports those )

Ooh, I'd better set an alarm for 6am so I'm reminded of that when I'm getting ready tomorrow --all it does is trick you into not reviewing your lists "as often as you need to to feel good about what you're not doing"

If you're reviewing your lists like you should be --you won't need very many alarms set.

the trap I've fallen into in the past was decreasing the frequency of reviewing my lists "because the important stuff all had reminders set " :wink:

 

[stargazer_rick]

I think this is one of the reasons that we read about so many people that have great success once they totally revamp their system. From a Palm point of view I know people that have moved from Plain Vanilla, to an Outliner, to paper instead of a PDA, back the PDA using an Outliner, back to Plain Vanilla, on to something totally different... [I just made this progrssion up, by the way :wink: ]

I think that these people grow numb with thier system and ANY change causes them to look at it in a fresh way. (Changing systems also forces a very thorough weekly review.)

Good point, though, that we can become numb to anything if we aren't careful.

 

[Tspall]

We all need a change in routine sometimes, and keeping ourselves organized is no different. We should stop and re-examine our system sometimes. Even a small change will keep things fresh and help us to be more aware of what we're doing to keep ourselves on track. A person can get numb to just about anything if you're exposed to it often enough.

 

[ScottL]

The great thing about my CLIE T665 is that is has a polyphonic alarm and built in is a choice of about a dozen or more possible tunes to use as alarms. I change which "tune" I use every so often to keep it fresh.

I don't think this is possible (or at least easily possible) on the newer sony's or palms. I've heard this may change when the new palm OS comes out in the fall.