Recommendations on calendar/reminder software, please
 

I've never used any kind of scheduler or appointment book in my life. Always kept everything in my head.

But I'm getting older and busier and I think I need a little assistance.

I've tried remind, I like curses/terminal based applications, but I found it painfully complicated, way too much reading required to make heads and tails of it, and it would stop running in background very often so it would just miss reminders (while I wouldn't), and it also missed reminders that were supposed to run while the computer was turned off and, well, it was probably all my fault, but the bottom line is, it was too terse and that was a long time ago, I've forgotten everything about it and I know that I don't want to read all that stuff again. I need something more ready to hit the ground running.

It doesn't have to be terminal based, but I'm usually old school and I tend to run away from eye candy. Any suggestions?

I'm serious with this:https://www.staples.com/2019-2020-at...oduct_24376070

Just go to a store that sells office stuff, and pick a size and resolution (day/week/month per page) which works for you. You can usually buy a next year's set of pages.

The one my wife uses is a small ring binder type, where she just gets new years to put into it.

I guarantee it'll save you a lot of time and trouble.

I use a normal notebook for reminders also. I do use the very common calendar applications, but I've also used them for years, and they are the typical desktop, graphical ones, Outlook, Google.

I use a Google calendar. I’m able to view, add and edit appointments on Windows and Linux in Thunderbird and on my iPhone and iPad in the iOS calendar apps...and of course by signing in on any handy web browser.

Reminders happen when they should everywhere, ‘tho my phone is usually the closest and therefore where I see them first..

Yes, you are. So is Google. No spyware, please.

Then see #2 ;)

Spin up a Nextcloud instance and be your own google. :)

Do you use Emacs? You could use org-agenda.

Another none-Google option is signing up for Fastmail and using their calendar option.

I agree with the solution to keep reminders off the computer. I have a nice calendar hanging in the kitchen — showing a picture of an otter this month — so I see it before breakfast every morning. Meetings, appointments, religious festivals are all there and accessible, without having to turn a computer on.

I use Evolution. Once Thunderbird went to tabbed emails, I grew to dislike it and went back to Evolution. Evolution has a calender built in.

Terry H.

For quick reminders you could use at plus xmessage, notify-send, zenity, or something similar.

Combine with aplay or other sound-making programs if you need an audio reminder, too.

I don't use this, but it came up in a search.

https://dianne.skoll.ca/projects/remind/

So this is why I recommended what I did.

You've been using LQ since 2005 and certainly can see what happens when someone says, "Hey! What's a great desktop?"

They get 30 answers, they fundamentally oppose half of those for various reasons, and then proceed to discount the remainder because they're not quite exactly what they were thinking. And the question continues.

Thoughtfully so. Meaning I did put some thought into it. I read your initial post:Seems that unlike me, where I've worked for companies all along and had work calendars made available to me, as well as some time on my hands to already see if I preferred one calendar over another, and determined if I wanted one which was agnostic to my work and location; instead you haven't worked with many, of if you have then you do not find any of them useful. Hence why I wouldn't have started with Google or Amazon based calendars which would be available on one's phone, as well as for your desktop.

And sure there are alternatives:I'm sure they work great. I've tried "an" alternate calendar or two in my time, but obviously nothing that I've kept around. Speaking of old school, I'm a HUGE emacs person, but I've never heard of, nor have interest in org-agenda. Emacs is my editor of choice, I use it for that and that's it.

The inputs I have here are that if it were me, I'd not want to spend ANY time finding, installing, configuring, and then deciding if I liked something or not. I'd write it down, or I'd copy/paste things into a file and keep that current. (Using emacs, of course :D ) If I didn't keep it current, and I can guarantee you that I wouldn't, I'd revert to writing stuff down. The hybrid is that I'd "start" by maintaining a file. At some point I'd print it out and then mark it up. Run out of space on the one or two sheets of paper, and use a notebook, eventually some day when I'm shopping at a big box store or an office store, I'd think to buy an actual book. Then 6-8 months later, swear because now I needed to get a new one because I had become dependent upon it.

Two additional perspectives I've seen. One a guy I used to work with. He had a flip up calendar, which he didn't use to write any appointments on. But it was years old, hanging in his office. I'm like, "... O ... K.... ? It's not 1972 and it's also not July!" He pointed out that the current month corresponded to a 31 day month which started on a Tuesday. Therefore that calendar was valid. In fact it could/would be valid based upon a pattern, both with shifting the months as you flipped it, and also it would sync up every so many years. I didn't bother to follow that example, but his point was why buy a new calendar every year?

Next was my mother, who did something similar, but with an added effect. It wasn't her agenda to use it to get a shifted, but correct date. It was her agenda to write down and remember EVERY family members' and their extended family members' important dates. I once asked, "Ma, HOW do you know that it's our 5th removed cousin's anniversary of the day he and his first wife got engaged? Especially when he's already been divorced and is on his second marriage?!?" She had written it down in that one calendar and kept that for years. So January, she'd flip to January, and she'd be like, "Oh, Bobby's birthday is this month.", "And it's the anniversary of so-and-so's death" She'd also know the span of time, because when she added a new entry, like someone's birthday, she'd also write "Bobby Birthday (2001)" on a given date. So she'd know what month, day, and year Bobby was born, and could figure out how old they were.

To each, their own. Perhaps there are some suggestions which you'll find do suit you.