Email-controlled reminders

June 13, 2007 4:37 PM

Is there a service that I can control via email rather than the web which I can use to email myself reminders?

I'm imaging a service where I send email to some address. The subject of my email is the date/time at which I want to be reminded (bonus points for something that understands natural language for dates like Google Calendar/Outlook) with the reminder itself ("Get milk") in the body of the email.

The server would respond with an error email if the date could not be parsed (or if specifically requested to do so by some property of the email). Otherwise it would just sit tight and then send an email to the address from which I sent my command at the appointed time.

Does such a service exist? If not, does anyone want to take my idea and code it up?!

posted by caek to technology (10 comments total)

From Outlook, just send yourself an email on delay, to be sent at the time you want the reminder:

Create the message.

Before sending, click Options.

Check the box by "Do not deliver before" under delivery options.

Give it the date you want it to send you the reminder.

No coding needed. But you do need Outlook.
posted by The World Famous at 4:51 PM on June 13, 2007

You can do this with RememberTheMilk. They provide an email address to which you send "tasks". The format for how you add them is on this page. If you want to be emailed back at the time specified, you can configure that in the settings (under the Reminders tab).

The only limitations to this in regard to your request are that you need to use their format for sending new tasks, and it won't send the reminder back to the email address from which you sent the new task, but to an address that you specify in your settings.
posted by DarkElf109 at 4:56 PM on June 13, 2007

Backpack emails reminders, too. Even the free account, Very handy, I use it all the time. http://backpackit.com/
posted by wordwhiz at 5:00 PM on June 13, 2007

You should take a look at Stikkit, a "smart note" service. It does have an email interface.
posted by O9scar at 6:01 PM on June 13, 2007

If it doesn't exist, I'll code it (I really like doing stuff over email - I hated when most lists switched to mailman from majordomo). At the moment, though, I don't have a machine with a stable connection that can run a mailhandler. If you have the resources, I'd be down.
posted by devilsbrigade at 6:57 PM on June 13, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

IMified does all that and much more, though through IM's rather than email.

That said, would emailing [e-mail] also work? Dunno, but maybe.
posted by ChasFile at 10:03 PM on June 13, 2007

I don't use Outlook or IM. Backpack is great (I already use it), but while you can add to "Pages" via email, you don't seem to be able to create reminders. I've emailed them about this though.

I tried Remember the Milk and Stickit. Both seem intriguing. Right now I'm giving Remember the Milk (it has recurring tasks, unlike Stickit) a trial run.

Devilsbrigade: I don't have access to such a server either, but do let me know if you ever get around to coding something up!
posted by caek at 7:37 AM on June 14, 2007

Yahoo Calendar. It's free... and fairly easy. If you have a yahoo account (or if you don't, then sign up for one). Go to yahoo calendar - select a date (it looks like a physical calendar), pick a date -- enter an event,.... there will be an option to send a reminder... set the time/date for when you want the reminder. It's great for things like bills, haircuts, events, birthdays, etc. You can set repeating things to just email you every year. I never forget a birthday or an anniversary --- thanks to yahoo. Been doing this for years and it has been fool proof.
posted by starsixnine00 at 1:15 PM on June 14, 2007

Thanks, but I want to be able to interact entirely through email. I don't want to visit a website to create events.
posted by caek at 5:36 PM on June 14, 2007

For anybody stumbling on this old thread, iwantsandy does pretty much exactly what the original poster was looking for.
posted by erlkonig at 7:09 AM on December 4, 2007