A friend of mine recently introduced me to a program that has helped me organize and remember all of the various “to-do’s” in my life. Reqall, is an online account that allows you to add tasks, reminders, and ideas via a variety of methods. You can call their toll free number, or record a note using an iPhone (iTunes link) or Blackberry app. Reqall then converts your speech to text and adds it in the appropriate list. If you say a date and/or time, it will add it to your timed activities. You can also relate tasks to a specific contact or place using the gps in your cell phone.
The app, and majority of the service is completely free, but I chose to pay $19.99 annually to link the service to my google calendar. Now, all of my events, and to-do’s are synced across my iPhone, laptop, and google calendars.
The first time I used the app was late Monday. I received a call from my boss on the way out of the office and he needed information that evening. I wasn’t at my desk, or at home, where I could make a note, or schedule an activity on the calendar. So, on the way to my car, I opened Reqall, tapped the add button, and said, “call David by 8 p m with 2 to 3 names for the consulting firm”. A few minutes later I received a push notifications and an email with the exact transcription of my activity. Promptly, at 8:00 that night, my calendar buzzed a reminder, and the app pushed a reminder notification with the activity details. Without Reqall, there is a pretty good chance I would have forgot to complete this activity.
I can see many other handy applications of this service. There’s the obvious shopping or grocery list reminders (as the milk runs low, just speak “buy more milk”), to the “honey-do” lists spouses are likely to forget.
How about you? Are there things you need help remembering? Still using a system of post-it notes, or typed notes in a cell phone note pad? Give Reqall a chance. Even if you don’t have a PDA, you can use the toll free number and text messaging reminders to never forget anything again.
photo by Dan Paluska
