Monday, October 08, 2012

Notifications not just for beginning but also for end of event

My daughter has an activity that my wife drops her off at, and from which I pick her up at the end.

Most calendar programs provide notifications and alarms only for the start of meetings and activities.

Now, one could (and historically I have) create separate events for the beginning and end.  But this leads to inconsistencies, e.g. when the activity time is changed, but the pickup event is not changed.

Idea: provide multiple alarms or notifications for events, not just at start, but also at end.

Actually, more like a compound calendar item:

1) the activity or duration

2) the event items for my wife to take our daughter to the activity

3) the event item for me to leave wherever I am leaving from (work, home - lead time depends on were I am, and that should also be automated) and pick Sophie up.
    Scheduled relative to the END of the event.

etc.

Cancelling such a compound event removes all.

Moving, changing the time - may want to query.  If rescheduled, I may end up dropping off, and my wife may end up picking up.

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May also want internal times, not just beginning and end.

E.g. for an all day event, e.g. my wife and daughter at one day of a multi day folk music festival, I may be able to attend only one lunch hour.

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This general insight - that it is almost as important to schedule and remind yourself of when an activity should end as begin - is, I regret, somewhat new to me.  It is implicit is stuff like Pomodoro scheduling.  But I am only just now beginning to think of it explicitly.

Simple thing: I am trying to schedule an alarm on my Android device for the next time I should look up.

Now, which of the umnpteen alarm programs should I use...?