Reminding

Reminding refers to the act of prompting someone to recall a memory, obligation, or piece of information. It can be done by the person who needs to remember (self-reminding) or by others who provide cues or prompts (reminders). Reminding relies on prospective memory, the ability to remember to perform an action in the future, and on external cues to trigger retrieval of task-related information.

Prompts can be external, such as calendar alerts, alarms, sticky notes, messages, or notifications, or internal, such as mental rehearsal or associative cues. The effectiveness of reminders depends on timing, clarity, and salience; a reminder should specify what to do and when, delivered close enough to the target moment to be helpful but not so close that it fosters interference or interruption.

Common tools include calendars, task lists, reminder apps, alarms, and physical notes. Reminders are used across settings: personal life (appointments, medications), education (due dates, study prompts), healthcare (medication adherence, follow-up care), and workplaces (deadlines, safety checks).

Limitations include the risk of over-reliance, habituation to prompts, interruption costs, and privacy concerns. Reminders should respect user autonomy, offer opt-out options, and avoid excessive frequency. In sum, reminding is a cognitive aid that supports memory and task completion by providing timely cues, balancing usefulness with potential disruption.