Writing
What we’re learning about reminders, timing, and getting things done.
Writing
Notes from building Nudge
What we’re learning about reminders, timing, and getting things done.
Latest18 articles
Guides
Sep 24, 2026Guides
When to renew your passport, and how to get reminded in time
Many countries want 6 months left on your passport, and renewal can take weeks. How to work out your real deadline and set reminders that give you enough time.
Guides
Sep 24, 2026Guides
How to remember something that's weeks or months away
One reminder on the day is too late for most things that are months away. How to space reminders out, turn the prep into dated tasks, and keep the date in view.
Guides
Sep 24, 2026Guides
Can ChatGPT Tasks replace your reminder app?
What ChatGPT Tasks does well, where it falls short as a reminder app, and the plan limits that matter, checked against OpenAI's help page in September 2026.
Guides
Sep 24, 2026Guides
How to make Apple Reminders ring like an alarm (iOS 26.2)
iOS 26.2 added an Urgent setting to Apple Reminders that rings like an alarm, even on silent. How to turn it on, and what happens after it rings.
Guides
Sep 1, 2026Guides
Due vs TickTick vs Nudge: reminders that repeat until you act
Three apps that keep reminding you: Due's Auto Snooze, TickTick's Constant Reminder, and Nudge's follow-ups. What each does, what it costs, and which fits how you work. (Disclosure: we make Nudge.)
Guides
Sep 1, 2026Guides
Reminder apps can finally ring like real alarms on iPhone
iOS 26's AlarmKit lets apps set actual alarms, not just notifications. What changed, why notifications kept failing you, and how Nudge uses it.
ProductivityApr 18, 2026Productivity
Why can't I follow through on tasks? 6 real reasons
You're not lazy. "Why can't I follow through" has six different answers, from sleep and ADHD to goals you don't actually want. How to tell which is yours.
GuidesApr 18, 2026Guides
7 apps that help you start tasks with ADHD
Seven tools for seven different reasons you might be stuck: unclear tasks, distractions, weak reminders, or needing someone else there.
ProductApr 18, 2026Product
Reminders that won't go away until you do them
Most reminder apps stop the moment you swipe. Here's how a reminder can keep coming back until the task is actually done, without buzzing every 15 minutes.
ProductApr 17, 2026Product
What an AI accountability partner app should actually do
Most AI accountability partner apps add pressure: blocking, tracking, guilt. Why that model fails most people, and what a softer kind of accountability looks like.
ProductivityApr 16, 2026Productivity
How to stop ignoring your to-do list
If you keep ignoring your to-do list, the list usually isn't the problem. Reminders fire at times you picked days ago. How to fix when your tasks reach you.
ProductivityApr 15, 2026Productivity
What is a context-aware reminder app?
Most "context-aware" reminder apps just mean location alerts. The four kinds of context that matter (time, calendar, behavior, intent) and how a reminder app should use them.
ProductivityApr 13, 2026Productivity
Why reminders don't work for ADHD (and what does)
Why ADHD can make fixed-time reminders easy to miss—and how working-memory support, better timing, and gentle follow-up can make reminders more usable.
CultureApr 10, 2026Culture
A Task Manager for People Who Hate Task Managers
I bounced off Todoist, Things, Notion, and a dozen more. So I built a task manager for people who hate task managers. Here's what it does differently.
ProductApr 8, 2026Product
Why your task manager doesn't work (and what to do instead)
To-do apps are great at capturing tasks and bad at getting you to do them. Why fixed-time reminders fail, and what a reminder should check before it fires.
ProductivityApr 5, 2026Productivity
Why you ignore reminders: the science of timing
Reminders keep arriving when you can’t act on them. What research on attention cycles and the 23-minute interruption cost says about when a reminder actually works.
EngineeringApr 2, 2026Engineering
Notification fatigue: building an AI that knows when to shut up
Every AI tool can generate more notifications. We spent a year making Nudge send fewer. The two-stage filter, the 15-minute cooldown, and what we cut.
GuidesMar 28, 2026Guides
How to build a morning routine that sticks (even with ADHD)
Morning routine advice assumes discipline you don't have at 7 AM. A guide for ADHD and inconsistent brains: one habit, tiny starts, anchors that hold.