Alarming Scheduling

May 4th, 2026
tech
Each morning I look over my work calendar and make a series of verbal requests:

Set a timer for 9:59
Set a timer for 10:59
Set a timer for 11:29
Set a timer for 1:29
Set a timer for 2:29

Why?

  • I do not want to miss any meetings.
  • I will miss occasional meetings if I'm not notified.
  • I want to keep my phone on silent.
  • I don't reliably notice my phone vibrating.
  • While I do notice a smartwatch vibrating, I can't wear one.

This means I want my phone to make noise before each meeting, while otherwise remaining silent. I put in a bunch of time trying to figure out a better way, learning about the automation options for Android and trying several, and didn't find anything that worked. Even the ones that seemed like they should have worked (MacroDroid seemed pretty promising) just failed to make noise at the right time. So I just set my timers.

On the other hand, it's not a total waste: looking over my schedule and noticing how my meetings fit together and where I have free time is still a good thing to do. But I still wish I could automate this.

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