How to Remember Important Dates
The dates that matter most come once a year, which is exactly why they slip. Keep them in one place that reminds you early enough to do something about them.
The short answer
Keep every important date in one list that reminds you, and set each reminder early enough to act: about two weeks ahead for anything you book or post, the day before for a message or a call. Your phone's calendar can do this for free. If you'd like the reminder by email with the words ready, Greetigo does that for birthdays, anniversaries and other dates about people, free for up to 10 saved dates.
Which dates to keep
Start with the people you'd feel worst about forgetting, and add the rest as you learn them:
- Birthdays: family, close friends, a partner, the people you work with.
- Anniversaries: your own, your parents', and close friends' weddings if you like to send a note.
- Work anniversaries for the people you manage or work closely with.
- Harder dates: the anniversary of a death, whether the loss is yours or a friend's. A short message that day can mean a lot.
- One-time dates: a friend's surgery, an exam, a first day at a new job, a baby's due date. A note the day before shows you were paying attention.
Write down the exact date for each one. If you're not sure of a family date, a parent or a sibling usually knows.
Pick when each reminder comes
Work backwards from what you'll do:
- 14 days before: a booking, a trip, a gift that has to ship.
- 7 days before: a card by post (here's when to mail a birthday card).
- The day before: a message, a call or flowers.
- On the day: a second nudge, in case the first one slipped past.
For the dates that matter most, set two reminders: one to plan and one to write.
Free ways to set it up
You don't need a special app:
- Your phone's calendar: add each date as a yearly event with an alert or two. It's free and already there, though alerts are easy to swipe away on a busy day. For birthdays, see the steps on iPhone, on Android, in Outlook and on a PC.
- A calendar you share: with a partner or the family, so remembering isn't one person's job.
- A list you check every week: a note or a spreadsheet works if you really check it. A spreadsheet can even show what's coming up; see birthday reminders from a spreadsheet.
Whatever you use, keep every date in the same place, so nothing depends on memory.
Date reminders by email, with the words ready
Greetigo is one option, made for dates about people. Birthdays and anniversaries repeat every year on the same date. On the Dates page you can also add a graduation, a wedding, a new baby or a date you name yourself, and choose how it repeats: yearly, quarterly, monthly, weekly, every number of days you choose, or just once.
Greetigo emails you the day before by default, or on the day, or 1, 3, 7 or 14 days before, and you can pick more than one. For a birthday, an anniversary and most other dates about a person, the email comes with a message already written: a free template with their name, or on Plus and Premium the AI-written draft you saved for that date. You review it, then send it from Greetigo or copy it into a card or a text. Nothing is sent until you click Send.
It's free for up to 10 saved dates, and Premium has no limit. Reminders come by email, and as Mac notifications if you use the Mac app. There are no text-message reminders and no phone app. For bills, renewals and work deadlines, a calendar or a to-do app is a better fit.
If you've already missed one
Say something today. A short, honest message now is better than a perfect one next week. Missed an important date has words for most situations, and there are guides for a forgotten birthday and a forgotten anniversary.
Guides for each kind of date
- Family birthdays: Mom, Dad and everyone else.
- Anniversaries: which ones to keep, and when to plan.
- Coworkers' birthdays and work anniversaries.
- Birthdays you only see on Facebook.
- Birthday reminders on a Mac.