Things You Never Knew Your Phone Alarm System Could Do

The alarm system app in your phone is not only for waking you up in the morning, you can use it for so much more… like setting and achieving your goals.

Alarm systems on our phones have been relegated to that system app for setting ‘wake up’ time and nothing more.

What you don’t know is that there is a lot more your alarm can do for you.

In this article, I will be sharing all you can use your alarm for and how it can be used.

Go on with me.

How well do you know your Alarm and its functions?

Alarms date back to 428-348 BC, during the time of the ancient Greek philosopher, Plato. The man who had a huge clock that sounded like a water organ each time it was used at night.

He used this clock to announce the beginning of his lectures.

Inventors and statesmen from centuries back also used different types of sounds and clocks to form an alarm clock.

In the 14th century, the western europe had clock towers that chimed everyday like the St Mark’s Clocktower in Venice which still stands till this day.

By the 15th century, alarm clocks that could be set by the user to their preferred time was made.

And in 1787, Levi Hutchins made an alarm for himself that woke him up at 4am so he could go to work.

By 1940, James Reynolds invented the first radio alarm clock.

This invention and upgrade of the alarm clock continued until today where we have alarm clocks that can be placed in our homes to wake us up at certain hours of the day.

And the easily accessible phone alarm clock which makes setting an alarm to a preferred time easier than it used to be before the invention of hand phones.

The alarm clock is a system that alerts a person or more at a particular period of time it has been set to.

Also read: How to Plan a Productive Month 

Not everyone owns a physical alarm clock but we can all attest to having one in our phones.

Throughout history, alarm clocks were used for diverse purposes and functions like to wake one to go to work, to alert people or remind them of an activity, to get people to gather for an event, and so on.

But over the years, the phone alarm system has been streamlined so that a lot of people have limited its function to just waking people up.

The primary function of a phone alarm system might be to wake people up from sleep or a nap, but that is not all it can do.

Here are other functions of your phone alarm system: 

• To set reminders

• To set daily activities

• To schedule the activities of the day

• As an habit tracker

• To plan your day

• To change your sleeping habits.

You probably wonder how a phone alarm system can do all of these things but yes it can.

How to use the phone Alarm system functions

How to set reminders

You can use your phone alarm system to set reminders for things you need to get done.

All you need to do is open your clock, go to alarm.

If you want to set a reminder to call Amy by 10pm, go to the time on the alarm and set to 10pm.

It will automatically set to today, but if you want to call Amy throughout the week, you can go to the repeat section and select the days of the week you want to be reminded to call Amy.

Then choose a sound of your choice.

Decide if you want it to vibrate when ringing or not, then go to the label and write “Call Amy” there.

So, when it rings and you’re wondering why your alarm is ringing, your label will tell you why.

How to set daily activities

You can set your daily activities with your phone alarm system.

Now, let’s say you have 5 things you need to get done today but you want to remember to do them when it’s time.

You can use your phone alarm system.

All you need to do is go to your clock, open alarm and click the + button, which signifies create new alarm.

You can create as many new alarm reminders as possible.

Use this to create your daily activities.

Just like in the “how to set a reminder” section, you can set a date, time, and label for your activities.

And by the specified time, your alarm will let you know when it is time to do those activities.

How to schedule the activities of the day

One thing I like to do with my phone alarm system is schedule my activities for the day.

I usually do this a day before.

This is similar to writing your todo list for the next day in your planner the day before.

All you need to do is create a new alarm on your phone alarm system and then create new reminders for all you need to do the next day with their necessary labels.

You can also create alarms to remind you to prepare for your activities before the time.

By the specified time, your alarm will remind you that it is time to carry out your daily activities.

Easy and seamless.

How to use as a habit tracker

You’re probably amazed that you can use your phone alarm system as a habit tracker.

Well, it is possible.

All you have to do is go to your clock, open the alarm, as usual, then instead of just setting the alarm like you’d usually do, click on all the days of the week on the repeat section and label the alarm with the habit you’re trying to form.

If it is exercising daily, label it “Exercise today” and save.

Everyday at your specified time, your alarm will remind you to exercise for as long as you want to be reminded.

Another trick I use to ensure I don’t postpone the time to perform the habit is by setting another alarm to remind me 2-5 minutes before the time I want to carry out the habit.

That way, I’d prepare myself to do it.

And everyday at that particular time, I get the activity done.

And after so many weeks and months, without the alarm, my body and my mind will be at alert to perform the habit even when my alarm does not alert me.

How to use the phone alarm system to plan your day

You can use your phone alarm system to plan your day by creating an alarm system for all you need to do for that day.

So, instead of writing it down on a paper and trying to remind yourself to carry out your tasks, you can write down your daily plans in your planner book, journal, or notepad, and also put it in your alarm.

So, when it’s time and your alarm rings, you will know what to do next.

That way you can follow through with your plans.

Even when you’re asleep or engrossed in something else, your alarm can remind you to carry out your plans.

Another interesting thing about alarms is that you don’t need to be online for it to work. It works even when you’re offline.

Some alarm systems are also very effective that they still remind you even if your phone battery is very low and your phone is switched off.

How to use the phone alarm system to work on your sleeping habits.

Have you been worried about how much you sleep and you want to sleep less?

Have you been sleeping so much lately and sometimes you sleep past the time you’re supposed to be doing something productive?

Your phone alarm system can help you.

Remember the primary goal of the alarm is to wake you up from your sleep or nap.

So, this is something your phone alarm system is great at.

Before you sleep, set an alarm for the time you want to wake up.

If you want to wake by 5am.

Set an alarm for 5am but don’t stop there.

Also set an alarm for 3:30am, 4:00am, 4:30am, and 5:15am.

These alarms you set before 5am are to prepare you to wake up.

If you are the type that sleeps a lot, then I’m sure you won’t wake up at the first ring of your alarm.

But when your alarm rings by 3:30am and you wake up to turn it off because it’s not yet time, your body and mind start preparing for 5:00am.

When you wake up by 4am, 4:30am…

You’re already almost awake.

Sometimes, you might eventually wake up by 4:30am because the constant disturbance of the alarm have taken sleep from your eyes.

But, if you still don’t wake before 5, you would wake up by 5am because your body and mind is now awake and you can tell that it is time to wake.

If you then decide to snooze for 10 mins, after 10 mins, your alarm will wake you again.

If you still don’t wake up (which is highly impossible after so much disturbance. Even if you don’t get up, your eyes will probably be wide open on the bed).

5 minutes later, the alarm will ring again (because you set it to 5:15am) and you will be too pissed to keep sleeping.

Especially if you set your alarm to sound very loudly.

Before you know it, you’re awake and ready for the day.

Interesting tips to know when using your phone alarm system to set your goals 

• You can set the sound of your alarm to the sound of your voice telling yourself to wake up or telling yourself how important the task or activities you have to do is. 

This is like a motivational talk to get you to do what you have to do.

• You can set a funny threatening label on your alarm clock.

Labels like “You should wake up now.” ” This is important to you. You have to do it now or you won’t be happy later.” and so on.

You can set it to anything that makes you want to get up and get to work.

• You can tell Google Assistant or Siri to set an alarm for you instead of creating it by yourself.

You can open Google or Siri and say “Set alarm for 5pm and label it meeting with Andrew.”

This saves you time and you can create as many reminders as possible.

You can also double-check incase Google or Siri read your pronunciation wrong and made an error in the reminder.

I hope you enjoyed this post and learned a great deal from it.

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So, tell me, will you be trying any of these “Things You Never Knew Your Phone Alarm System Could Do” and if you will, which one will you be trying?

Also, what have you been using your phone alarm system to do?

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