How can I send messages to myself?

Sending messages to yourself can be useful for a variety of reasons. It allows you to send reminders, notes, lists, or any other text information to your own phone number or email address. This article will provide an overview of the different ways you can send messages to yourself on both mobile devices and computers.

Sending messages to your own phone number

One of the easiest ways to send messages to yourself is by texting your own phone number. This allows you to send notes, reminders, lists, or anything else you want to remember later on. Here are some tips for sending messages to your own phone number:

• Open the messaging or texting app on your smartphone.
• Enter your 10-digit phone number into the recipient field, the same number your SIM card is connected to.
• Type out the message you want to send yourself.
• Hit send. The message will be delivered to your inbox like any other text.

This works for both iPhones and Android phones. All major messaging and texting apps have the capability to send messages to your own number. It’s an easy way to create quick reminders for yourself that will show up on your phone like any other text message.

Creating reminders

One of the most common uses for sending messages to your own phone number is to set reminders. For example, you can text yourself a reminder to “Pick up milk after work today”. Then when you get the message later, you’ll be reminded about stopping for milk.

You can also set location-based reminders by texting the address or name of a place you need to go. Such as “Pick up prescription at 123 Main St. pharmacy at 5pm”. Your phone will remind you when you get to that location at the scheduled time.

Making lists

Texting yourself is a great way to create lists you can access from your phone. For grocery lists, to-do lists, shopping lists, or any other type of list, just text each item to your phone number sequentially. The list will show up in your messaging thread for easy access later.

This can be helpful for remembering everything you need to buy at the store or all the tasks you want to complete over the weekend. You’ll have the list right on your phone wherever you go.

Capturing notes

You can also use self-messaging to capture quick notes. Whether it’s an address someone told you, a book title you want to remember, or any other notes, just text the details to yourself. You’ll have it recorded in your messages to reference later.

It can also be helpful for copying down information you find online. Rather than bookmarking pages or emailing them to yourself, you can text yourself the key details, quotes, or links you want to save.

Sending files

In addition to text, most messaging apps allow you to send images, videos, voice memos, links, documents, and other files to yourself. This provides easy access to the files right on your phone whenever you need them.

For example, you can send yourself an e-book file or an audio recording from a lecture. The file will show up right in your messaging thread for quick downloading or playback later.

Emailing yourself on computers

On laptop and desktop computers, one of the easiest ways to send messages to yourself is by emailing them to your own email address.

The process looks like:

1. Open your email account.
2. Compose a new email.
3. Put your own email address in the “To” field.
4. Enter a subject and text for the email as desired.
5. Attach any files you want to include.
6. Send the email to yourself.

When composing emails to yourself, be sure to use a descriptive subject line so you can easily identify the content later on. For example “Grocery list” or “Notes from meeting”.

Emailing yourself is helpful for:

• Sending yourself notes, lists, reminders, or instructions
• Keeping copies of online receipts or reservations
• Transferring files between devices
• Saving web pages or articles to read later

The email will show up in your inbox like any other message. You can also leave the email in your inbox as a reminder until you’ve completed any to-do items or other tasks contained in the message.

Using messenger apps

In addition to basic texting and email, there are various messenger apps you can use to send messages to yourself.

Popular options include:

• WhatsApp
• Facebook Messenger
• Telegram
• Signal
• Skype

The process for messaging yourself is basically the same as texting yourself:

1. Open the app and select “New message”
2. Enter your phone number or username as the recipient
3. Type out your message
4. Tap send

The benefits of using messaging apps include:

• End-to-end encryption for privacy
• Option to create group chats with yourself
• Easier media sharing
• Syncing across devices
• Fun features like stickers

Overall, messaging apps provide more flexibility and features compared to regular SMS text messaging when sending messages to yourself.

Using notes apps

Another option on smartphones is using notes apps to write messages that you can access later. Popular notes apps include:

• Apple Notes – for iPhone
• Google Keep – for Android
• OneNote – for Windows Phone
• Evernote

To use a notes app to message yourself:

1. Open the app and create a new note
2. Enter any text, lists, reminders, etc. as the note content
3. You can format with headings, bullet points, etc.
4. Attach images or files if desired
5. Save the note

Your note will be synced across devices and accessible within the app at any time. Benefits of using a notes app include formatting options, ability to organize notes into notebooks, and adding photos.

Creating quick reminders

Like with texting, notes apps are great for jotting down quick reminders for yourself. Whether it’s a household chore you need to do, an errand to run, or a work task you need to complete, enter it in a note titled “Reminders” or “To-Do List”.

Capturing ideas

You can also use notes apps to capture ideas, quotes, or things you want to remember. For example, if you hear a good quote or come up with an interesting idea, just open your notes app and jot it down for future reference.

Making lists

Grocery lists, packing lists, guest lists, and any other kind of list are easy to make within a notes app. Create a note like “Groceries” and enter items line by line. The note provides easy access to the list on your phone while shopping or packing.

Benefits of messaging yourself

Now that we’ve covered the various methods, here are some of the benefits of sending messages to yourself:

• Access information anywhere – Messages are available on your phone or computer wherever you go
• Create quick reminders and notes
• Store lists, links, files, and other content
• Surface information when you need it
• Provide instructions or encouragement to yourself
• Save ideas so you don’t forget them

In summary, self-messaging provides an easy way to capture important thoughts, reminders, files, and other useful information so you can access it anytime. Keep your notes organized for quick reference later.

Tips for self-messaging effectively

Here are some tips to use self-messaging most effectively:

• Create descriptive subject lines or note titles
• Organize notes into categories or notebooks
• Tag notes for easy searching
• Highlight important information
• Set reminders so you don’t forget to check messages
• Delete messages once you’ve acted on them
• Use concise bullet points instead of long paragraphs

Self-messaging is a simple but powerful tool for productivity and organization. With just your phone, computer, or notes app, you can store important information and reminders to access anytime, anywhere.

Privacy considerations

While self-messaging can be extremely convenient, there are some privacy considerations to keep in mind:

• Text messages and emails are not encrypted by default, so they could be surveilled
• Syncing notes across devices can make sensitive information vulnerable if a device is lost or hacked
• Someone borrowing your phone or computer may be able to view messages
• Automatically saving emails or notes to the cloud poses a privacy risk if accounts are compromised

To enhance privacy:

• Use end-to-end encrypted messenger apps like Signal or WhatsApp when possible
• Set up two-factor authentication on accounts
• Disable auto-save and syncing features when not needed
• Use strong unique passwords for all accounts
• Don’t store highly sensitive information via self-messaging channels

While total privacy cannot be guaranteed, following cyber security best practices can help minimize risks when using self-messaging.

Conclusion

Sending messages to yourself can be a quick, easy way to store information you want to access later from any device. Whether you email yourself notes from your computer, text reminders to your phone, or use a messenger app or notes app to leave yourself messages, self-messaging provides a convenient way to stay organized.

With all the options available today, you can choose the right method for your needs. Just be sure to use self-messaging thoughtfully by crafting descriptive messages, organizing and deleting messages when done, and following privacy best practices. With the ability to store notes, lists, files, and reminders, self-messaging helps boost your productivity and efficiency.

Method	Platforms	Pros	Cons
Text messaging	Mobile phones	Universally available, quick, easy	Not encrypted, limited features
Email	Computers, mobile	Available across devices, can attach files	Privacy risks, need Internet access
Messenger apps	Mobile, computer	End-to-end encryption, syncing, flexibility	Need to set up account, not universally available
Notes apps	Mobile, computer	Formatting options, media attachment, organization	Features vary across platforms, privacy risks