How to set random reminders on your iPhone
Published
Get personal reminders at varying times with Super Bump. Choose a rhythm and part of the day, protect quiet hours, and receive a nudge without tracking completion.
Choose a period instead of an exact minute
To get random reminders on your iPhone with Super Bump, write a short message, choose how often it should return, and select a part of the day. The app chooses a varying time within that period. Allow notifications so the message can appear.
This suits something you want to bring back to mind rather than an appointment. “Take the camera out sometime” can wait for a suitable afternoon. A train departure needs an exact alarm. Super Bump is for the first kind of reminder.
Write something you would want to receive
Use your own words and enough context to recognise the thought when it arrives. The app is returning a message, not asking you to prove that you acted on it.
- “Take the camera out sometime.” A gentle way to return to a hobby.
- “Look at the plants.” A prompt to check them, without assuming they all need water on a fixed schedule.
- “Maybe call your parents.” A thought to bring back when a conversation would fit.
Set a rhythm that fits the thought
Super Bump runs on iPhone with iOS 18 or later. Create a bump, write its message, then use the rhythm choices to decide how it returns.
- Choose Every day for a daily return, or Every week for the weekdays you select.
- Choose Every month for a monthly pattern, such as the last Friday. For something much less frequent, choose Every now and then.
- For daily, weekly and monthly rhythms, choose the part of the day that fits. The app chooses the exact time within the available window.
- Review quiet hours in Settings so notifications fit your waking day.
- Allow notifications for Super Bump when prompted, or enable them in your iPhone’s notification settings.
Understand what random means here
A daily bump returns once on a scheduled day, at a varying time in its window. A weekly bump returns on the weekdays you chose. Random timing does not mean a stream of messages throughout the day, and this is not an hourly-reminder setting.
Every now and then is deliberately much less frequent. It chooses an occasional day rather than following a weekly or monthly date; it is intended for a thought that can return over the coming months. Choose a daily or weekly rhythm when you want a more regular reminder.
You do not need to mark a delivered bump complete. Its job is to bring the words back to mind. The next return follows the rhythm you chose rather than your completion record.
Give reminders room without giving them the whole day
Use quiet hours to protect the time when you do not want a nudge. Pause an individual bump when it stops being useful, and resume it when you want that thought to return.
If a notification arrives at an awkward moment, use Bump me later. Change the wording or rhythm when the reminder needs a different role. You do not lose a streak or build up an overdue list.
Notification permission, Focus and other iPhone notification settings can affect when you see an alert. Check those settings if reminders appear to be missing. Do not rely on a loose reminder for medication timing, emergencies, or another time-critical event. Use an appropriate alarm or dedicated system when timing matters.
Keep the reminder separate from tracking
A random reminder can simply be a thought you receive and act on if the moment fits. There is no score to improve and no history to maintain. That makes it useful when you want a nudge but do not want another list to manage.
The guide below explains that distinction in more detail and helps you choose which kinds of everyday thoughts suit it.