Get woken for a client message after 10pm, with a holding reply sent
Clients in other time zones don't know it's 2am for you. Most of what arrives at night can wait. One message in fifty can't, and that's the one you'd rather be woken for than find at 8am with three follow-ups under it.
This watch lets the night be quiet. Clients you name, or anyone whose message sounds urgent, get through as an alarm. OLL.E sends a short holding reply at once, so the client knows a person is on it, and you decide whether to get up.
- WatchesPhone notifications: WhatsApp, Slack, SMS, Telegram, Upwork messages
- AlertAlarm (phone call if you prefer)
- Works onAndroid · iPhone with PinG
iPhone note. iOS doesn't let an app read other apps' notifications in the background, so on iPhone this watch needs OLL.E PinG, a keyring that relays them and rings on its own speaker. On Android nothing extra is needed.
Set it up
- Install OLL.E. On Android, grant notification access. On iPhone, pair the PinG keyring.
- Tap Monitor Now and type the sentence. Say who counts as a client: names, a group, or "anyone I have an active project with".
- Pick Alarm (or Phone call), then Send a holding reply, and write the reply once: "Got this, I'll be on it first thing".
Questions about this watch
Will I be woken by everything?
No. Only messages that match the watch ring. Other notifications go to the Shortlist, which is silent, and you read them in the morning.
Can it tell a real emergency from a late-night 'hi'?
It reads the message, so you can say "only if it sounds urgent or mentions a deadline". Expect to tune the sentence over the first few days; each tweak makes the night quieter.
Does the holding reply go out on iPhone too?
On Android it is sent for you. On iPhone, apps can't reply inside other apps, so the reply is a draft you confirm with a tap; the alarm still rings through PinG.
What about Do Not Disturb?
On iPhone, PinG rings on its own speaker, so the phone's Focus settings don't decide whether you hear it. On Android, allow OLL.E's calls through Do Not Disturb in your phone's settings (on newer Android: Settings, Modes, Notification filters) so the alarm and calls get through at night while everything else stays quiet.