Tips & Tricks Tuesday: Following TV shows with repeating tasks
Now that Bob is done catching up on the rest of The IT Crowd, he’s been watching more current TV. This week’s tip, shared by derboti, is very handy for him and maybe for you too – derboti shows a simple way to keep track of when your favorite shows are airing.
I have a few TV shows that I like to watch as soon as they air, but because of irregular work schedules I never got into a habit of watching TV regularly. To help me keep up with new episodes, I use RTM.
When a release date for a new show or season is announced, I usually enter it in RTM this way:
• New episode of ‘Mad Men’ ^4/13 *weekly #tv http://epguides.com/MadMen/
• New episode of '24’ ^5/5 *weekly #tv http://epguides.com/24/
On the day of, the task reminds me of the show. I complete the task once I either set up my DVR or watch it on TV that day. Sometimes I’ll postpone the task right away to the next day, if I know I’ll have to watch this episode on demand the next day.
And the task automatically repeats itself the following week for the next episode!
Especially with network television, some shows don’t air regularly because of hiatus or other repeats. That’s why I add a URL to the task that points to that show’s episode list. I like epguides.com, but you could also use IMDb, Wikipedia, or the show’s official website.
When the task comes up, I can quickly jump to the URL and check the episode list if there’s a new episode scheduled for today. If not, I delete the current task and always answer the “continue repeating?” question with “yes”, so the task reminds me to check for a new episode next week.
Thanks for sharing this tip, derboti! You’re our Tips & Tricks Tuesday winner this week.
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