# Do you send emails to yourself? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 28, 2023, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-send-emails-to-yourself/990829 "2023-09-28T18:14:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2023, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-send-emails-to-yourself/990829/41 "2023-09-29T15:38:15Z")
If I’m websurfing (on my break, of course) and I come across a link I can’t access from my work computer I’ll email it to my personal account to look at later. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2023, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-send-emails-to-yourself/990829/42 "2023-09-29T16:04:16Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > I have an Android phone and use Google Messages: it’s a web-based service that syncs with my phone’s text messaging app and lets me send and receive texts via my computer. I ❤ it. Same. Well, not sure I ❤ it, but pretty close. And yes, I email stuff to myself all the time. Costco list: Email or text to myself. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2023, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-send-emails-to-yourself/990829/43 "2023-09-29T16:07:52Z")
My grocery list is a Google doc that my husband and i share. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2023, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-send-emails-to-yourself/990829/44 "2023-09-29T16:09:48Z")
Well aren’t you fancy! 🙂 My wife refuses to use any sort of list for anything: Groceries, packing for backpacking trip, packing for vacation, list of work to do around the house, etc. I can’t function without a list for everything I do. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2023, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-send-emails-to-yourself/990829/45 "2023-09-29T16:30:20Z")
We used to use a piece of paper on the fridge, and still keep that, and check it against the online list before shopping. But during pandemic lockdowns we were trying to do one big shopping every month, and that list was too unwieldy to just write. We moved it online and sorted it so all the produce items were together on the list, and all the frozen foods, and so on. That actually worked really well, so we’re still using that list. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2023, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-send-emails-to-yourself/990829/46 "2023-09-29T16:36:07Z")
If it’s not on a yellow sticky note, it gets sent to myself in G-mail. I don’t work and am just about alone in the world, so I don’t get any long (or short) jolly e-mails. Most of my mail is reminders and to-do daily lists I sent to myself. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2023, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-send-emails-to-yourself/990829/47 "2023-09-29T17:23:24Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Shoot, I call myself on the phone. > > But I often don’t answer. Try spoofing caller id so you don’t know who’s calling. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2023, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-send-emails-to-yourself/990829/48 "2023-09-29T17:33:40Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > That only works if everything you use is in one ecosystem and one ID. I also use Apple laptops and Android phones. I have everything set up with Google on my laptop (Drive, mail, calendar, sheets, docs) and it syncs seamlessly. I guess I’m not contradicting you in the sense that Im 100% in the Google ecosystem for personal data, but it is possible to do that on Apple OS. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2023, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-send-emails-to-yourself/990829/49 "2023-09-29T17:43:31Z")
Yeah, the “one id” is a bigger problem. I have three Microsoft ids (well, i mostly use two) and my work computer has firewalls against sharing data with Google. So if i have personal stuff at work that i want my own copy of i use email. And there’s actually a lot of that. My CE record. Information about industry volunteer with that i do on work time (with company permission) but also work on at home. Information about employee benefits… I also sometimes email photos, because i have way too many photos on my phone too synch then all to the cloud, and email is often easier than manually uploading a couple of photos. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2023, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-send-emails-to-yourself/990829/50 "2023-09-29T17:49:37Z")
Not lately, but I have. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2023, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-send-emails-to-yourself/990829/51 "2023-09-29T18:43:20Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > Been doing it since the 70’s upon the recommendation of Steely Dan. [Send it off in a letter to yourself.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfZWp-hGCdA) That’s funny, because the first time I sent an email to myself (from work to my home computer), back in the mid-1990s, that’s _exactly_ what went through my head. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2023, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-send-emails-to-yourself/990829/52 "2023-09-29T22:45:31Z")
All the time, for all the reasons already given. Email has the advantage that it works anywhere with a web browser. No extra apps required. Or extra sign-ins. There’s also a kind of mental simplicity to it. If I’m taking a note, should I use Google Keep, or Evernote, or OneNote? That picture–should I use Google Photos, or Google Drive, or OneDrive? That file–put it on Google Drive, OneDrive, or let Carbonite back it up and access it that way? There’s no extra mental energy required with email. It basically always works with whatever content, and is always available on all my personal devices and any other ones that I might access. I never delete email except for junk, so it also acts as a permanent backup. Since it’s email, I can also expect that if Gmail either goes away or I have to transition away at some point, I can easily export/import the data to wherever else I wish. The same is not true of more specialized services like OneNote. ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2023, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-send-emails-to-yourself/990829/53 "2023-09-29T23:39:59Z")
I’ll do so when I want to send an email from myself indirectly so as to be a sort of labyrinth to foil spam. For example, I have an email on computer A that I want on computer C, but I would rather send the email from computer A to a different email on my phone, and then send this email to computer C. As others have noted, it’s so much easier to send photos from my phone to a PC via email than through the use of cords, card readers. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2023, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-send-emails-to-yourself/990829/54 "2023-09-29T23:47:01Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > All the time. But mostly I’m sending info from my work computer to my home computer (reminder that i have a meeting in the middle of a day I’m otherwise taking off, for instance) or using my email as a “clipboard” so i can cut and paste from one system to another. Yes, and this is why. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2023, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-send-emails-to-yourself/990829/55 "2023-09-30T01:53:12Z")
as I grow ever more tech savvy, I moved up from e-mailing me info to whatsapping me info … “every second counts” ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2023, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-send-emails-to-yourself/990829/56 "2023-09-30T03:06:52Z")
I email copies of my day’s writing to myself every day. It’s my primary form of backup. ---
**Author:** ![ColdBrew50](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9a140/32.png) [@ColdBrew50](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColdBrew50)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2023, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-send-emails-to-yourself/990829/57 "2023-09-30T10:35:21Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > All this cloud upload / download stuff happens automatically and not quite real time. _If_ you set things up that way. That is true, but I don’t wish to have various kludgy work-arounds set up for various linux boxes at home, Android on phone… Yes, such a system could and perhaps should be set up for power users who desire maximum overdrive, but I have my own systems whose only common denominator, software-wise, is more or less e-mail. It’s easy and it works, for the scant occasions I need it to. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2023, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-send-emails-to-yourself/990829/58 "2023-09-30T14:53:41Z")
Unfortunately my iPad and MacBook Air are both older, and Reminders doesn’t sync well between them and my newer phone. So I only use Reminders and iCalendar. But Notes still syncs across all my home devices, and I’ll often add myself (either work or home, depending where I am) as an invitee to my own meeting - rather important if I want to make sure I leave work early enough for an appointment at home. I’ll often send texts to myself if I see something I want to read or watch later, but I’m on my phone. Then I’ll look at it on my computer. Durned television logged me out of YouTube, so I have to remember to login again, so I can watch YouTube on the television. At least I can cast from my laptop, so that’s another option. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2023, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-send-emails-to-yourself/990829/59 "2023-10-01T15:31:10Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > My grocery list is a Google doc that my husband and i share Mine is a Google Sheets spreadsheet. 🙂 I have a list of everything I might ever buy, sorted in aisle order, with a “need” column where I put a “y” next to the things I want to get. When I’m ready to go to the store, I filter that column to only show the “y” items. Why yes, I _am_ a little anal retentive. 😁 ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2023, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-send-emails-to-yourself/990829/60 "2023-10-01T15:37:11Z")
You do however, win the thread in the “most elaborate solution” division. So there’s that. 😁 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-send-emails-to-yourself/990829.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-send-emails-to-yourself/990829.md?page=4)