Methods, systems, and computer program products for enabling message
senders and event creators to convey time-sensitivity of their messages
and events (such as electronic mail messages, electronic calendar
entries, and "to-do" items), and for handling such messages and events at
a receiver. A message sender marks messages as to whether they are
time-sensitive, and may also identify a starting and ending time and/or
date during which the time-sensitive status applies. When such a message
arrives at a recipient, it is evaluated and if the time-sensitive period
has been reached, the message is automatically displayed to the
recipient. Preferably, the recipient must handle the displayed message
before continuing on to other messages. The disclosed techniques enable
messages to be viewed in a timely manner, according to the sender's
representation of the time-sensitivity of the message. As a result of
these improvements, communication between senders and receivers may
become more effective.