So, the inspiration for this column, and possibly a book later on, came actually from a book I was reading the other day. It was called, Who Killed What’s-Her-Name. In the story the main character is planning on writing a book about how to jog a faulty memory. It gives all kinds of tips that I am sure we could find useful in the event of a memory fail. Things included were; a pencil is a girl’s best friend, make lists, a large calendar, and tips to rhyme or associate people’s names in your mind. Just to name a few.
These all have good and bad points. If you make a list and have things on it that you absolutely need to remember, will you remember to bring it along when you shop or run errands for instance? If you have a calendar and make a large notation for a doctor’s appointment but put only DAP on it will you wonder who Dap is, or what it means? You need to write things out fully, never shorten or use initials. If you use a name for someone older, in your mind to associate it with them so you remember, who is going through menopause and hot flashes would you accidentally and embarrassingly call her Mrs. Hot? Haha. There can be pitfalls….just sayin!
Occasionally we all need a bit of extra help to remember things in our every day life. Did you always use the key hook by the door, or have you left your keys in your pocket…maybe, or your other pants?
I know now that our phones help us along the way. We just need to really know that we need to make use of those tools to help ourselves, right? For instance, who among the readers has used the flashlight on their phone to search for the same phone? Possibly it could have been that you were talking on it while looking for it? Haha. Instead maybe use the note feature to make lists because you will probably remember that important phone.
A good way to remember to take something along with you is also to leave it by the door, of course, that is unless you leave it to one side and walk right by it more than once. Not that it has ever happened to me…cough..cough. In that instance when you really need to remember to take it along when you leave, you should either put it in the car right now when you remember or maybe you should leave it right in front of the door itself, (got that one from the book but I have also used it for years).
Take heart, we all have the same troubles in some variation. The thing of the matter is to realize it and have a sense of humor about the situation. If we get frustrated it will only make us have a more difficult time remembering. We then need to take that extra moment in time now, to ensure that we use whatever tips and tools we have available to jog that elusive memory and keep our lives on a smoother path.
Hopefully you can make use of some of the things I have mentioned, and I will pass along a few more in the future. Maybe I will repeat some of these again as well to ahem, refresh my mind with the ideas, and possibly yours!
The most important thing to remember is to keep smiling!