A Trick for Better Memory

I would be lost without lists.

I keep a running grocery list on the fridge. I keep a general to-do list on the first page of my planner and my daily to-do list is on a sticky note on the front cover. I keep a prioritized list of long term to-do’s (pet vaccinations, auto servicing, etc.) in the “notes” section of my planner, and then I write all my appointments in the monthly calendar section (I prefer monthly to weekly so I can plan ahead better).

But every once in a while I find myself somewhere without my purse and no pen and paper handy, and something mildly important that I need to remember – ack!

That’s when I use the power of association. This is something that most of us use in one form or another already. For example, have you ever forgotten to give someone a phone message until the phone rings again? Your mind has automatically made the association between the phone and the message.

The trick is to make a conscious association. I even speak it out loud to reinforce it in my mind. Let’s say I’m in the grocery store with my list but no pen and I just remembered that I need to get breakfast cereal along with the chicken, lettuce, bread, eggs, water and milk already on my list. I say out load (yes, people look at me funny) “when I pick up the milk carton I will think of pouring it on my cereal.” And, sure enough, I don’t forget the cereal!

Or - here’s a stretch – this morning in the car I remembered I needed to add shampoo to my shopping list. Instead of digging through my purse for my list while I was driving, I told myself that when I walked into the bathroom later at work, I would remember shampoo (the bathroom’s where you keep shampoo). It was a vague association, but it worked! As soon as I crossed the threshold, pop – shampoo!

It is amazing what we can accomplish with a little training and discipline.

Do you have a memory trick you’d like to share?

Posted March 3, 2008, filed in Must-read articles, Living Simply