It’s often said that, as we age, “Memory is the second thing to go (I can’t remember the first thing …)” And, true to form, here I am aging and forgetting.
I’d like to share a few simple ways that have helped me reduce the stress of forgetting (and losing) things.
My guess is that you are already doing some of them, and/or know about them (but not doing them), or know about them but forgot that you knew about them!
With that ... here we go ...
1. As you may know, it’s easy to lose and/or forget things when traveling. As I speak around the country, I find myself in many hotel rooms and have discovered a few secrets to minimizing these frustrations.
Don’t spread your things around the room but rather maintain a few dedicated areas. For example, I pick a place for loose things such as my wallet, room key, car keys, etc., and make a point of using that place and ONLY that place for anything that comes out of my pockets.
Some items are too big (such as articles of clothing) so I make a point of keeping those things in the top drawer and ONLY the top drawer. And so on…
When it’s time to pack up, I can be confident that I will take everything I need to take.
2. I’m always an advocate of putting ideas on paper as soon as possible. Another problem when I am traveling is getting a good idea when I don’t have pen and paper to write it down.
I’ve found that a good way to deal with this is to send myself an email from my phone. Then, when I can get email on my desktop or laptop I’ll get that reminder email.
3. When I am home it seems that there are always things that have to go from one room to another. In the kitchen, for example, there are often items to go in the recycling bin in the garage. I don’t want to make a trip to the garage every time I have a recycle item, but I also don’t want to forget to take them.
That’s why I use “staging areas,” dedicated places around the house where I can put things that need to go somewhere else. Then, when I walk out of the kitchen I can take everything that needs to go and distribute it accordingly.
This is especially helpful for things that must go to an upstairs or downstairs room. Simply leave them on the bottom or top stair and then actually take them the next time you go down or up!
4. It seems like I always have the best ideas when I’m getting ready for bed such as a new article idea or something I have to do the next day. That’s why I have pen and paper by the sink. I can make a very brief note (often a single word is enough) and then put it where I’ll see it in the morning.
Post-it notes are especially good for this, as I can stick them on the mirror where they are impossible to miss! I take the note to my desk and incorporate those items where they need to go.
5. Our trash is collected on Wednesdays but I don’t like to put it out on the street Tuesday night because we have bears in the area. But how will I remember to put it out first thing Wednesday morning?
I could leave a note for myself, but it is likely that I’ll forget by the time I get into the kitchen (!) so I leave a sign such as a chair that is directly in the path I’ll walk. When I see the chair I am reminded why I put it there and the trash goes out on time.
How can you incorporate these simple ideas into your life? You’ll be surprised at what a difference they make provided, of course, that you don’t forget to use them!
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Edited by Jody Smith