A tip on remembering things
Do you find yourself forgetting everyday things all the time? Phone? Wallet? Keys? I just want to share a couple of things I have picked up that have helped me massively in this area.
1. The first one is this: I learnt to put important things to remember with other important things. I have some key items that are ingrained in my brain to remember before leaving the house, to put in my pockets. Actually these are precisely the things that people often forget! – wallet, phone, keys, but I have such a fear of losing or forgetting these things that I have developed an obsession about where they are. I always put them in the same place in my house – straight away – and they are always the final things I make sure I have when leaving the house. (I would add laptop bag to this, when I need it).
What I discovered is that if there is something really important that I need to take with me one day, I place it on top of my wallet or phone (and sometimes with the keys on top of that just to make sure!).
If it is something larger to remember, rather than a small item (some information or a large object), then I write a note and place it on the wallet/phone. For me, it is like the wallet, phone and keys are anchor points. I am pretty sure I am not going to forget these, the habit is so ingrained. So I know that I will not forget something else if I put it with one of these things.
2. The second, related little thing I picked up, is doing things Right Now. This is also to combat the forgetting of small tasks. Obviously doing things right now is not always possible, depending on what the task is, but if it is something small and can be slotted in the present time rather than sometime later, it guarantees it is not forgotten. It also saves on multiple to-do lists around the house, on a device or worse, in your head.