I have always maintained pretty good memory for most of my life.
Because I was such a planner in my younger years, it also carried over into my parenting days.
When my three sons became active in school plays, athletic contests, and presentations, I needed a system to help me keep track of everything. Twenty-five years ago, we didn’t have notifications or online calendars to remind us of something we needed to do.
No, we did things the old-fashioned way…we wrote something down on a calendar.
Every year, I would receive two — one for my desk at work and the other I hung on the wall at home. The day after Christmas, I would update both of them with as much information as I knew at that time.
Then, I took it a step further…
I highlighted each event with a different color highlighter. Each family member was assigned a color, making it easy to look at the calendar to see who had conflicts and where my husband and I would need to “divide and conquer.”
For example, the boys played select baseball, and on any given year, each boy would have at least 40-50 games apiece between April and July. Oh, and my husband coached all of them for over 17 years.
We don’t choose to forget.
In today’s busy world, we are bound to forget something.
My best friend has difficulty remembering things; perhaps some of you can relate.
Like you, she is always thinking.
Technology has forced our brains into “overload” with all this information at our fingertips through smartphone applications and the ever-present Google.
Some of our retention ability may stem from the never-ending stimulus that surrounds us every day.
I’ll admit it, and my phone is never off — even beside my bed. (However, I do occasionally leave it at home.)
So why are some of us better at remembering things while others are not?
Some might suggest that owning your own business requires so much of you — because you have to know and do everything, you remember everything.
Okay…that’s not it. My best friend owns her own business,
Others might suggest that we don’t get enough sleep.
That could be, but she is tired most of the time.
As we get older, our brains will get more and more tired.
Eventually, we will forget a few things.
However, in the meantime, let’s start doing these five things now!
1. Make a routine
When we keep a schedule, we have less to remember. Our bodies and minds are on “auto-pilot” and do things because of muscle memory. Maybe that routine is as simple as getting up simultaneously every day. Over time, our bodies will learn to wake up simultaneously, and we will not feel so groggy each morning. In addition, we are incorporating a routine into your daily life as much as possible. Creating habits you follow daily can be difficult at first, but eventually, you’ll need to remember less. Completing familiar tasks daily cements our minds, allowing space for new information to find its way in.
2. Play memory games
Every morning, I play two games, both of which are like “Where’s Waldo?” but with a mystery theme. Different locations become available the more I play. I move onto other levels based on my success in finding all the objects in the quickest time in the early grades. Over time, I recall the different information shared with me on each level, and my finding of these objects increased too. The things (their colors, shapes, past locations) become almost certain to where I will find them next in future levels. The games teach me to play them better based on my past experiences with the game, creating a learning atmosphere I otherwise would not have obtained.
3. Laugh out loud
Life can be pretty serious most days. With deadlines to meet and places to be, we are so focused on getting things done that we don’t take time to laugh out loud. It has been proven that laughter reduces our stress levels and releases chemicals in our bodies that make us feel good. Simple joys and funny things always happen, but we miss them too often. A simple giggle (even with something you did) can immediately take our mind off something. That may not seem like a good thing, but in the end, we can get back on track with what needs to be done. Life should never be taken so seriously that we don’t laugh at least once a day. (Permission granted.)
4. Write things down
Remember the calendar I mentioned earlier? That comes in along with the never-ending “to-do” lists. I am old-fashioned and believe in the power of pen and paper (when not available, I will use my smartphone). Writing it down releases it from your mind and puts it somewhere you can see it. Writing things down can also keep your hard-earned money in your wallet. For example, it has been said that people who take a list with them to do their grocery shopping tend to spend less money. Side note: Choose designated areas for these “lists” so you don’t need to remember where they are…
5. Exercise
Just like laughing, doing something with our muscles is good for our body in many ways. Whether our form of exercise is getting on a treadmill at 5 am or doing some boxing in a ring, giving our body a good workout is beneficial to our muscle growth and health maintenance. Our minds need to be challenged as much as our bodies do, and staying fit allows things to work more smoothly. Even if you are not out to run a marathon or become the most muscular man/woman on earth, getting a regular dose of exercise will keep your body fit and tidy up your mind.
So, let’s work more intelligently.
No doubt life will get more complicated as we move through it. With more and more information trying to vie for the amount of limited space we have in our brains, we will forget things. Some of these things will be irrelevant, while others might be more important.
Life is hard enough as it is, so let’s find ways to “hack” it and become better in the process.
In the meantime, take some helpful hints and apply them to your everyday life.
