Hack Your Brain - Alternatives To Remembering

The writing of this blog post was triggered by dearest flatmate who mentioned that she keeps forgetting things. This is a topic where I am quite conscious of all the techniques I use - I used to have an insanely good memory but it was affected badly when I got sick. It's partially recovered now but not as good as it used to be ... whether that's because I am no longer 18 or because I'm sick is hard to tell, but for me it feels like it should be better and it still bugs me.

In any case, I use tons of techniques to aid/supplement/stand in for remembering and I thought I'd write a list ... after I chatted with flatmate it turned out that although she used many of these techniques she wasn't doing it in any conscious or organised fashion. I think using them on purpose is likely to work better ...

Do it now!

If it's already done, you can't forget it. This works best for short/quick things obviously, but it also applies to the act of putting into place whatever other memory aid you might want to use on the list. For example if you think to yourself "I must put that out so I see it in the morning" but don't do the putting-out straight away, you'll forget that too. Memory aiding techniques only function if you actually use them...

Doing it now can also mean planning to do something ahead of time, so that you have "spare" time up your sleeve to deal with memory problems or other things life throws at you.

Do it online instead of waiting

For things that can be done online, that method is often actionable straight away. This applies to obvious things like online purchases, paying bills, and doing banking transfers of course, but also less obvious things such as:

• Figure out how to use your library's online catalogue and you can reserve books you want to read


• Some medical and allied health folks will let you reserve an appointment online intead of phoning them.

Keep multiples so you don't have to transport it

Good for anything you use at a small fixed number of places. For example, my flatmate keeps Sriacha sauce at home, at work, and at the other home she visits most often. Keeping a toothbrush at your boyfriend's would come under the same category.

Put it with or in something you take automatically

Lots of people do this: teeping your ventolin inhaler in your handbag, keeping your public transport pass in your wallet, etc. I just purchased a spare wheelchair charger so I can keep it in a bag on the wheelchair itself so when the batteries run down unexpectedly I have cover.

Put it in plain sight where you'll see it at the right time

Keeping your keys beside the front door, for example. I keep my warm jacket hanging on the back of the front door so I don't leave without it too. Note that I find this one has to be somewhat specific: If you keep something where you see it all the time you'll end up mentally editing it out and you'll stop noticing it's there.

Link it mentally to something you already remember

If you want to remember to put your eye drops in at night, remind yourself to do it at the same time as you brush your teeth. Learning a new think that's linked to an existing routine is a lot easier than learning a totally new thingn.

Link it physically to something you already remember

My favourite version of this is when you visit friends after shopping and need to store purchases in their fridge to keep them cold - put your car keys in the fridge too. You'll remember your keys, and that will trigger you to grab the other things with them. ETA: Do not put anything electronic in the fridge/freezer, not even your key fob! See comment from azhdragon below.

Make a list

This is for very long-term things like Christmas or birthday gifts. You'll notice that all year if I see somebody mention something they'd really love I'll make a note on my "Gift Ideas" list - makes it really easy to think up gifts for folks!

Record it somewhere standard

I always keep a piece of paper and a pen on the front of my fridge to record things we need to buy. Everybody who cooks here knows the list is there, so mostly they add things as they notice they've run out. In a more virtual sense I have got into the habit of putting things to do into my phone's "Reminders" app which also turns up on my desktop computer - it doesn't have alarms but just having all my things-to-do in one place makes it easier to remember to check the list. Having a standard place makes it much easier to remember to write it down, AND easier to remember where you put the damm list.

Use an app (or person, or appliance) which will bug you

Reminder applications on mobile phones are the biggest most useful memory aid I can think of! They can be alarm-type reminders like those that bug me to take my tablets at 1pm, or they can be location-based reminders that tell you to get milk when the phone detects you're at the supermarket, and there's probably other types I can't remember now. Alarm clocks and flatmates primed to remind you also fit in this category.

Have an emergency backup plan for when you forget

OK this is not strictly a memory technique but plan to deal with failure! Especially for things you forget often - I keep $50 in my messenger bag in one of the little zipped compartments because I know I frequently forget to visit the bank and run out of cash. If you know you are likely to forget something, figure out how you'll deal with the failure.

Most of these have physical-world and computer-world versions, and I'm sure there are thousands of variations. For lots of things I use more than one method of reminding myself too, plus another set of tricks which make it more likely that I'll actually do something.

What about you?

r