I can't remember sh!t. There I said it. If I met you today chances are I can't remember your name. If I don't write stuff down I'm a lost little soul. Sound familiar?
It never used to be like this. I could memorize volumes of information for tests, work and general knowledge. I never had to be reminded or prompted to remember names, places or things. This sort of creeped up on me, gradually. I am the queen of the sticky notes and to-do lists!
There's a few reasons for this. The first one has to do with the sheer amount of information that's available to us now. It was hard enough to keep up before the internet came into play, now it's impossible. The way we work is different. Email has changed the way we communicate and the pace has increased tenfold. I'm expected to absorb tons of information as it's getting transmitted to me electronically. It's at the point now that I have to skim emails and only really focus on the ones that in my opinion are most important. I laugh when co-workers ask me about something and I look at them with a blank face. They tell me I should know what they're talking about because they emailed it to me...uh no, just because you hit the send button doesn't mean the information is getting transferred to my brain and locked in memory. I still believe that eye to eye contact and verbal communication is the most effective and 9 times out of 10 I'll have a better chance of remembering if it's done that way. Unless I met you today. Sorry I forget your name already lol!
The other reason is plain old, unavoidable aging. Once you hit that magic age your memory decides to go on vacation or retire. You have to constantly struggle to stay on top of things. I remember watching one of my favorite shows called Murphy Brown. Murphy's boss was played by Lily Tomlin and her character wore a necklace with a notepad and pen attached to it. Back then I thought it was hilarious and I also thought how sad it was that a person had to write down everything in order to remember it. Well the joke's on me, that's who I am today. In fact I should look into producing those notepad necklaces and market them to women of my age. I'd make a mint! Like it or not we're slaves to the post-it note. Whether it's a list I keep online or a handwritten one, there's always a pen or a computer within reach.
Things to help you remember
- Keep lists.
- Follow a routine.
- Make associations (connect things in your mind), such as using landmarks to help you find places.
- Keep a detailed calendar.
- Put important items, such as your keys, in the same place every time.
- Repeat names when you meet new people.
- Do things that keep your mind and body busy.
- Run through the ABC's in your head to help you think of words you're having trouble remembering. "Hearing" the first letter of a word may jog your memory.
Now what was your name again?