This morning I missed a meeting. We've all been there, but the reason why I missed this meeting was that I never wrote it down. It was a combination of the guilt I felt for missing that meeting with the stress I currently feel that is making me scatter-brained, which is what prompted me to think of all the techniques I can and do use to help me remember what I need to do.
So here are 10 techniques that you, too, can use to remember what you have to do and when you have to do them!
1. Write it down right when you hear it
It doesn't matter where you write it down, so long as you get it down. When you write something down, you're encoding the information in your mind in a different way than when you hear it. Two ways to remember something is always better than one!
2. Use a planner
Every year I buy a planner, and every year I only use a quarter of it, but the quarter of the year that I do use it for is the most organized part of my semester! I only stop because I either lose it or forget to bring it to class one day and then it all goes downhill from there.
3. Write it on your body
This is my personal favorite. I am a huge fan of writing on my hand. Nothing in detail, just little reminders for just me to understand. Right now I have 11:15 written on my hand, and then on top of that I have 2:30. I wrote the 11:15 on my hand when I first was notified that I had a meeting at that time earlier today and then I wrote the 2:30 after the first meeting to remind me that I had something at 2:30 and I was done with my 11:15. The drawback to this method is that it is super short-term because when you shower or wash your hands it washes off.
4. Draw something about it
For me, I draw little black dots with Sharpie on my wrist to remind me how many things I have to do on that day. I don't really know how this works for me, but basically, once I see the little dot, I know that I have to do something and then I am able to wrack my brain until I remember what it is. This method is a little vague and unspecific, but it hasn't failed me yet!
5. Check your calendar first thing when you wake up
This is, of course, assuming that you do have a calendar or planner- something that you can turn to every day to see what's on the schedule. If you keep this updated your life will be a lot less stressful.
6. Tie a string around your finger
This one is good to remind you to remember something, but not to tell you what you need to remember. So if you're confident that you can remember the event once you get a reminder, but you're not confident that you will remember the event without being prompted, this is the technique for you!
7. Put a physical notification somewhere you know you'll see it
When you know you have to do something the next day, write it on a post-it and stick it somewhere! I find putting it in the middle of my mirror is helpful because that is the last place I look as I walk out the door. If I see a bright post-it as I look at my reflection there's no chance that I won't see it!
8. Set a reminder on your phone
What better way to guarantee that you wake up in time for a meeting than waking up to a sound on your phone? It's like a really specific alarm clock that doesn't just wake you up but tells you exactly why you have to wake up and where you have to go. It's good practice to set this reminder for 15-30 minutes before the actual event so you leave yourself enough time to get ready.
9. Ask your friends
Never be afraid to ask for help! Your friends want you to succeed and they'll do anything that they can to help. I know for me, I'm a very forgetful person. Even when my friends ask me to remember something, I will remember that I have to remind them, but I won't remember what I have to remind them of. Sometimes it still helps though! All of this is to say, ask your friends but maybe use one of these other methods to remember along with that.
10. Make a Mnemonic
Let's say that I have to meet with a professor, let's call her Dr. Gray, on Wednesday at 11:30. There are a couple ways you can make this mnemonic, my favorite is "rhyming". To make a mnemonic for meeting Dr. Gray on Wednesday at 11:30, I'd say: Gray rhymes with lay and instead of laying in bed on Wednesday morning, I have to get up and go meet with my professor. Kind of a weak example but you catch my drift.
