A friend of mine uses physical reminders wherever possible. He’ll push that important letter into the handle of his briefcase or he’ll put the edge of the letter inside the spectacle case he has in the briefcase for his reading glasses. When he gets out his glasses, he can’t miss the letter and he posts it at the next mailbox which he sees.
When you put down your briefcase or umbrella in a store or somebody’s office, are you sure that you will remember to take it with you when you leave?
While you might, thousands of people leave these and other important items behind in public transport, libraries, sports centers etc., every day.
They may have been stressed, distracted or just not paying enough attention to where they put their property. And many are affected by more than one of those factors at the same time.
With the great concentration on security today, leaving a parcel or bag in a public area may cause trouble and mean, at the very least, that you never see it again.
Copyright © 2006 by John Williams 21. http://www.ezymagic.com/
“Maximum Memory Power” by John Williams
Page 22 of 67
To help you to remember to collect your property before you leave, make a mental association between the last thing you’ll do there and the item you have to collect. A mental picture of the exit door with an out-of proportion bag or umbrella works well. You could picture yourself vigorously pulling the door, but there is a huge bag blocking it.
If making these images seems silly, please understand two important points: 1. The pictures work and you can stop making them if you develop your recall to the point where you don’t need them any more.
2. The pictures which you make are never seen by anyone, so go wild! The sharper the impression which you put in your mind, the better the results you get.
The next section covers the most popular and proven memory support systems.
I use them and know they work for me and many other people, but I do not rely on them alone. I know a few people that do so to a very great extent.
I use a pocket diary for appointments and anniversaries and a tabbed index book for all the passwords and other information for my web sites. I also memorize all this information.
I rarely have to consult the written records, but they could be useful if I fall under another taxi and someone else has to get my newsletters out!
Keeping the diary and password book updated is just cheap insurance. Lower stress levels also help you to remember better.