I used to forget the little things I was supposed to do, like taking my pre-made lunch to work or stopping by the store on my way home, so I devised an easy trick to remember them without having to set reminders in my phone or leave notes out (both of which work, but require more time and effort).
The trick is to associate the to-do with something you will definitely encounter shortly before you have to do the to-do. Ideally, it should be something a bit out of the ordinary, something that will cause at least a slight emotional response. This is your memory trigger. I’ll explain by example.
Last week I had my next day’s lunch in the fridge, composed of leftovers from that night. I rarely take my lunch to work with me, preferring instead to waste my money eating out, so going to the fridge before leaving for work is not part of my morning routine. That means I’ll probably forget to do it. Many times I’ve had lunch made, but halfway to work I’d realize I forgot it at home. Annoying.
When I put my tupperware into the fridge that night, I imagined my routine the next morning, how I would get into my car, insert the key, turn the ignition, and start the windshield wipers to clear the dew. From the past several mornings, I knew that seeing and clearing the dew from my windshield was something slightly different from my normal routine, but something unavoidable so it kind of zapped me out of autopilot for just a moment. The dew would be my memory trigger. I associated my lunch with the dew and imagined myself turning the wipers on, thinking about the dew for just a second, then remembering my lunch in the fridge.
Turns out I did forget my lunch in the fridge as I went outside that morning, but when I saw and cleared the dew, I remembered it so was able to go back inside and take my lunch with me. It went something like this: Get into car, start her up, “Ah, gotta clear that morning dew that blocks my vision…dew…hmmmm…oh yeah my lunch!” As the morning dew briefly snapped me out of autopilot, I was reminded of my lunch because I had associated it with the dew in my mind.
I do this kind of association all the time so I don’t forget things, and it works like a charm. The best part is you don’t have to do anything other than think. No writing, no setting an alarm or anything like that. You simply associate the task with something in your future, so when you encounter that something, you’re reminded of the task.
It really helps to verbalize the association: “When I see the dew on my windshield I’ll remember to take my lunch to work with me.” Though the most important thing you have to do for this little trick is to visualize your future. Imagine, really visualize from a first-person perspective, your future self going through your routine and encountering the trigger. When your future self encounters the trigger, he remembers the to-do. You may have to do this visualization two or three times when you first start using this trick, but it only takes a moment. By visualizing, you’re gluing the to-do to your future experience in your mind, and they will stay tied together for a while.
Here’s one more example just to cement this little trick into your mind:
The other day I scheduled a hair cut right after work. I usually remember those types of appointments, but just to be sure, I created a memory trigger for the ride home. There’s a point in the road where I have to decide whether to take a right or keep going and take the next right. My decision is based on the traffic at the first right. Knowing I would encounter that situation on my ride home, I associated my haircut appointment with it. “When I decide whether to take a right or go straight, I will remember my haircut appointment.” Then I visualized driving down the road, approaching that first right, and as my future self decided whether or not to turn, he remembered his haircut appointment so he went straight to the salon instead of home. As I approached that road in real time and pondered which way to go, the memory trigger popped up and I remembered my haircut appointment.
A cool side effect of this method is that your memory will actually become better over time. My theory is that the method becomes ingrained in you so you actually start to do it subconsciously without even trying to or thinking about it.
Enjoy!