31 Mar When Your “Rememberer” Is Broken

Have you got to the place where you can’t remember as much as you once did?  Some say this is on account of age but that is not necessarily true.  I taught high school for 16 years and I know for a fact that that their “rememberers” weren’t working all that well either.

Perhaps it has something to do with the number of tasks you have stored in your brain at any one time.  I know those high schoolers had a lot: parties, part-time job schedules, parties, chores at home, parties and of course, homework (not).

So what’s a person to do so they don’t forget the really important things (homework: not!)?  There are all kinds of technological devices to help (new school) and there are posted notes (old school).  Both work extremely well when used properly.  And how you do that is up to you.

I have been inclined to be more old school because my hubby is ill and I post my schedule up where he can see it.  And I am pretty good at reading it.  However, it is the remembering part that I am struggling with.  It’s great to read and to know but if you forget…that’s a different story.

Two days ago I had to fess up that I had actually forgotten something really important…yet I can’t help wonder what Freud would say.  It was one of the landmark birthdays of mine and a very dear friend had booked reservations at one of our local “posh” places to celebrate.  Lucky me!  It was very deliberate…no surprise party! Well, yes and no!

The fact that I had forgotten to show up was indeed a surprise for her.  Punctuality is my middle name and when I didn’t show, she got very concerned.  A quick call revealed the truth.  My hubby and I were at home and he was in the process of eating a less than stellar dinner.  “Did you forget?” were the words I heard when I picked up the phone. Without hesitation – no time to come up with any creative response – I said “Yes; be there in 20 minutes.”

My poor husband had his plate snatched from the tray on his wheelchair and then hustled into some going-out-for-dinner clothes.  As I quickly moved around the house to gather his things, I pulled on my own going-out clothes.  What a mad house!  We were 30 minutes late arriving at my birthday party!  It was like a reverse surprise birthday party!

Never again.  Time to investigate new school technologies that will not only be on my calendar but refuse to let me forget.  Want to know what I discovered?  I’m good to share…

Replacing a dysfunctional “REMEMBERER” with a functional one: 

Use a multi-function calendar

Better to use just one calendar which can sync with all your devices.  If you are not sure what to use, do your due diligence to determine which will suit you.  There are many for a reason.

It is easy to find the best choice of calendar/scheduler for you with a simple Google search.  Look through your app store and find one that offers the features that best suit your needs.  Some come at a very reasonable cost – usually under $10 – while others like Google Calendar are free.  The absolute best one for you is the one you will use.

So what did I discover?  That there is no reason today for a person to not have a working calendar at their finger tips.  Until now I had been quite able to keep most of my info stored in my memory without fear of losing it.  Circumstances change. With more and more being added to my schedule, the harder it became to remember.

Now I don’t need to. I found the perfect app for me.  And you can too.  Trust me when I tell you that the time and effort you put into finding the app and understanding how to use it is time well spent.  Save yourself the embarrassment of forgotten dates when your “rememberer” fails you.  Replace it with one that does.

Come back and share which one you chose and why.  Would love to know what you discovered.