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I’m not much of a musicals guy, but I’ve always loved the song “Try to Remember” from The Fantasticks. Maybe it’s because as a kid growing up in Dallas, my parents took me to see a local production of the show. It ran 42 straight years off-Broadway, quite a record.
The first and best version of the song was by Jerry Orbach, who most folks know as the sarcastic cop Lenny from Law and Order. But he was also quite a singer and all round performer.
As we get older, trying to remember is a more frequent chore. At age 72, I find that while my long term memory is good, short term is more problematic (Why exactly did I just go upstairs?).
Some try drugs such as Prevagen. But scandals in that product’s past give pause.
I’ve been a “list man” forever, and always have a current list of things I need to do over the upcoming days, weeks, and even months. If I’m sitting at my desk, I might quickly jot down a list of 4 or 5 things I need to do in the next few hours. But sometimes it’s just not practical to make a written list of a few things you need to keep front of mind.
Long ago I read a couple of books about memory whizzes and all the tricks they use to accomplish their feats. There was a lot of emphasis placed on using the Memory Palace technique. While I’m sure that’s a formidable way to memorize a long list of items, for that type of chore I’m going to use a written list.
I’m more interested in being able to keep 3 or 4 or 5 things on my mind when jotting them down isn’t practical—say when wanting to remember a few things I need to do as I’m driving home. For that purpose there was a simpler technique the books explained. The basis of it is that it’s easier to remember pictures than words. And the more outlandish the picture the better. So the idea is to form a mental image which includes pictures representing all of the desired items in a single frame.
For instance, if I want to remember to call my doctor’s office, take out the trash, feed the dog, and get the mail, I might picture a white coated doc, holding a trash can in one hand, a dog bowl in the other, and an envelope balanced precariously on her head. I can later summon that picture much more readily than I can remember the individual items.
So, are there any memory tricks my fellow HD readers rely on?
This is not a trick but really a discipline. I’ve always been a multi-tasker, balancing a lot of plates around my house simultaneously as the day progresses. I might have four of five small things underway at a time. As I have aged, I’ve found that I am less able to do this, or I at least have to reduce the number of things I have going on at once. I can get distracted by something and then leave one or two of my activities uncompleted. So, I try hard to be less of a multitasker and more “linear”, even in small tasks. I start it and finish it, period. I don’t let myself get distracted when I go to the bathroom drawer for new hearing aid batteries. I don’t let myself get distracted when I hear the dryer buzzer telling me I should go fold and stack what is in it. I don’t get distracted when I finish cutting the lawn and should immediately take out the lawn mower battery to charge it. It works, most of the time. Lists are great for long term projects and the day’s agenda. It is the minute-by-minute events I find I need to attend to better.
Martin, same here. My long term and short term memory are in pretty good shape. It’s that “short short term memory” that trips me up.
Bill, Although Evita was a musical, in 1981 Faye Dunaway played the title role in Evita Peron, a television miniseries based on the life of the famed First Lady of Argentina—available free on YouTube. I’ve always been fascinated by powerful women— and was astounded by the similarities in delivering speeches, shared by both Eva Peron and Kamala Harris.
Curse you Andrew Forsythe! I can’t get that blasted song out of my mind. I’ve added it to my Spotify list and find myself humming it at random times.
For me the two songs that I hear that stick with me for weeks is Elaine Paige singing Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Memory from Cats and her Don’t Cry for Me Argentina’ from Evita.
My solution to get them out of my head is to listen for about twenty times and then rake leaves.
See reply above.
Well, Rick, there could be worse songs to get stuck in your mind!
It’s a wonderful song that I had forgotten about Thanks Andrew
Here’s a little trick I use that you might give a try. It’s for when you have a two-factor authentication request from a website or app you’re logging into, and it asks you to input a six digit code that it just sent to your phone or email.
I got tired of trying to simply remember it and then switch over to the login screen to enter it, only to find I’d transposed digits, or otherwise messed it up.
So my trick? When the text comes in with that six-digit number, I say it out loud. Not in my head, but actually speak it. For some reason this has been a game changer for me – I don’t think I’ve missed one since I started doing this (other than that one time when my wife overheard me saying a six digit code and she started absent-mindedly repeating them. Doh!).
I do something similar, except I repeat it several times before going back to the original site.
Sounds like a good trick. Reminds me of a tip Jonathan gives to aspring writers: When proofing, reading your piece to yourself out loud makes it easier to catch errors.
Reminds me of another tip. When you need to proof something important and you decide you need to have someone read the text and someone listen to check it against the document, make sure you are the person who is listening and checking.
For decades I was an admin for a sales team….lots of details and things to remember and follow on. I had a 10×7 spiral-bound notebook where I took copious amounts of notes, sort of like a diary. Eventually, everyone would wear a path to my desk and ask me if I had a note about something, or what did I remember about such-and-such, could I check my notes? And some of our new college grads started taking notes…of course, they had to buy special fancy notebook systems. Sort of like the time management systems that were so popular in the 80’s, so that was amusing! Now I’m retired and still carry my notebook with me when I’m running errands, travelling, etc. It works for me.
As for the fancy stuff, whatever works for them, I guess.
Me, I’m likewise old fashioned. A pen and paper, and of course my de rigueur paper calendar, and I’m good.
As a full-time traveller with a phone filled with reservations, I’m still a belt-and-suspenders kind of gal—my month-at-a-glance paper calendar is my daily bible. And goes in my backpack, never a checked bag.
And mnemonics for names and numbers? I create songs in my head for them (sometimes to “Jenny, I got your number!”) Or songs or poems with the person’s name in them. In the Nick of Time, Eleanor, and Mary, Mary Quite Contrary. It works most of the time. (Although the infamous Seinfield episode about a mnenomic relating to a woman’s body part is a cautionary tale)
I’m with you on the paper calendars—couldn’t live without mine.
Songs as memory aids—now that’s a new one to me!
I was listening to a discussion on memory on NPR. The doctor said that most of what we don’t remember, like a persons name just introduced is because we aren’t paying attention and it is not important to us. Whereas things important to us are more easily remembered because we want to.
Also, not remembering where you left the car keys is normal, not knowing what the keys are for is not.
I take some comfort in that last distinction.
Lookin’ for my wallet worth a listen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTeYD3Za_2Q
Thanks Dan. That was fantastic.
Andrew…I have tried gettting into the habit of using both the Notes and Calendar apps on my Apple devices, but long ago I developed the habit of writing everything down in a yellow legal tablet, especially for various projects I may be involved with.It somehow seems more secure and satisfying.
Marjorie, for us old school types, there’s a real satisfaction in putting pen to paper. May be a lost art before long.
Andrew…a 33 year old plumber was at my house on Thursday last. He didn’t know cursive writing..only knew how to scribble his signature. Can we be that old? Nah.
The Notes app on my Apple products has become an extension of my brain. My meal list and shopping list? Always there, and I can add something to my computer or iPad and then it’s on my phone when I’m at the store (even the link to the recipe in case I need to review a specific ingredient).
My settings for a Peloton bike in case I’m in a hotel gym? In a note. The HOA contact information? Another note. Christmas shopping ideas? Article ideas for Humble Dollar? To-do list? All in notes. The key is not to have too many at one time or it just becomes another mess.
I use the Anylist app to keep track of things. While it was originally made for a grocery list, i have a “to do” list, home projects that I need to do, questions for my various doctors, and more. This gives me more organization than notes and more flexibility.
Dana, that’s a nifty system. If I ever start relying more on my cell phone I might have to try it. However, since I have an iPhone but otherwise use PCs, it might not work so well for me.
Like you, I use my PC a lot and have an iPhone, so connectivity is an issue. I use many of the Google apps as a solution, so I have it available on any platform and always synced.
Sounds like a good system, but as a true dinosaur I’ll likely never give up my (endless) paper lists!
I use the Simplenote app which works cross-platform on my Android phone, Mac laptop, iPad, and Fire tablet. While it doesn’t have as many features as the Notes app, it suffices. It would also work cross-platform on a Windows computer and an iPhone.
I keep a 2 page a day planner on my desk. All my to do’s and random thoughts are written down. Whether I am dealing with one of my self employment projects or negotiating our household insurance renewal, notes are made. I keep the pages for 2 years and then dispose of them. They have been referred to quite often over the years. Received my 2025 planner yesterday. Ready for another year!
Harold, I probably need to adopt your disposal habit. I still have my calendars going back to 1972!
In the olden days of my residency we each carried a peripheral brain – a 5″x7″, looseleaf notebook that we updated continuously and never let out of our sight. I suspect that the smartphone has replaced that.
As best I can tell, smartphones have replaced just about everything—often for better but sometimes for worse.
I once made more use of memory techniques, mostly to remember several names before I have a chance to record them—but these days I’m rusty. I mostly rely on aids. Like Rick, I make use of my phone, and try to expand my use of its capabilities. I have a reminder for every recurring event in my life that I can think of. I’ll put in reminders for events months or more in the future. I sometimes use the memo function.
Paper notes are still a daily tool, from a quick scribble that goes into my left front pocket to larger, detailed lists for long-term goals and projects. Every shirt must have a front pocket to hold my pen
I also like the recurring event reminders. Being more of a laptop than a cell phone type, I use birthdayalarm.com. Membership is free and you can enter all the birthdays and other recurring events you want to keep up with. It will email you about a week in advance of each one, then again a few days later.
Andrew – you can do something similar with Google Calendar. You can set up reminders via email or text. In addition, you can share your calendar with someone else – so you could add your spouse and both would be able to add calendar items.
Jeff, thanks for the tip.
I keep a Word document open on my desktop PC called Daylist. Every time I think of something I need to do, I put it into that document. I see it all day and get everything done.
For shopping, I just recite the 5-6 items several times and it’s there in my memory when I need it in the store.
Now where did I park??
Mike, when I was a kid, long before you could click your car key and hear the chirp so as to locate your car, my mother came up with a great low tech idea. She stuck a bright red rubber ball on the end of her car antenna—she could spot it across any huge parking lot.
Remember the orange Union 76 balls on car antennas? That’s what your mother’s red ball reminded me of.
I also have a pretty good long term memory but the short term is a problem.
I really on post it notes. The problem then is that I end up with a stack of my “to do”notes but I don’t have the motivation…. to do them
I can remember song lyrics from the 60’s …
but … where was I going with this?
Yes, indeed, a separate issue there!
When I was 20 years old, I read The Memory Book by Harry Lorayne and Jerry Lucas. It has helped me for many years.
Since I’m on Medicare now and go for my yearly wellness check, I find it fun to repeat the 3 things you’re asked to remember. Then you’re asked to draw a clock with the hands set to the specified time being asked. This is amusing because my hobby is working on antique clocks.
Olin, I also get the Medicare Annual Wellness Check. Funny, though, I don’t think I’ve ever been given any memory tests. OTOH, maybe I’ve just forgotten….
Thanks Andrew. I have fond memories of that song, but I can’t exactly remember why! I think it was on an album my parents played, maybe Tony Bennett.
I’ve been trying to use my smartphones capabilities more. My older brother in law is really good at using Siri and hands free features. On our last trip I used the Journaling AP with the microphone and it worked great.
I loved the video of Jerry O. I’m hoping the neckerchief look comes back in fashion.
Rick, yep, that neckerchief is pretty wild! Jerry Orbach was really quite a guy—not many performers who are remembered both as leading men in musicals, and tough, cynical cops and gangsters in films and TV. Heckuva talent.
I’ve not been able to employ the association technique consistently, but one time, 48 years ago, at a picnic well before these little pocket sized computers we now carry, I needed to remember a phone number. I associated the last 4 digits as being one year over the hill (41, LOL) and the current year which happened to be the bicentennial, 76. To this day I remember that phone number, which ended in 4176. Of course I can’t remember any other numbers any longer.
Dan, that is a helluva memory feat!
If I’m walking to my local grocery store for just a few items (ran out of a couple things and/or need special ingredients), I try just to memorize my list (no mental images). More than six, I’ll probably make a written list. Like most of you, I’ve relied for decades on written lists. Favorite thing is drawing a line through the task when it’s done but I can still read what the task was. Accomplished! 😊
Linda, I agree — for us list types, there is truly a certain visceral satisfaction in crossing things off.
Smartphones have several ways to keep track of things and remind you. Of course, you need to remember where you put your phone.
I’m afraid that would be my problem….
When I was working I would use a DayTimer notebook to address both work related and personal to-do items. I still have the DayTime cover, but don’t purchase the day-by-day filler anymore. Instead I buy cheap pads of paper, up to 5-inch by 8-1/2 inch, to use inside the old cover, and they are more than adequate for my needs.
Like Kathy, I sometimes use Post-It notes when something is imminent or important, to make sure I don’t miss it.
And lastly – if I’m in the car or somewhere with no pen/paper, I text myself a short dictated note with the details I want to address.
I’ve thought about using the Voice Memos function on my phone while driving to dictate reminders, but for some reason I’ve never taken to it.
I have started using post it notes. Of course that doesn’t work if I’m driving, but since I don’t see mental images, your technique wouldn’t either.
Not sure I follow you re not seeing mental images?
I always thought “mind’s eye” was a metaphor, not something real. Turns out I have a different way of thinking that recently acquired a name – aphantasia.
Very interesting—learned something new today.
Reflecting my English upbringing, I always carry a cotton handkerchief. If there’s one thing I’m trying to remember, I tie a knot in one corner. If there are two items, I knot two corners. I occasionally do this in the middle of the night, so I can clear my head of the task that occurred to me and get back to sleep. Of course, in the morning, I sometimes struggle to recall why the knots are there….
Must be uncomfortable if you carry it in your back pocket 😎
Ah, but for those middle-of-the night worries and inspirations, there’s a remedy: a small flashlight, a notepad, and a pen on the bedside table!
My wife would not be happy if I did that. I try very hard to not impact her slumber.
After 36 years, my dear wife is tolerant of most of my eccentricities (and it helps to palm the flashlight).
I also write night notes—sometimes in the bathroom on whatever paper is handy.
Ed, if you can manage a note on tp, you’re a better man than me!