Practical Tips For Remembering Tasks

Is there something you are supposed to do or want to do every day, but you forget as often as you remember to do it? Yeah, me, too. I have two tricks I use to prompt myself to take that specific action. They aren’t foolproof, but they do work most of the time. Let’s get practical!

 I learned the first from Shawn Achor in his book “The Happiness Advantage” in which he describes how “happy” people tend to be much more satisfied with their lives than those who are unhappy. When he was a graduate student at Harvard, he was the proctor in one of the dorms. One year, one of his goals was to spend more time learning to play the guitar. Inevitably, he realized one day that it had been a week since he’d strummed. Maybe more.

Instead, when he came to his room after his last class of the day, he plopped on the couch and reached for the tv remote which was on a small end table beside the couch. And now he regretted instantly that he had spent so much of this down time watching tv instead of practicing.

He kept his guitar in its case in a special place in the closet. He figured out it took around three minutes to get up off the couch, walk to the closet, get the guitar case, and then remove the guitar. If he took the time to put the case back in the closet (he was a very tidy guy), add another minute. And that was just too much hassle for a busy guy like Shawn.

I’m sure, dear reader, you have already figured out the strategy to use to substitute guitar practice for binge watching tv. Right. First, being a methodical guy, he went out and bought a guitar stand. He put it right next to the couch with the guitar on it. Now all he would have to do is simply reach out and grab the guitar while still seated.

But there’s a second step. Remember what a hassle it was to retrieve the guitar from its case in the closet? Well, he found an equally inconvenient spot to put the tv remote.

Rule #1: Keep your priorities conveniently close and put barriers between you and your unproductive habits.

I think I might put my tv remote in the car. In the garage.

Now for the second trick. It’s allergy season and there’s a new medication I’m supposed to take. It works, too. I was keeping it in the kitchen. I remembered to take it early in the day as often as I forgot. I was often reminded that I’d forgotten on one of our walks when the allergic reaction kicked in.

That’s what happened today. When I complained, Dave said “move your guitar.” I was very surprised that he a) had paid attention and b) remembered. But he was right. And now I have. The medication is on the end table next to my favorite chair where I sit in the mornings and read.

The second trick I learned from Charles Duhigg in his book “The Power of Habit”. He writes about the value of habits (they free your mind to think of other things) but also how we can change our lives by changing our habits. One suggestion to getting a new habit to stick is to tie it to an already existing habit.

You’re going to think I take too many pills and supplements when I describe my new habit. I have very early macular degeneration and on doctor’s orders I take one Areds 2 pill in the morning and another at night. Well, being sleepy in the evening I often forgot to take the nighttime dose. So, I thought about Duhigg’s book and went looking for an appropriate existing habit to tie the new one to.

(To all the grammar nerds out there, here’s the more correct version of the last sentence, even if it really sounds clunky.  “I thought about Duhigg’s book and went looking for an appropriate existing habit to which I could tie the new one.”)  

 Rule #2: Tie the new habit to an existing one.

I’ll bet you brush your teeth before you go to bed, just like I do. I don’t have to think about it. I no longer hear my mother’s voice in my head saying “Did you brush your teeth?” My mouth prompts me. So now I take the pill then brush my teeth. I am guessing that I’m 90% successful in remembering that evening dose which is a fantastic improvement. The trick for this rule is to find an existing habit that is already baked into your DNA and in some fashion can logically be linked to the new one. That makes it stickier.

Well, these aren’t a recipe for world peace or ending the Ukrainian war, but these two very practical tricks might just make your day run a little more smoothly. If you don’t have to think about your to do list, you can spend more time being grateful for God’s love.