Tag Archive for: how to remember things

How Cheating Will Make You A Better Friend

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I’ve always impressed my friends by remembering significant events in their lives. I always send a good luck text before a job interview or wish them well before they go on a nice vacation. Over the years many people have complimented me on it, and asked how it is that I am able to remember all these events. Well I’m finally going to share my secret with you.

I cheat.

Whenever someone tells me about an upcoming event in their lives, their favorite drink or what they’d like for the holidays, I write it down. I set a reminder in my calendar to write the person a message about their big event or make a note a few weeks before their birthday or the holidays on which gift suits them best.

It’s really that simple! Read more

Keep Track of Restaurants

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I take food very seriously. I accumulate restaurant recommendations like someone would keep a rare coin collection. For me — there is no substitute for great food. So I really enjoy giving recommendations and also receiving them.

But in all my list-making frenzy I haven’t been able to find a good way to keep track of all my restaurant recommendations til now. I used to write them down on paper, then I started putting them in my Astrid, Wunderlist or Clear apps. But I kept finding that the lists would get buried or I would forget which app I was using Read more

Remember Everything That Ever Happens

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Sometimes a funny thing happens when you hang up the phone after an important conversation. You forget everything that just happened!  Haven’t we all been there?  I know I have.  I have a fail proof way of dealing with this.  I take notes on life.

Almost every time I’m on the phone — I take notes.  Even if it’s not an “important” call — I jot down words, phrases and questions that come up.  This way I pay better attention and really focus on what’s being said.  And I don’t lose track of my follow up questions.  It turns out you don’t even have to really take notes — you can just doodle.  There was a recent study in Applied Cognitive Psychology that found people who doodle were 29 percent better at a memory test than people who didn’t doodle.

I also use the “note-taking technique” during meetings and when I read magazines.  If I don’t — I move on to the next project and poof everything I learned goes out of my head.  I’m constantly writing down tidbits I want to remember, websites I want to check out and ideas that I have.  It helps you to think about what you’re doing and be mindful — remember multitasking is impossible!