Since almost everyone I talk to these days complains that they have trouble remembering things, I have come up with a few helpful tricks. For those of you who are prone to leaving your grocery list on the kitchen counter, begin reciting the list as soon as you realize that you don't have it. For instance, the other day I needed coffee, juice, bananas and butter. Coffee, juice, bananas, butter...coffee, juice, bananas, butter. Luckily I didn't have to converse with anyone as I walked through the aisles and it worked like a charm. The only sticking point was that I picked up the things based on their location in the store, not the order in which I was reciting them. I had to keep looking in my basket to confirm what was already there. Actually, that's not sounding like such a good trick after all.
Many people have told me they've gone to get something from another room only to forget why they're there. This happens to me almost every time I go to the basement. Again, a variation on the above mentioned repetition is helpful. "I'm going downstairs for scissors, scissors, scissors." As long as you don't get distracted by putting a load of laundry in the dryer, you should be fine. Please don't ask why the kitchen scissors are downstairs. That's a topic for another day.
The last problem I'd like to address is forgetting someone's name. Volumes have been written about how to overcome this challenge, but here is my suggestion. You need to have a list of people whose names you routinely forget stored in your cell phone or in a tiny notepad that you won't leave on the kitchen counter. If, despite this precaution, you can't remember the name of the person coming your way, simply do the courageous thing and run as fast as you can in the other direction.
Copyright 2011 K.K.R.
"Forget About It" by Alison Krauss
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMmpBsIzaB8
Before long, there should be a tech solution to the "can't remember the approaching person's name" crisis. An itsy bitsy camera/computer will face and/or voice recognize everyone around you, then audibly or visually inform you of name, children's names, last thing you talked about, etc.
ReplyDeleteBut, before that day arrives, there could be a two-meanings signal we could deploy in a social setting -- maybe reaching up to smooth an eyebrow. This would mean either "I'm smoothing my eyebrow," or "I can't remember your name, so please slip me your name somehow and save me from mortification." You don't have to admit that you don't know the approaching person's name; the approaching person can comfort themselves that you really were just smoothing your eyebrow. Win/win. And our eyebrows will be beautifully smooth.