Do you remember that TV commercial where they showed two eggs cooking in a skillet? It was an anti-drug campaign and the slogan was “This is your brain on drugs“. The metaphor being that using drugs fries your brain. And yes, drugs do mess with your brain however every day we “fry” our brain cells without the use of drugs. We do this by trying to keep all of our appointments, errands, projects, speeches, and important numbers in our head. We are essentially “frying” our brain. Okay not really, but that 3 pound lump of gray matter in your cranium has so much going on and is bombarded with so much new information every minute that we find we forget things, miss appointments, and often have to backtrack.

Have you ever said something like-

“I think my memory is going.”

or

“These days I can’t remember sh**!” (My cousin is fond of saying that one.)

The worst use of your mind is the act of trying to remember.

If you’d rather listen to this blog post, click here> The Worst Use of Your Mind.

Our brains are amazing; firing neurons, translating messages, giving commands, reading, creating, and millions of other things. So why do we try to store every little detail up there? We shouldn’t. We can’t. We don’t. Let me lay it on the line, folks. We need to write stuff down! Yes, you can use an application on your computer, your smart phone, or a voice recorder but to simplify things, just bear with me and write it down. On what? Well not on the back of that napkin! Here’s a really simple way to do this…

Use index cards, you know those 3 x 5 cards… They are cheaper than post it notes, come with lines (or not), and fit just about anywhere – pocket, purse, wallet, nightstand -anywhere. Start writing down everything you’re trying to remember. The act of writing helps to cement the information in your mind but it also allows you to let it leave your gray matter and still stay on track. Use one index card for each thought or task.  Only use the index cards to write on. When you have lists on several types of paper here, there, and everywhere (and on the backs of envelopes), it’s hard to take action.

You’ve written it down on an index card, now what?
Depending on the type of planner you use, paper or digital, there are a variety of ways to process the information. Here are a few recommended next steps:

• Keep in order of priority and/or due date
• File in a tickler and check daily
• Paperclip to the appropriate calendar page
• Add to electronic task list daily
• Make a recurring event

Try the index cards this week, you’ll like it and it’s simple!