. When You’re Short on RAM

I’m a forgetter.  Yes, I forget to put new checks in the checkbook.  I put bread in the oven and walk away and forget that it’s there.  I have even boiled eggs until the water is all gone, the bottom of the pan is burnt, and the eggs are all but vaporized.  So to keep myself safe, to function as best as I can, and to continue in life without embarrassment, I have learned several things.

First, it is not shameful to be short on RAM. You are just wired differently than the person down the street who doesn’t ever had to make a written note about anything and remembers everything nicely.

Second, maybe you have a lot of RAM but it is busy handling some stress in your life, dealing with a difficult problem at work, or maybe just figuring out how to get the laundry done this weekend.

Third, whatever the reason that you “forget”, adjust to it as best as you can by finding easy ways to remember.  My three solutions for the above problems are:

1)  I put a small post-it note about ten checks before the end of my checkbook.  I usually notice the post-it note at the store and put it forward one check.  Of course, sometimes I do this three or four or five times before I happened to be writing a check at home and can retrieve new checks.  But it keeps me from loading up my cart, have the clerk completely check me out and then realize that I don’t have a single check with which to make payment.

2)  Whenever I put anything in the oven, I turn the oven light on so I can see into the oven through the door.  This is my personal reminder (as I am in and out of the kitchen constantly) that there is something in there that might burn if I am otherwise occupied and neglect to answer the ding of the kitchen timer.

3)  I don’t put anything on the stove to cook unless I carry a small timer I found at the dollar store with me so its friendly ding can keep newly boiled eggs edible.  Otherwise, I can get going with my brain somewhere else and out of the room I go with another project on my mind.

While these are only small adjustments, I have learned to understand my limitations and my frailties.  I can work around and above and beyond them.  If you have something that regularly gets “forgotten”, beat your own RAM, and figure out a new habit to overcome the loss.

Now, just this last week I left a fan on in a remote room of our house and completely forgot about turning it off.  It ran merrily for a good twelve hours before I came back into that room again.  Because I run that fan every morning to spread the heat from our basement fireplace, I now put a bright pink handkerchief on the stairs where I will be sure to see it as my reminder:  “Turn off the fan!”

I hope you have a good week.  Remember to keep up with yourself by using little tricks to help your RAM along.  Maybe some day we will all be like the “smart” person down the street, but for now we will have to “trick” ourselves into not forgetting.

Find more helpful ideas in “House of Order” Handbook.