Remember That Thought Tomorrow Morning Without Writing It Down

We’ve all been there.  We’ve been trying to get to sleep. We have a big day tomorrow and we have to get to sleep.  After 15 minutes, drowsiness has set in and our eyelids are about shut.  Then, suddenly, we remember a piece of information that we absolutely have to remember tomorrow morning.  We shake off our drowsiness, get out of bed, and grope our way to the dining room to write ourselves a note, and then stumble our way back to bed to start the process all over again.  Thirty minutes wasted.  Some will mitigate the damage by placing a note pad on the night stand.  If you’re like me, however, my mind takes a few minutes to gain enough clarity to be able to write.  As a result, just writing it down is a struggle.

There is an easier way.  Although there are no guarantees, someone once taught me to do anything unusual that, in the morning light, will make one wonder why it was done.  This should be something that requires less clarity and effort than grabbing a pad of paper, finding a pen, and turning on the light to write a note.  So, reach over and turn your alarm clock upside down, lay the night stand lamp on its side, place a shoe in a drawer, or drape your house coat over the lamp.  In the morning, when you rise, the first thought you will have after rising will be, “Why the hell did I do that??”  At that time, natural memory will take over and remind you.

In the years that I’ve been doing this, I’ve remembered my important reminder each morning.  Give it a try and see if it works for you as well.

Comments

[Claire Tompkins]

Good one! I use a combination of these tricks. I do attempt to write (in the dark, 3/4 asleep) what I need to remember, then I drop the pad on the floor next to the bed. When I wake up in the morning and step on the pad, even if I can't read my wild scribbles, the fact that the pad is on the floor will jog my memory.

[Phil Gerbyshak]

Very interesting idea. I hadn't though of this one before, but I'll have to give it a try. Thanks for sharing it!

[Reg Adkins]

Those are great suggestions. But, don't forget the old stand bye. "Honey, don't let me forget to (fill in the blank) in the morning.
That way you have mostly positive outcomes, 1. Your spouse misses the sleep trying to remember or writing it down instead of you. 2. You have someone else to blame if you forget. But, remember to hold your arms close in to your sides when using this strategy. Elbows can connect with your ribs with astounding speed.
Reg

[Harmony]

Good idea! I'll give it a try :)