How to Remember Not to Forget (The Important Stuff)

You start out with great intentions. You know you want to make changes and you truly want to get started.

“I will drink more water everyday!” “I will get up and stretch every hour when I am working at my computer!” “I will remember to plan ahead for breakfast.” And then, a few days later, you think, “Oh yeah…I meant to do that.”

Here’s a solution: Post it! Remind yourself with notes in plain view, wherever you look.

There are different ways to do this. You can use the little packages of sticky paper for small areas. I actually prefer big pieces of paper with my reminders on them. (Note: This could drive the person or people you live with a little crazy. If it really bothers them, you may have to contain yourself somewhat.)

A couple years ago I put up ten 8x11 squares of paper throughout my kitchen with the word ABUNDANCE written in large letters on each page. I wanted to remind myself to be grateful and every time I saw the words, I would pause to say thanks. For some reason, although the notes didn’t bother anyone else, this really bothered the teen-age boy. I didn’t bother to explore why, and continued to concentrate on abundance. Oh well.

Our world is a very busy place. We are bombarded with calls, information, and interruptions constantly.

If you want to take an action and make a change, you need to remind yourselves of that decision, and one way to do this, is to place the reminder in your daily path. Otherwise, you will get busy and then be disappointed that you forgot to take action.

Always forget to take your daily vitamin? Write yourself a reminder, and stick it on your cabinet where you will see it when you reach for your breakfast.

Want to remember to take bottled water with you in the car? Place a large note on the door that you exit from each day.

(Very Important Note: The notes and their locations do have to be changed every couple days or you will stop noticing them. They will become part of the scenery and will cease to be a helpful reminder.)

Another idea is to use different colors of paper and markers to make your reminders stand out. This strategy can be used for all sorts of reminders.

We can use this to develop new habits and change ones that are not serving us well anymore. What is really fun and a great boost to our self esteem, is the moment we realize that we have successfully integrated healthy and constructive behavior into our daily lives!

Then you can start over with a new set of reminders!

© 2010 Diana Fletcher