How to Remember Things Better When You’re an Overloaded Working Mom
Pregnancy shrinks your brain. Let that sink in. Yes, it’s actual science that a woman’s brain shrinks during pregnancy, and stays that way for at least two years after giving birth. Sleep deprivation, a given for most new parents, also makes it harder to learn and remember. With all that happening, it’s no wonder that – as much as I hate to admit it – mom brain is a real thing. When you’ve got so many things on your mind, it’s difficult to know how to remember things better.
If you’re sick of forgetting stuff constantly, you’ve got try these 10 awesome memory-enhancers today.
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Put Everything on Your Calendar
Everything goes on a calendar: your work calendar, your personal calendar, your spouse’s calendar. Create an invitation and add everyone who needs to know. I share my Google calendar with my husband, mom, mother-in-law and my husband’s business. If it’s not on the calendar, you can be darn sure it’s not happening. Use the privacy settings as much as you need to when you’re putting personal appointments on your work calendar. No one needs to know whether you’re in a meeting or at your kid’s dentist appointment on Monday morning.
Use Reminders
Make sure that you set reminders on your calendar events. Google calendars allows you to add multiple reminders for a single event. Make sure to remind yourself in advance if necessary and also close to the event. For example, for school picture day you might set a reminder for the night before to pick out an outfit and then a reminder for the morning of to make sure that you’ve done their hair and scrubbed their face. Don’t leave anything to chance!
Use Voice Commands on Your Phone
I don’t know about you, but I always think of that really important thing I absolutely cannot forget when I’m driving. Every single time. The voice command on your phone is perfect for this situation! Simply transcribe your thoughts into your phone, and then make sure to put them in the right place (calendar, to-do list, email, etc.) when you’re no longer driving.
Do Not Multitask
A 2009 study showed that chronic multi-taskers had impaired cognitive processes. Not only is multi-tasking inefficient – it’s actually bad for your brain! It is nearly a given that you will forget something if you’re trying to do a bunch of things at once, so try to focus as much as you can on one task at a time. This sometimes takes heroic efforts for moms, and feels unnatural. It’s worth it, though, because focusing on a single task at a time will definitely improve your memory!
[click_to_tweet tweet=”Try not to multitask – it’s both inefficient and bad for your brain! ” quote=”Try not to multitask – it’s both inefficient and bad for your brain! “]
Check Your Critical Items
After losing a few cell phones in my day, I developed a mental checklist: keys-wallet-phone, keys-wallet-phone. Whatever your very important items may be, make a habit of checking for them before you leave wherever you happen to be. If you do the check often when you’re out and about, at least you won’t get very far before you notice something is missing! That makes it much easier to backtrack.
Look a Day Ahead
Look at least a day ahead on your calendar to make sure you’ve got what you need. A common culprit for me is that I don’t bring my laptop home the day before I’m planning to work from home. Now I always check a day ahead to make sure I’ve got what I need for tomorrow. This small habit will save you a ton of hassle!
Develop Routines
Our morning routine and evening routine are pretty standard. I also have a morning work routine. When you have a busy life with two working parents, kid activities and lots of moving parts, it’s nice to have at least some part of your life structured. If there’s some portion of your day that you can apply a routine to, do it! After a while, the routine will help you feel grounded as you transition from one part of your day to the next. This will also help you make sure you didn’t forget to do something!
Physically Write Things Down
The funny thing about taking notes is that it often improves your memory of the information so much that you don’t need to refer to the notes! The Rocketbook Everlast (affiliate link) is amazing for writing physical notes. You can also upload notes to the cloud and revisit them later. This is a huge game-changer for remembering things. What you didn’t absorb the first time is right there in the notes for later.
[click_to_tweet tweet=”Taking notes often improves your memory so much that you don’t even need to refer back to the notes! ” quote=”Taking notes often improves your memory so much that you don’t even need to refer back to the notes! “]
A Place for Everything
The old adage is true: “A place for everything, and everything in its place.” Designate a spot in your bag and your house for keys, cell phones, wallets, and other important items. Most of them time you’ll put the items in their spots, even if your brain is thinking about something else.
Carry an Agenda
There are times when you simply have to remember to run an errand on the way home, or pick up something while you’re out. For those situations, it’s super helpful to write down a list of errands or an agenda and put it on the passenger seat of your car. You can check off each item and refer to the list so you don’t forget a step. It sounds like overkill, but it works. The Rocketbook (affiliate) is also perfect for this!
Stop Forgetting!
I have lost count of the times my kids have said, “Mommy, you forgot to…” and I hate that! Forgetting things can make your loved ones feel bad, affect your performance at work, or just plain cost you time and energy that you don’t have. Avoid all that by using these 10 memory-enhancers today – you’ll definitely learn how to remember things better!
