Create Associations to Help Remember Appointments

Try This Today

• To keep a date in mind, associate it with an image. For example, if you have an appointment in February, think of a heart for Valentine’s Day. If your appointment is on a Sunday, think of an ice cream sundae.
• With your appointment date, time, and event in mind, create a rhyme or song to help you remember it. Don’t worry if it’s silly. For a doctor’s appointment on the 29th of the month, rhyme “appointment” with “ointment” and say, “For my appointment, I’ll need 29 ointments.”
• Think in color. One study found color can help organize, compare and recall information. If you’re invited to a holiday party, visualize yourself wearing red and green on that date. 
• If you have back-to-back meetings, associate each one with the person running the meeting.

Why

When you visualize something your brain processes it faster than if you write it down and look at the piece of paper. For instance, visualize something familiar about a person you're meeting. It could be a piece of jewelry, a tie or the person's hair color. Connecting images to people assists memory.