Harvey Mackay Column for the week of March 2, 2009 Put Your Memory to Work for You Print Forums Refer Page

Little Johnny, a sixth grader, came home with a report card that was all Ds and Fs. His father asked for an explanation. "I can never remember anything," answered Johnny.

His father said, "Well, you're not going to any more basketball games until you get your grades up. That starts now. You can forget about going to tonight's game." "Now wait a minute," said Johnny. "You can't do that to me. The Cleveland Cavaliers are in town. LeBron James has his team on another 10-game winning streak. He's averaging 27.8 points a game, and 1.3 blocks, 2 steals, 7 assists, and 7.5 rebounds." Can't remember? You can remember anything ... if you put your mind to it and have a deep-down burning desire to remember it. A man I know can remember the name of every Beatles song, yet he can't remember his own wedding anniversary. How many times have I preached: Pale ink is better than the most retentive memory. Write things down, and just as important, remember where you put the information. You don't really have a "poor memory." You either have a trained memory or an untrained memory. Johnny was a whiz at sports statistics but he had trouble with school stats because he wasn't as interested in school. I have a feeling that Johnny's dad helped his son rearrange his priorities.

There are many ways that you can train yourself to have a better memory. There are tons of books and courses available to develop a better memory. Like every other skill, it takes practice and a commitment to improve.

Many of my friends think my memory is terrific, but they don't know my tricks. Like most people, I forget 50 percent of what I hear within hours, so I make a point of writing things down. I also have a special phone dictation line at my office. I can call it 24 hours a day, seven days a week and leave all sorts of messages, letters, notes and so on. And I don't go anywhere without a Blackberry, paper and pen.

When I meet someone with whom I might have future contact, I'll get their business card and write down pertinent information, or I call and leave all the information on my dictation line. Similarly, if I say I'm going to do something, I put it in writing or call it in and make sure it gets done.

I use what I call the original "Palm Pilot"—when I have urgent things to remember, I write key words on my hands! I also move my watch from my left arm to my right arm, signaling me that I have something important to do. If I'm going to a party or special event, I might request a guest list in advance and study who is going to be there to trigger my memory.

I am constantly writing myself notes and leaving them where I can find them. I've been known to put notes on my steering wheel and dash in my car, on my office chair and phone at work. I put them on the floor by my bed so I see them when I wake up in the morning, on my bathroom mirror or in my sink. It helps to have a loving and forgiving spouse.

Name association is another arrow in my quiver. When I meet someone and want to remember their name, I associate names of other famous people with the same names and repeat them over and over. That's why you won't hear me say too often, "I'll never forget what's-his-name."

Similarly, to help me with phone numbers, I think about how I can connect the number to a significant date or event. I have a friend with the last four digits of 0079, so naturally I think of James Bond.

Repetition aids retention. I repeat things over and over, which helps me remember names, phone numbers and key statistics. Also I've learned that if I write things down enough, I will remember them.

There was an unexpected delay when Stanford University and the University of California at Berkeley lined up to play the first big West Coast football game, which took place on March 18, 1892, in San Francisco. It seems no one had remembered to bring a football. They should have written that down!

Mackay's Moral: Put your memory where your mouth is. If you want people to know how much you care, show them how much you remember.

The Author Harvey Mackay is a nationally syndicated columnist for United Feature Syndicate. His weekly articles appear in 52 newspapers around the country, including the Chicago Sun Times, Rocky Mountain News, Orange County Register, Minneapolis Star Tribune and Arizona Republic. http://www.mackay.com/ Copyright, Harvey Mackay. All rights reserved.