Page 174 - How to Develop A SUPER-POWER MEMORY

178 Don't Be Absent-minded
upon leaving the office. If your wife calls and tells you to be
sure to buy some eggs on your way home—associate eggs
with, say, your front door. This will act as a final reminder.
Instead of waiting to be reminded when you're home, asso-
ciate eggs to grocery store; then when you see a grocery
store, it will remind you to go in and buy the eggs.
Of course, all these are theoretical examples: you would
know just what to associate to what, in your own particular
case.
Now we come to the real petty annoyances of absent-
mindedness; such as putting things down, and then forget-
ting where they are. Well, the method applied to this is
exactly the same. You have to make an association between
the object and its location. For instance, if the phone rings,
and as you reach for it, you put your pencil behind your
ear—make a fast mental picture between ear and pencil.
When you're through with the phone, and you think of
pencil, you will know it's behind your ear. The same thing
goes for any small item or small errand. If you're in the
habit of putting things down anyplace, get into the habit
of making an association to remind you of where it is.
One of the questions usually asked at this point is:—
"Fine, but how am I going to remember to make these as-
sociations for all these petty things?" There is only one an-
swer to this question—use some will power at first, and
be sure that you do make the associations. When you see
the results, I'm sure you'll manage to keep it up, and before
you know it, you will have acquired the habit.
There is no doubt, by the way, that this system must cure
absentmindedness. The reason is obvious; the eyes cannot
see if the mind is absent—and your mind is absent when
you put things away mechanically. The very idea of making
an association makes you think of what you're doing for at
least a fraction of a second, and that's all that's necessary.