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Applying Memory Techniques
KEEPING A MENTAL PLANNER
Most people rely totally on a written or
computerized planner for organizing their time on
a monthly basis. Neither system is infallible, and
you will find it very useful and time-efficient to
have your planner with you, in your head, at all
times. Learning your planner enables you to make
immediate decisions when making appointments
or other arrangements. The basis for a mental
planner is the Journey Technique. Setting it up
takes a little time initially, but once your system
is in place, it is relatively simple to keep updated.
NAME: Englim
ISSUE: Missing
appointments
OBJECTIVE: To
improve time
management
Englim has missed
several appointments
in the last three months at
work, and has become known
among his colleagues and
clients as a bad timekeeper. He
frequently forgets his PDA, and
when he does have it with him,
he does not use it as often as
he should. He is good at his
job in other respects, and
wants to change this aspect
of his working life. Englim
decides to create a mental
planner into which he
can slot in the dates and
times of his appointments. He
implements the technique, and
now all the dates he needs to
remember are literally “inside
his head,” instead of being
detached in his PDA. He
checks his mental planner first
thing every morning while he
is having his breakfast. Englim
knows his time management
has improved, and clients and
colleagues have remarked on
the change in his performance.
Practice designing journeys with your family—
it introduces them indirectly to memory skills.
Put a calendar on the fridge door and look at
the date when you get your breakfast. Go
through what you have memorized for that day.
Experiment with different journeys for your
planner—then drop the ones that do not work
well enough and use them for something else.
Useful Exercises
Transfers dates from
calendar to mental planner
Setting up a mental planner
Once you realize the benefits of having a mental diary with you
wherever you are—and how it improves your efficiency—you
will appreciate its advantages over, for example, wall calendars.
Case Study