Remembering

Ever try to make a list of everyone you have ever met? It is tough to do. Our fantastic mind that stores all of our data appears to drop a few files every now and again. Even worse, rather than storing the factual data, it stores just our memories of people and events. And sometimes, I think that past events stored in our mind might get corrupted by the newer data that we occasionally receive. Does this sound a little bit confusing and overwhelming? No wonder I have a hard time remembering.

You can take everything and put it into the computer. And then all you need to do is try to remember which pages went into which files. And know which directories they are stored on. And what cloud all that went to. Finally, after figuring all that out, hopefully, you get the completed page and not just a placeholder page that you started but never really filled out. Are there better ways to keep the memory of things? There is.

 You can make a journal. Journals of been around as long as people have been able to write. When royalty could not write, scribes took dictation for them. You can keep a journal online, or you can write a journal in a notebook. There are a few key reasons that I like the physical notebook over the computer at times. Yet there are also a few key reasons I prefer the laptop over the written word.

The actual act of writing takes a little more time, yet, it allows you that time to think about what you are writing. This actually does help embed that knowledge into your memory. You have everything in one book, or as time goes on, a set of books. You can go to these notebooks and look something up. Because they are not on the computer, others cannot hack your system and read your journals.

The computer is helpful for journaling if you can keep control of it. If you have a particular format you use which works well for you and use a speech to text program or dictation on Microsoft Word^®, you can put down your thoughts 80% faster than you can by writing with pen or pencil. Also, with the computer, you can put in a keyword and search your journal for something specific that you are looking for.

We each have our own ways of preferring to do different tasks. Sometimes the important thing is not how you do something as much as the fact that you do it. When we are setting out on life’s journey, we never think about some of the things that will be so important to us as we grow older.

Thank you for being with me today. I hope to be with you again tomorrow.

Author: Mike Balof

A retired Air Force Master Sergeant, Mike used to lay in bed at night and worry about what would happen if his plant closed or found himself without a job. One day his plant closed. Rather than panic and hysteria (OK, maybe a little) Mike found himself carried away on the adventure of his life. Mike started with the best job he ever had working at Home Depot. He spent 8 years working with job seekers at a local workforce center, helping them to find employment. He then started his own company developing courses, writing books and urging others to follow their own paths into the future. Mike holds a Master of Arts in Adult Education and Training and a Bachelor of Business Management, earned through the University of Phoenix and an AAS degree in Electronics Systems Technology from the Community College of the Air Force. Mike is a member of the Delta Mu Delta Business Honor Society. View all posts by Mike Balof