Do you know what the worst thing about forgetting an important date is? It’s not just that it makes you look like a fool. There are consequences, and they’re huge. For example, if you forget your wife’s birthday, she’ll be hurt and probably won’t want to talk to you for days on end. If you forget your best friend’s baby shower date, you can imagine what could happen.
And if you forget when your lease expires…well you don’t want to think of what could happen there.
To make sure these things never happen–to ensure that we never miss out on anything in life because we can’t remember when it was happening–we need a system in place that will help us remember these dates. Below is how to make sure you don’t forget important dates.
Use a Journal
One of the most effective ways to remember a date is to write it down. There are a few different ways you can go about this, but the easiest and simplest way is to get a blank notebook and write important dates inside. You could also use your phone or computer, but writing things down will help you remember them more effectively.
Journalling is also a great opportunity to reflect on what’s going on in your life. Things you’re grateful for, things that are making you sad or upset, who you’ve been spending time with lately–these are all good things to write down because they help us stay in touch with our emotional well-being.
Rewrite it in Your Calendar
After you’ve written an important date in your journal, go over it again, and rewrite it on your calendar using your preferred calendar app. This is a system that works for everyone, and it’s how you can make sure you never miss an important date. You can even create a custom calendar when you visit blankcalendarpages.com. It will have the outlook that you like, and in the language of your choosing. The best part about keeping a calendar is that you can also use it to remember things like birthdays, anniversaries, etc.
Make A List
Making a list of important dates is another effective way to remember them. What you can do is sit down with a piece of paper and your journal and write the following things at the top:
3/23 – My wife’s birthday
5/12 – My best friend’s baby shower
8/28 – When my lease expires
Then, underneath each one, write one to two things that are happening in each of those categories. For your wife’s birthday, you might want to write “Call my mom” or “Go out to dinner with the family.” For your best friend’s baby shower, you could write “Buy a gift/Happy for them!” And when your lease is up, maybe you want to write “Start looking for a new apartment” or “Start planning an epic goodbye party.”
Be Consistent & Act on Your Reminders
Once you’ve written important dates in your journal and/or made a list of them (and rewrite them in your calendar), make sure you keep consistency with the system. The best way to do this is to add things as they come up/when you think of them and then, at least once a month or so, go through your journal or list and rewrite the dates in your calendar again. If you remain consistent with this system, there’s no chance you can forget an important date.
Use a Task List
Another thing you can try is creating a task list. This will work particularly well if there are things that need to be done before an important date or event happens. For example, maybe on your wife’s birthday, you want to write “Call mom and tell her happy birthday”. These tasks will pop up on your task list so you remember them.
In addition to this, you can write down reminders for yourself throughout the day. Try using a sticky note on your monitor as a reminder about things you need to do that day, or use an app called Google Keep that allows you work with your tasks from anywhere.
Make Use of Reminder Apps
If you’re still struggling with this, or just don’t want to deal with writing things down in a journal, you can use reminder apps. There are several apps for people who are sometimes forgetful that might come in handy for you. You can try out Reminders Daily, Beeminder (if you’re really motivated by numbers and statistics), or Forest (which allows you to put a plant on your phone and water it with notifications).
We hope you found this article helpful in learning how to make sure that you won’t forget important dates. There are a variety of methods that can help, and it’s important to find the system that works best for you. Implementing one or more of these strategies should help ensure that those important days don’t slip through the cracks.