Did I turn the straightener off?

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According to web.colby.edu, people spend about 47% of their day on autopilot, meaning they follow automated behaviors while their thoughts are elsewhere. 

“Thoughts elsewhere” perfectly describes the process of getting ready.

Do I hear a kid waking up? What time is soccer tonight? Do I need to run into the office to check for that package? What is for dinner? When is the next time I’ll have to wash my hair?

It’s hard to remember if you turned the straightener off because it’s a teeny, tiny step in a larger, familiar routine. A routine that welcomes a wandering mind.

It’s no surprise that companies have had to come out with a hair tools that cut off automatically. Working women were probably burning houses down left and right. We aren’t crazy. I't’s neurological!

Here’s what we’re gonna do: Rather than build a road to familiarity through repetition, you can make that memory stand out by attaching something unique to it.

I remember 1 single thing from the 12th grade.

My AP Psych teacher was (ironically) teaching us about memory. Mid-lecture she told us to find a clean sheet of paper.

She then had us all draw a hippopotamus holding a flag for the college we were set to attend the coming fall.

Once we had all drawn our very sad hippos, who lacked everything but school spirit…

She had us write: HIPPO-CAMPUS.

A hippo on campus. Get it?

The hippocampus is the memory center of the brain. This exercise was as forget-proof as you can get.

The time we spent drawing, was making the concept memorable for us. It was helping embed the importance into our memory. The uniqueness of the task making it easier to recall quickly later.

It’s the reason I will never not get this question right while watching Jeopardy.

Remembering to turn the straightener off is juuuuuust ordinary and familiar enough to have us imagining the house up in flames while we’re at work.

Next time, add something unique (or frankly absurd) right before you take the action that you need to remember taking.

“I am going to spin in a circle then turn the straightener off.”

“I am going to touch my toes and then lower the garage door.”

“I am going to switch my sandals to the wrong feet and then lock the door.”

The weirder it is, the more likely you’re going to remember doing it. Change it up frequently though, or it’s not weird anymore.

You definitely turned the straightener off.

Xo, The Salesgirls 

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