I have come to believe that having paper and pencil at my bedside is now a necessity in my life.  That is, If I want to be free of the horrible self-recrimination that happens because I didn’t write something down exactly when I remembered it, before dropping off into deep slumber.  I never remember things in the morning like I was able to do in the past.  

You know that feeling when you are just ready to drop off and you think of something that you need to remember?  That instant, for me, is my mind trying to warn me that I don’t have the memory I used to take for granted in the past.  And I know I need to write it down, but if there isn’t a piece of paper and pencil right there within reach, I will talk myself out of getting out of bed.  And in an instant, I will succumb to the drooping eyelids and fledgling dreams that climb into my subconscious as soon as my head hits the pillow!  (It drove my mother crazy that I could fall asleep that fast!) Turns out, this now has a downside for me.

Now I realize that many people would just pop this info into their phones in this situation.  And my phone is right there being charged.  But, that is just not how I am wired.  I am a pencil and paper person.  And there is a school of thought, with lots of evidence, that writing something down on paper is a better memory tool than typing it into a cell phone, tablet, or computer.  And as for the pencil, I don’t like to cross out my mistakes.  So, that’s the whole picture.

I know that if you are reading this, you are probably in, or close to my generation.  So this will make perfect sense to you.  And I sincerely hope that you are not experiencing this issue in your life.  But if you are having these problems, just know that you are not alone.  That always makes me feel a little bit better.  If so I hope it does that for you too!