Shellys commentary: The importance of reminders
On a recent cold morning I decided to begin my daily walk in the house, figuring it’s 75 steps round-trip from the front door to the back. I didn’t have my air-pods – no music - no podcasts. Just space for thinking. Two words popped into my head for no particular reason – “sticky notes.” I normally don’t use “sticky notes,” although I used to, but now I simply leave notes to myself. While walking, I noticed the grocery list, notes on the small board above my desk in the kitchen – Vote, Read, small stars with “hope” “love” and “giving” written on them, a program announcement, business cards, etc. There were more notes in the tv/computer room – the titles of books, phone numbers, information about “Benedictus” composed by Karl Jenkins, computer instructions, and many quotes, such as: “Is that so?” from The Starless Sea” and “When we all do a little, it adds up to a lot” (OGHS).
That made me wonder why “sticky notes,” otherwise known as “Post-it Notes,” grew to be so popular. 3M researchers played a big role. In 1968 Spencer Silver was working on a better adhesive for the aerospace industry, but he failed. By 1974 researcher, Art Fry, was looking for a solution to keeping his place in the church hymnal. He had an “aha” moment and tried Silver’s adhesive. He could only find yellow scraps of paper on which to experiment, thus Post-It Note’s signature color. They were first released in four cities under the name “Press’n Peel,” which didn’t interest consumers, so they were pulled from the shelves. In 1979 they were rebranded as “Post-it Notes” and free samples were distributed. More than 90% of offices re-ordered them. Over the years they kept evolving and by 2016 there were more than 600 Post-it Note products sold in more than 100 countries. There were 8 standard sizes, 25 shapes, and 62 colors. And, as they say, the rest is history.
What it all boils down to is that we all need reminders. Lists can be adapted to many purposes – to do lists, grocery, addresses. With technology and the digital world, there are so many ways to be reminded. Since the iPhone is our constant companion, we can find many reminder-helps in the App Store or simply in “Notes,” which comes with the iPhone. I was curious what I needed to be reminded of in my iPhone “Notes” There was an interesting assortment: How you tell the difference between a viola and a pansy, medication list, and again lots of quotes: “At our age we need to go for the smiles” from Red Mountain Rising, from Max Sherman’s memoir, “Love doesn’t die, people do. So, when all that’s left of me is love, give me away,” “Let your life speak” by Parker Palmer, and “Don’t whine. Do Something.” from The Secret Diary of Hendricks Groen – 83 ½ years old.
Why do we need reminders? Sometimes, we don’t pay close enough attention, or we easily get distracted with busyness, or there is simply too much to remember. What about aging? I am thinking that there are a lot of things that simply aren’t that important to remember, thus the notes, which can be referenced; however, if more and more reminders are needed, we might want to get that checked out. Science offers a lot of explanations as to what is normal and what is not.
In an article titled, “The Importance of Reminders,” the author suggested that reminders of some sort or another “are what turn a collection of paper goods or web services into … a ‘trusted system,’” enabling us to build habits. My note, “Turn off the Oven,” which was taped on my old oven-door, was there to create a habit by serving as a trigger or a reminder. He suggests that the best reminders are automatic triggers that will pop up on the computer or iPhone – time to take pills, an exercise-timer, a wake-up notice. These days, we can’t escape the billboards, the bumper stickers, and posters, along with reminder calls or messages from the doctor’s offices, businesses, politicians, and friends that simply help us not to forget.
The idea of notes being part of self-care is appealing to me. In addition to being reminders, notes can be stress relievers and incentives, or importantly, inspiration and validation. In this election year, I believe I will leave myself some notes around the house: Be kind, Listen Critically, Words Must Lead to Action, Accountability, and perhaps most important, Vote – There’s a lot at Stake.
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Shellys commentary: The importance of reminders
