The Not-So-Gentle Reminder
I came across few social media influencers who had posted videos about productivity hacks and how to be more productive in your daily lives. The first thing they mentioned caught my attention. The video said, “Don’t try to remember anything. Make use of technology as much as you can. Outsource the task of remembering to AI (Artificial Intelligence).” Well either they were fooling their followers, manipulating them or they were themselves ignorant of the repercussions of how this might impact our brains. Imagine if you kept lying down on your cozy bed all day long or for a few days at stretch because it felt comfortable or you kept relaxing on your couch for days at length because it’s so convenient. I’m sure your body won’t be able to take it. It might ache, it might feel uncomfortable and completely restless rather than restful.
Our brain is no different. The more you don’t use it, the more dormant it becomes. The more you don’t try to memorize or remember things, they weaker your memory becomes. Technology is for ease and not to make you ‘dis-eased’. Brain stays healthy when used to its optimum, if not, full potential, exercised regularly and challenged often. Our brain has a capacity of 10 times more than we think, provided we allow it to do things it is meant to do. But it is we who are restraining it. We stopped memorizing phone numbers since mobiles came in our lives, we stopped remembering birthdays since we started social networking and now with calendars so handy we set reminders for office meetings, parent-teachers meeting, doctors appointment, kids’ vaccination, school times, break times and what not. The less we have been using it, the more forgetful we have become. And no, age is not the reason, not using the brain definitely is. My grandfather was eighty-years old when he left for his heavenly abode and he carried along his razor sharp memory with him. He always used to read, write, memorize and recall things and primarily stayed happy, joyful and optimistic. He remembered things with precise day, date and incident along with names of people he had met ages ago.
Keeping the brain active and healthy is completely possible and absolutely up to us on how we treat it. Setting reminders don’t do any good to it. Using all our sense organs and actively engaging, observing things in and around our environment, reducing distractions in between tasks, avoiding negativity and pessimism at all times, eating fresh food that have low glycemic index (including fresh fruits and vegetables), reading physical books, writing on paper, engaging in creative pursuits, speaking/ talking to people, having enough exposure to the outside environment to get optimum oxygen are some of the things we can do to keep our brain healthy. Those gentle reminders on your phone are ‘Not-so-Gentle Reminders’ for your brain. The sooner you start, the easier it gets. Whenever you have that urge to set a reminder, remind your brain to remind you of the task at the specific time. Slowly it will regain its strength back.