You are feeling sleepy ... very sleepy ...

Up until recently, people who knew me were often amused by the expanse of notes inked with permanent markers on the backs of my hands. These half-encrypted memory joggers were the only way I had of ensuring that all of my duties were performed in a timely fashion. The drawbacks of this habit were the health-threat the inks possed, and the negative effect the pseudo-tattoos had on my appearance. To remedy the problems, I developed a technique to program my subconscious mind. Now when I need to remember something, the chore pops into my head automatically when I am most likely to be able to perform them.

If you want to learn how to make better use of your long-term memory, read the methodology detailed below.

Begin by choosing an important memory that you wish to recall in the far future. This memory should be concieved in the form of an action. For example, if you need to remember to let your friend know about a party, try to picture yourself writing an email, and try to see the words on the screen as you compose this imaginary letter. You should fabricate a single, very vivid mental image, focused on the essential task.

Once you have chosen the memory, try to think of a place that you will visit where you can carry out the action envisioned. To continue the example above, your computer at work might be your next Internet point-of-contact.

With a task and a destination in mind, you must now think of a cue that you are certain to encounter at the chosen destination. You need a trigger to unlock the image, without it the memory may be lost forever . Again with the above example, suppose you know that you must enter a password to log on to the LAN at work. There is no way you can operate your computer without entering this password. You will have to face this cue.

To complete the conditioning process, see yourself faced with the cue and in that context imagine that you remember the task. See yourself entering the password, try to form a vivid conscise image, and as you type the password see yourself remembering the locked memory. Perhaps there is a number or a special character in your password that will help you further associate the memory with the cue. Say that the party in the example takes place at three 'o clock, and there happens to be a number 3 in your password; in the scene you are painting in your head, you should see yourself remembering the memory as soon as you type the number 3.

Once you have arranged the mental scene, you are free to forget that you need to perform a task. You can go for weeks, perhaps even months, without giving that task a second thought, until you encounter the cue. If you chose your cue carefully, and you pictured your task vividly, it is very likely that the memory will return in part or in whole. If you have only partial recall, a carefully envisioned task lends itself to recreation. Perhaps you will remember that you need to email a friend and the message has to do with the number 3; this may be enough for you to figure out the complete task.

TIP: Try to pick a cue that you won't accidentally encounter somewhere else, or a cue which you may suspect is inevitable but really is not. Perhaps you think you can associate the sight of a specific tree that you always pass on your way home with a given task, but really when you walk home you are so used to the three that you ignore it and lose the memory. If a random cue accidentally forces you to recall the task at the wrong time, you must stop and start the process anew immediately, using a different, more unusual but certain cue as the key.