Forgetting to pick up your granny from hospital has to rank among the worst things you can forget to do, but it is just one of the many things people admit they have forgotten in a new survey.
elephant.co.uk questioned 1,800 people about their ability to remember important events. Among the other things they admitted forgetting are:
- Their child's first day at school
- The anniversary of their father's death
- Their Godson's christening
- Their parents' ruby wedding anniversary
- Dinner with a newly bereaved friend
- A job interview
It seems busy lifestyles are playing havoc with our ability to remember things with 48% of us saying we forget something important on a weekly basis, and a further 41% forgetting things even more frequently than this. 13% are so bad at remembering important dates they have got into trouble for it.
Names were identified as the thing most difficult to remember, followed by telephone numbers. But there is a difference between the genders, with men saying they have most trouble remembering names while for women it is directions.
elephant also asked what people think is the worst thing to forget. Number one, with 36% was a partner's birthday, second with 34% was a child's birthday and way back in third place was turning off an appliance. Once again there is a difference between the genders. Most men (55%) chose their partner's birthday as the worst thing to forget, while most women (42%) thought it was a child's birthday.
Brian Martin, managing director of elephant.co.uk, commenting on the results, said, "It's interesting that there is a difference between men and women. I'm sure forgetting important dates is one of the biggest causes of arguments, and from this evidence, many men have got into trouble for forgetting their partner's birthday. But it's also clear there are many more important things you can forget, and doing so can hurt the feeling of others."
To help the forgetful and absent minded of Britain, elephant has launched Never Forget with elephant, a free and easy to use reminder service. Anyone can visit www.elephant.co.uk/neverforget and register to use the service.
Once you've registered you can set as many reminders as you want; for anniversaries, birthdays, for appointments, when the clocks go back or forward or even when your MOT or car tax is due. You can also select how far in advance of the event you want reminding. You will then receive a Never Forget with elephant email to remind you on the required date.
Brian continued, "Maybe if someone you know has a bad memory for dates you should send them the URL for Never Forget with elephant with a big suggestion they use the service."
So other than using Never Forget with elephant, how do you make sure you remember important events? The number one tip given by the people elephant surveyed was write down lists. However they also came up with more unusual suggestions, some more practical than others:
- Eat more fish
- Drop a tissue in the middle of the floor to remind you
- Stick post it notes around the house
- Leave items around the house where they would normally be
- Let your Mum know so she can remind you
- Send an email to yourself
- Pick an easy to remember date for important events like weddings
- Say it out loud seven times
- Tie a red elastic band around your phone
- Get a wife
- Don't have children
- Listen properly in the first place
Issue date: 16-12-08 |
