My brain mostly acts as a sieve - capturing details and thoughts along the way as the day goes, but letting most of them pass through into the oblivion of forgetfulness. It gets so bad sometimes, that my Mom has a saying for me - “If you tell Punit to do 3 things, you can be sure that the most he’ll get done are 2 of those”. 😅
Now I’m not one to take such accusations lying down. I try my best to work on my memory, making sure I get things done as expected. But more often than not, I find myself not doing a good job of remembering as much as I should.
In order to work on this problem better, I’ve started subscribing to a new ideology - the brain can either bear the burden of thought or the burden of memory. And hence, if I free my brain up from the task of memorization, it can do a much better job at the task of processing thoughts. Hence, for the past couple of years, I have religiously started using my Notes and Reminders apps.
What I’ve found is that browsing through old notes sparks ideas and fuels thoughts when I’m sitting idly, and having my phone remind me to do a task frees me up from the anxiety of forgetting.
Thus, if you find yourself struggling with memorization as much as I do, please give your Notes app and Reminders app a chance. They are there to help. If digital note-taking is not your thing, then maybe start maintaining a diary of your things you don’t want to forget. So that’s what today’s poem is about.
Alright, poem starts in 3... 2… 1!
What was it, I ponder,
That thought I once had?
was it of great meaning,
or something quite bad?
Was it full of wisdom,
did it make some sense?
Or was it but foolish,
its content quite dense?
Oh, I'm so forgetful!
I think with a frown,
I wish that I should have
just written it down!
Oh I'm so forgetful!
But I promise today -
I'll write all my musings
before they slip away.That’s it! Thanks for reading edition 130 of Hello Universe.
Some Fun Stuff
This is a place where I share something cool to read, something cool to listen to, and something cool to watch! The underlined words are links that you can click to visit the recommended content.
1. Use Google Keep as your Notes app: Keep has been my lifesaver on many an occasion. All the poems I’ve ever written are stored there, all my grocery lists and recipes, and even my travel itineraries. Not to say anything of all the notes I keep in it for work.
The best reason to use it is its capability to work seamlessly on your phone, tablet, and laptop. Unless you are completely in the Apple ecosystem, with an iPhone, a Macbook, and an iPad (in which case the default Notes app is your best friend), you will love Google Keep for how you can use it on any device of your choosing.
Click the links to get it for your laptop, Android device, or iPhone/iPad.
2. Listen to Cream on Chrome by Ratatat: This track has a guitar riff that’s just so damn cool! I love this track, and you should listen to it right now for a dose of cheer.
3. Watch this story of a renowned scientist who faked data in over 50 studies: There are innumerable instances of dishonesty in the world of science, but this one is particularly striking. A professor at the top of his game, getting obsessed with trying to present a simplified version of this complex world we live in, and crossing professional boundaries - this tale shows how even the best of us are capable of succumbing to dishonesty.
A thought-provoking, cautionary tale, made especially poignant by the fact that the wrong-doer is completely candid about his wrong-doings and is sharing candidly with the world what he did wrong. I hope his tale helps us learn to do better.
That’s it for this week, see you next Tuesday!
This poem is literally the story of my life 🫣
As a writer, the Notes app is my BEST FRIEND! Totally feel this one 🧠 📝