Do you know your cell phone number? How about your family members’ numbers? Or your neighbors’ or friends’ or coworkers’? And I am not asking if you have them in your contacts. The question is, do you have their numbers memorized?

I was talking with a co-worker recently who said he paid his son $20 to memorize his cell phone number. Why? Imagine an emergency scenario where a child loses his or her cell phone and needs to call mom or dad and has no idea what the phone numbers are. That hit home with me.

I have my cell phone number memorized, and I know my wife’s, but our three daughters’ numbers? I don’t have a clue. My siblings? Nope. But I can recite my family’s home phone number from my youth, as well as many of my friends’ numbers, and even Jenny’s (867-5309).

I often say the brain can only hold a certain amount of information, so why do I clog mine up with useless data like my junior high gym locker combination but have to look at my driver’s license for the zip code of the town I lived in for 20 years?

I suspect the answer is twofold. First, we tend to remember what we repeat the most. When we had to dial phone numbers by hand over and over, we were more likely to remember them. Many of us also had our most-used numbers written down on a piece of paper that was often taped inside a cupboard door near the phone (or within reach of that tangled 20-foot cord). Second, when we are involved physically with an action, we tend to remember it more, too. There is something about manually writing things down that helps us recall them better.

Writer Thomas Oppong agrees. In this article posted at Better Humans titled “A Learning Secret: Write Things Down to Retain And Remember More,” he explains why highly efficient people take notes.

He quotes author and productivity consultant David Allen, who said, “Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them.” He also shares British business magnate Richard Branson’s thoughts on the importance of writing things down. “I go through dozens of notebooks every year and write down everything that occurs to me each day,” Branson said. “An idea not written down is an idea lost.”

Oppong writes that human memory is not a reliable way to store ideas and that the brain is an excellent tool for generating ideas but terrible at keeping them. He says the act of writing something down helps commit it to memory more accurately than trying to remember it yourself.

I wholeheartedly agree. And for $20, I will gladly memorize your cell phone number.

Have a wonderful Wednesday, and thanks for reading.

Shane Goodman
President and Publisher
Big Green Umbrella Media
shane@dmcityview.com
515-953-4822, ext. 305

See Shane Goodman's previous columns here.

Golden employees
Retirement-age workers share why they continue to report for duty.

By Chantel Boyd

The vision of what life is like “after retirement” is as unique as each individual. For some, that vision focuses on leisure: traveling to warm beaches, afternoons spent reading, extra rounds of golf, more time for hobbies, friends and families. For others, however, employment continues to be an important aspect of their lives. From those who continue full-time careers to those who put in a few hours to keep busy, work can be a key part of life after retirement age.

Financial need prompts return to work
Jann Graham, who lives north of Bondurant on an acreage, works at Menards in Altoona as a stocker. Jann, 74, initially retired in 2008 but went back to work about three years ago. Like many retirement-aged people, Jann returned to work out of necessity.

“I returned back to work because of financial reasons,” she says, adding that she also wanted to remain active and occupied. “I was bored and needed to get out and get exercise.”

These celebrities were born on this date: David Gilmour, Connie Britton, DL. Hughley, Rob Reiner, Millicent Simmonds, Amy Pietz, Tom Arnold, Hugh Grundy, Martin Kove, Jake Arrieta, Marcus Smart, Tyler The Creator, Shaquille O'Neal, Alaska 5000

SUBMIT: Send your birthday greetings and congratulatory notes to: tammy@iowalivingmagazines.com

The answer to yesterday's riddle:

Where do you find a group of gossiping goats? A PETTY ZOO! - Rex Post. Or AT THE BAAAAR. - Brent Hoover, Judy Anderson. Or AMONG THE GRAPEVINES. - Gail Tomlinson

Today's riddle

What happened after a lion and a tiger escaped the zoo with a jaguar?

Have a guess? Email tammy@iowalivingmagazines.com

To advertise in the Ankeny, Altoona and Bondurant Living magazines, contact:

Angela Ossian
Account Executive
Office: 515-953-4822 ext. 307
Mobile: 515-979-5585
angela@iowalivingmagazines.com

©Big Green Umbrella Media, Inc., all rights reserved.
www.biggreenumbrellamedia.com. Add webmaster@dmcityview.com to your address book to ensure delivery. Did someone forward you this newsletter? Click here to get it delivered to your inbox for FREE!