7 Ways To Remember Birthdays

You probably know people who seem to always remember your birthday, and who probably remember the birthdays of all their friends too. Everybody likes to be remembered on their birthdays, and so these wonderful souls who remember yours are likely to be well-loved because they make you feel so good on your special day.

If you’re not blessed with the memory of an elephant, but would like to remember the birthdays of people in your life, here are a few suggestions you could try out.

1. Write it down

The moment anyone’s birthday comes up during a conversation, immediately say “Oh wait, let me write that down,” and proceed to do so. This way you don’t have to worry about forgetting the date later. The person you are speaking to will also feel instantly gratified that her birthday is important enough for you to write down the moment you hear it.

If possible, write it in your schedule or personal digital assistant (PDA) so it’s recorded permanently. Should you have only a scrap of paper handy, remember to transfer the date you wrote down to a more permanent record as soon as possible so there’s no danger of losing the scrap of paper. You could also send a text message to yourself on your mobile phone if there is no scrap of paper available.

2. Build it into your schedule

Now that I’m using a PDA, it’s easy to integrate birthdays into my daily schedule. You just enter the data once, and “So-and-so’s birthday” will show up under that date every year. Previously when I was using a paper schedule, I set aside an hour at the beginning of every year to write down my list of birthdays under the dates for that year. This method may be tedious, but you get to think of your friend twice a year instead of just once!

3. Set reminders

Again PDAs have made this really simple for me. I can set a reminder for each birthday any number of days in advance. I usually set the reminder for a week in advance, which gives me time to shop for a present or mail a card to a friend who lives overseas. One week is also usually enough to make an appointment to meet that person for lunch or dinner, or organise a gathering of friends to celebrate together.

4. Use third party programmes

Nowadays there are third parties like Plaxo that have a database and email system to help you track your friends’ birthdays. You may have to enter the birthday the first time, but after that you’ll get an email reminder from the programme so you’ll never have to worry about remembering it again.

5. Form social groups

If you hang out in groups, chances are that someone else in the group will remember a group member’s birthday even if you forget. One of the reasons we usually remember family members’ birthdays is because a family is a powerful social group, and as long as one member remembers the date, she can remind the rest. Sometimes you may be fortunate enough to have ‘families’ of friends too.

6. Place standing orders

For important friends and family for whom you want to buy gifts of some value, consider using merchants or vendors to help you remember the important dates. If you buy your mum flowers for her birthday for example, you could place an order with a florist to deliver the bouquet, and request that they check with you next year on the same date to see if you want to renew the order. Since businesses stand to gain from your potential purchase, there’s a high chance that they will remind you with ample notice in a year’s time.

7. Ask for help

If none of the above methods has worked for you and you are at your wits’ end, just ask for help. Very bluntly request that your friends remind you when their birthdays are approaching. While some of your friends may be too modest to do so, several will have no qualms. Some of my friends not only remind me of their birthdays, they also tell me exactly what gift they would like! It does make life easier.

Note to husbands and boyfriends: while it may be acceptable to your wife or girlfriend to remind you of her birthday, you will score tons of brownie points if you remember without her help, so do consider points 1 to 6 again.

Remembering birthdays is one of the easiest ways to spread joy in the world: to everyone you know, once a year, year after year!

Oh and by the way, tomorrow is my birthday so I’ll be taking a break from this blog for a couple of days to celebrate with family and friends. I’ll catch up with all you wonderful readers on Sunday!

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