A mnemonic device is any trick that helps you remember something you tend to forget. It can be visual, verbal, or both. Use the mnemonics in these 5 life hacks to make your life a little bit easier all day long.

1. How to Remember Your Morning Routine

Tasks pile up in the morning. Suppose you want to remember to exercise, clean the kitty litter, and take your ID, lunch, keys, reading glasses, and cell phone to work.

It’s easy to let one thing slip, especially when you’re groggy. So, make a mnemonic checklist by arranging your chores to spell a word. CLICKER does the trick here.

2. How to Get Around Town

In any town, the order of streets can be hard to remember. For example, in New York City, the numbers are easy, but the avenues trip you up.

A simple sentence memory jogger can help you stay on top of it. In New York, for example, just think pigs to remember the Upper East Side avenues.

3. How to Look Smart When You Help with Homework

4. How to Get a Dinner Party Right

It’s after work, and you’re getting ready for a big dinner party. No time to waste, and then a jar decides to give you trouble and just won’t open.

Think: Righty tighty, lefty loosey. That means the top of the jar goes to the right to tighten and left to loosen. This rule works for most screws and bolts, too. (Of course, you have to know left from right. If not, see above.)

Finally, the food is ready, but what about setting the table. Do you remember which side the fork goes on?

If not, just count: Fork and left both have four letters, so put the fork to the left. Knife, spoon and right all have five letters, so the knife and spoon go to the right.

Maybe you’re adding place cards, too. Mental pictures can help you spell guests’ names correctly. Suppose one of your guests is Sherry. But does she spell her name with a final i or y?

If it’s an i, think of her playing basketball, for the dot on the i. If it’s a y, think of her with a martini, which looks like a y.

5. How to Successfully Call It a Day

Whew! You made it through the whole day, and you didn’t forget anything! But don’t forget your bedtime chores. If you need to floss, charge your cell phone, take your meds, and set the alarm clock, think FACT:

Oh, I see how mnemonic devices can hack life! What mnemonic tricks do you use to make your days a snap? Please tell us in a Comment.

*Top image credits: All images from iStock: ID © Tom Mc Nemar, lunch © Pictac, phone © Maksim Kabakou, glasses © Evgeny Karandaev, man © OSTILL, keys © cat litter © axelbueckert.

$\"Seven$

Remember your morning chores\u2014Say CLICKER.
\u00a9 iStock*<\/p><\/div>\n

A Mnemonic Device for Every Occasion<\/h2>\n
A mnemonic device<\/strong> is any trick that helps you remember something you tend to forget. It can be visual, verbal, or both. Use the mnemonics in these 5 life hacks to make your life a little bit easier all day long.<\/p>\n

1. How to Remember Your Morning Routine<\/h4>\n
Tasks pile up in the morning. Suppose you want to remember to exercise, clean the kitty litter, and take your ID, lunch, keys, reading glasses, and cell phone to work.<\/p>\n
It’s easy to let one thing slip, especially when you’re groggy. So, make a mnemonic checklist by arranging your chores to spell a word. CLICKER does the trick here.<\/p>\n
\n
C<\/strong><\/span>hange kitty litter<\/li>\n
L<\/strong><\/span>unch<\/li>\n
I<\/strong><\/span>D<\/li>\n
C<\/strong><\/span>ell phone<\/li>\n
K<\/strong><\/span>eys<\/li>\n
E<\/strong><\/span>xercise<\/li>\n
R<\/strong><\/span>eading glasses<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
2. How to Get Around Town<\/h4>\n
In any town, the order of streets can be hard to remember. For example, in New York City, the numbers are easy, but the avenues trip you up.<\/p>\n
$\"New$
Can you remember which avenue is west of Third?
\u00a9 janniswerner \/ iStock<\/p><\/div>\n
A simple sentence memory jogger can help you stay on top of it. In New York, for example, just think pigs to remember the Upper East Side avenues.<\/p>\n
$\"Three$
Upper East Side pigs (We’re not making a judgment, really!)
\u00a9 Anatolii Tsekhmister \/ iStock<\/p><\/div>\n
T<\/strong><\/span>hree L<\/strong><\/span>ittle P<\/strong><\/span>igs M<\/strong><\/span>ake F<\/strong><\/span>ive.<\/em><\/p>\n
T<\/span><\/strong>hird Ave, L<\/strong><\/span>exington Avenue, P<\/strong><\/span>ark Avenue, M<\/strong><\/span>adison Avenue, F<\/strong><\/span>ifth Avenue.<\/p>\n
3. How to Look Smart When You Help with Homework<\/h4>\n
Mnemonics can help kids of all ages in lots of subjects.<\/p>\n
\n
Left vs.<\/em> Right\u00a0<\/strong>For those who get left and right confused (even though they know the words well), have them hold out their thumbs and forefingers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
$\"Thumb$
Left or right? Just look down.
\u00a9 Bruce Goldstone<\/p><\/div>\n
\u00a0Like magic, the left<\/span><\/strong> hand shows an L.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n
\n
Comparison Math\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0The <<\/strong><\/span> (less than) and ><\/span><\/strong> (greater than) signs are easy to confuse, but not if you think of them as a hungry alligator.\n
$\"An$
The Greater Gator
\u00a9 Eric Issel\u00e9e \/ iStock<\/p><\/div>\n
Of course, the alligator always wants to eat the bigger meal, so the open part of his mouth points to the greater amount:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
10 > 2 \u00a0Ten is greater than two. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a02 < 10 \u00a0Two is less than ten.<\/p>\n
\n
Memorable Life of Pi\u00a0<\/strong>Hard to remember the first seven digits of pi? Just tell yourself:\u00a0How I wish I could calculate pi<\/em>. Count the letters in each word and you get 3.141592.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
4. How to Get a Dinner Party Right<\/h4>\n
It’s after work, and you’re getting ready for a big dinner party. No time to waste, and then a jar decides to give you trouble and just won’t open.<\/p>\n
$\"A$
Which way do you turn a lid to open it?
\u00a9 Jan Mika \/ iStock<\/p><\/div>\n
Think: Righty tighty, lefty loosey<\/em>. That means the top of the jar goes to the right to tighten and left to loosen. This rule works for most screws and bolts, too. (Of course, you have to know left from right. If not, see above.)<\/p>\n
Finally, the food is ready, but what about setting the table. Do you remember which side the fork goes on?<\/p>\n
$\"A$
Can you remember how to place a place setting?
\u00a9 Spike Mafford \/ Photodisc<\/p><\/div>\n
If not, just count: Fork<\/em> and left<\/em> both have four letters, so put the fork to the left. Knife,<\/em> spoon<\/em> and right<\/em> all have five letters, so the knife and spoon go to the right.<\/p>\n
Maybe you’re adding place cards, too. Mental pictures can help you spell guests’ names correctly. Suppose one of your guests is Sherry. But does she spell her name with a final i<\/em> or y?<\/em><\/p>\n
$\"A$
Would Sherry prefer a basketball or a martini?
\u00a9 Francesco Santalucia \/ iStock (L), \u00a9 Richard Cote \/ iStock (R)<\/p><\/div>\n
If it’s an i,<\/em> think of her playing basketball, for the dot on the i.<\/em> If it’s a y,<\/em> think of her with a martini, which looks like a y.<\/em><\/p>\n
5. How to Successfully Call It a Day<\/h4>\n
Whew! You made it through the whole day, and you didn’t forget anything! But don’t forget your bedtime chores. If you need to floss, charge your cell phone, take your meds, and set the alarm clock, think FACT:<\/p>\n
\n
F<\/strong><\/span>loss<\/li>\n
A<\/strong><\/span>larm<\/li>\n
C<\/strong>harge<\/span><\/span>\u00a0Phone \u00a0
\n<\/span><\/li>\n
T<\/strong><\/span>ake meds<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Oh, I see<\/strong> how mnemonic devices can hack life! What mnemonic tricks do you use to make your days a snap? Please tell us in a\u00a0Comment<\/i><\/a><\/em><\/em>.<\/em><\/p>\n
*Top image credits: All images from iStock: ID \u00a9 Tom Mc Nemar, lunch \u00a9 Pictac, phone \u00a9 Maksim Kabakou, glasses \u00a9 Evgeny Karandaev, man \u00a9 OSTILL, keys \u00a9 cat litter \u00a9 axelbueckert.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n
Inspire insight with your own\u00a0OIC Moment\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":null,"protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[108,247],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ideas-creative","category-secretstolife-life"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16409","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16409"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16409\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40924,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16409\/revisions\/40924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16409"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}