Making a mental note is a way to remember something important, but it may not always be effective due to the brain’s memory tricks. It is recommended to turn a mental note into a physical one. Some people use mnemonic devices or tie reminders to something else. The term “mental note” is also used sarcastically to point out something absurd or obvious.
Someone is said to “make a mental note” when trying to remember something that needs special attention, such as needing to get a quart of milk on the way home. The term is also sometimes used a little sarcastically to illustrate a situation, which is why you might hear someone say “mental note: don’t keep speeding when you see a police car parked at the side of the road”. In the first sense, trying to remember something may not always be effective, as all those who have forgotten an essential ingredient at the supermarket, an important birthday or an anniversary well know. The term is also used to digress into text, often with sarcastic comments incorporated.
Usually someone makes a mental note when they are in a hurry and don’t have time to write something down. For example, someone might make a mental note that they’re out of bagels, with the intent of grabbing more at some point during the day, or someone might see that a store is having a sale and make a mental note to tell a friend. The implication is usually that something is reasonably important, but perhaps not crucial.
The human brain is an extremely complex tool and is notorious for playing tricks on memory. Some people find they can remember last week’s shopping list just fine, but not a password they just created to access an online account. Because of this notorious weakness, it’s generally an idea to turn a mental note into a physical one, to make sure the thing that needs attention is truly taken care of. Carrying a small notebook with reminders will also allow you to jot down phone numbers and other information in a central location, making it easier to keep track of these things.
If you need to make a mental note of something, you might try linking it to something else to make sure you remember it. Some people tie mental note reminders literally by typing a piece of string or rubber band around a finger, but you can also set up a mnemonic or phrase to remind you of something. For example, if your trash pickup is always on a Thursday, perhaps you can think of an alliterative pun using “Thursday” and “trash” to remind you to take out the trash on time.
Many people use the term “mental note” as a bit of a flourish, often to point out that something is absurd or obvious. Rhetorical commentary on various situations may include a prompt to make a mental note referring to the salient point of the comment. For example, a columnist might be discussing a story about someone attempting to bribe an Internal Revenue Service agent and the column title might be: “Mental Note: Bribing IRS Agents Usually Goes Bad.” In the realm of crazier stuff, a columnist commenting on a story about someone who was casually hounded for doing something like carrying a snack on an airplane: “Mental note: Apparently bringing bananas on an airplane for a snack isn’t a good idea . “
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