Why I Set My Alarm To Go To Martinez

Once upon a time I set my radio/alarm clock to wake me up in the morning. Years ago, this changed to using my phone’s alarm for that purpose, and it was only set for once a day. As my life became more complicated, my attention span became more scattered and my memory became more like Swiss cheese, the alarms on my phone have become (pardon the pun) alarmingly frequent. It’s now my go-to action - if there’s anything at all I need to remember, I immediately set an alarm on the phone.

For example: Wake up alarm is still set for once a day, but just 30 minutes later is an alarm to remind me to give my mom her morning medication because that’s a daily activity that I am so accustomed to doing that I tend to forget it. So, it got its own alarm. As did a reminder to take my own medications and vitamins. And yes, I can forget it even after doling out meds to my mom, so it got its own alarm.

Five minutes after I get to work? A reminder alarm to sign in. Two minutes before I'm supposed to clock out? A reminder to sign out of my various computers/equipment. Drinks with a friend? Phone alarm. Lunch with a colleague? Phone alarm. Deadline? Phone alarm. Is there anything I don’t set an alarm for? Not if I actually want to get it done!

This isn't a new phenomenon either, there's even a quasi-scientific name for it: digital amnesia. Studies have shown that our phones/devices have increasingly taken on the everyday tasks that we once had to use our brains for. When was the last time you went to an unfamiliar neighborhood and didn't use GPS to find your way?

I grew up right here in the CSRA and yet since moving back from the midwest I find myself punching in addresses to places I know I've been to many times before but I just can't quite remember the way. It seems that what grandma used to say really does ring true when it comes to our brains and memory: use it or lose it!

For years I have added one menial task after another, trying to keep up with a bevy of responsibilities and I know I’m not alone. I hear other people's phones sounding off throughout the building as the day goes on. I'm certain I’m not the only one! My only question would be: Is this a collective societal issue or am I the only weirdo out there? What do you find yourself setting alarms for?