Hey y’all. Just a heads up that this post will include affiliate links. I would obviously love it if you shopped them, but am by no means trying to pressure you to do so.

Anyways – My post the other day mentioned my worsening brain fog. I’m fairly certain that can mostly be blamed on the perimenopause bs. I wasn’t kidding though, it is getting out of control.

I’ve said multiple times that writing things out is what works best for me to work through things. Occasionally, like with this blog, typing works. Most of the time, I need to physically write it out – pen and paper style. It has become more important for me to do this as the brain fog gets worse. Want me to remember something? I need to write it down, physically, for it to really stick. Having trouble picturing how something is supposed to look, go, or sound like? If I don’t write it out, I may never get there.

That being said, I’ve decided I need to start carrying a pen and paper with me wherever I go. Wouldn’t be a problem for most, but I don’t carry a purse. I have a large one I use for my work stuff. But I haven’t carried a personal purse, one that is always with me, in years. I dislike them, a lot. But, a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. So, I am now the very reluctant owner of this cross body backpack like purse. I’m still getting used to it. I like it for what it is. It’s the right size, although, I wouldn’t mind if it was a little bigger so my water bottle would fit too, but eh, not a big deal.

The next part of that is having a notebook and pen to put in that purse. I found these cute ones. And they are super nice. I am going to end up going back and getting something bigger, but these are great for when I just need a little piece of paper for working out a math problem or writing down a short note. And, honestly, I love the cover work so much that I didn’t even think about returning them when I realized they weren’t the size I wanted.

I have found the notebook I will get to replace the little ones, or more likely, to go with them. These beautiful ones come in so many pretty colors, but I think I’m going with the wine red.

I am sincerely hoping that having a notebook and pen on hand will help me work through some of the issues I’m having, or at least help me remember things instead of constantly feeling like I’m forgetting everything all the time.

What hacks do you have to help you work through problems, or increase your memory?