Back to the on-screen lesson ·
Writing an entry a reader who was not there could follow: what, when, where, what to bring, when to leave and who to call.
Paper packet. Every task here also exists on screen, where it is checked automatically; answers written on paper are not assessed by Nydus. When you are back at a device, enter your answers there.
You will turn a call or a note into a complete calendar entry, and work out the leave-by time from the start, the travel and a margin.
In lesson 1 you matched tasks to aids, and a calendar was the aid for dated events you look at ahead of time. This lesson is about what goes into one entry. It works the same in a paper planner, a wall calendar or any calendar app.
As throughout the course, this is optional practice alongside any care you receive. Every appointment in it is invented.
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Entry | One event written in a calendar or planner. |
| Field | One part of an entry: what, when, where, bring, leave by, contact. |
| Leave-by time | When to set off: start time minus the margin and travel. |
| Margin | Extra minutes allowed for parking, lines or delays. |
| Implementation intention | A plan that names when and where you will act. |
A complete entry has six fields. Not every entry needs all six, but checking each one takes a few seconds and catches most of what goes wrong.
| Field | What it holds | Example |
|---|---|---|
| What | a verb and an object | Renew license at the DMV |
| When | the date and the start time | Tue Oct 14, 10:30 a.m. |
| Where | the full place, room or floor | 45 Main St, window 3 |
| Bring | anything you need to have with you | passport, two utility bills |
| Leave by | the time to set off | 9:55 a.m. |
| Contact | who to call if plans change | office: 555-0142 |
When you make an entry, you know everything about it: who called, what it is for, where the building is. A week later, the person reading the entry — you — may remember none of that. So write the entry for a reader who was not there.
A usable entry answers, on its own, the questions that reader will have: What am I doing? When does it start? Where exactly? What do I need? When do I set off? Who do I call if something changes? An entry that says Dr. Tues answers almost none of them.
Two fields need a moment's thought rather than copying down. What should start with a verb — renew, drop off, meet — because a verb says what to do. Leave by is worked out: start time, minus the travel, minus a margin for parking, a late bus or a slow elevator.
Another way: steps
Another way: picture
Imagine handing the entry to a friend who is going in your place. Could they get there on time, with the right papers, and know who to call if the bus is late? If yes, the entry is complete.
The leave-by time is the only field that needs arithmetic, and it is the one most often left out. Work backward from the start:
| Step | Example |
|---|---|
| Start time | 10:30 a.m. |
| Minus the margin (arrive early) | 10:30 − 10 min = 10:20 |
| Minus the travel | 10:20 − 25 min = 9:55 |
| Leave by | 9:55 a.m. |
The margin covers what you cannot plan: parking, a line at the front desk, a detour. Ten or fifteen minutes is common; a new place, a busy road or a form to fill in at the desk are reasons to allow more. If you travel by bus, the leave-by time is the time to walk to the stop, not the bus time.
Once you have it, the leave-by time is also the time for a reminder, which lesson 4 comes back to: an alarm at the start time is too late.
Deciding in advance when and where you will do something is called an implementation intention: when it is Tuesday at 9:55, I will leave for the DMV. A meta-analysis of 94 studies (Gollwitzer and Sheeran, 2006) found that people who form plans like this follow through more often than people who only intend to act. The studies were not about memory aids, and they do not promise that a plan always works. But they are a good reason to write the start time, the place and the leave-by time rather than the day alone: the entry is then a ready-made plan.
You will not always have time to write six fields: the phone rings, the receptionist is waiting. Capture the three that cannot be looked up later — what, when, where — straight away, even on the back of an envelope. Then finish the entry the same day, while you still remember the call. An entry left at Dentist Tues for a week is the one that goes wrong.
Since May 7, 2025, a US adult needs a REAL ID-compliant license (or another accepted document, such as a passport) to board a domestic flight, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Getting one means an in-person visit to a state driver's license office, and the Department of Homeland Security's list of what to bring is the same idea as the Bring field: proof of identity, proof of a Social Security number, and two proofs of address. States add their own details, so check yours.
Suppose a fictional appointment is on Tuesday, October 14 at 10:30 a.m., at 45 Main Street, and the drive takes 25 minutes. A complete entry reads:
What: Get REAL ID license at the DMV. When: Tue Oct 14, 10:30 a.m. Where: 45 Main St, check in at window 3. Bring: passport, Social Security card, two utility bills with this address. Leave by: 10:30 − 10 − 25 = 9:55 a.m. Contact: the office number from the confirmation email.
The Bring field matters most here. A visit missing one proof of address usually means booking again, and a missed document is a far more common problem than a forgotten appointment.
I'll remember the details. On the day you wrote the entry, you would. The entry is read later, often on a busier or more tired day.
The start time is enough. The start time tells you when to arrive, not when to leave. Most late arrivals are a missing leave-by time.
A long entry is a better entry. Six short fields beat a paragraph. The reader should find the time and the place at a glance.
Write the what with a verb.
What: Get the car's brakes checked
A verb says what to do, not just who it is with.
Write the date and start time.
When: Thu Nov 6, 8:00 a.m.
The day alone does not say when to arrive.
Write the full place.
Where: Lakeside Auto, 210 Pine Ave, service door at the side
A reader who was not there needs the door, not only the name.
Write what to bring.
Bring: car keys, the warranty booklet
The garage asked for the booklet on the call.
Add the contact.
Contact: Lakeside Auto 555-0177
If the car will not start, you know who to call.
Start from the start time.
Start: 2:00 p.m. (a meeting at the library)
Everything is worked back from the start.
Take off the margin.
2:00 − 15 min = 1:45 p.m.
A new building: allow time to find the room.
Take off the travel.
1:45 − 20 min walk = 1:25 p.m.
The walk is the travel time door to door.
Write it into the entry.
Leave by: 1:25 p.m.
Now the entry says when to set off, not only when to arrive.
Write the what and the when.
What: Get a haircut. When: Sat Sep 20, 11:00 a.m.
A verb, a date and a start time.
Write the where.
Where: Clip Shop, 18 Elm St, next to the bakery
A landmark helps a reader who was not there.
Work out the leave-by time.
Which calendar entry would still make sense to you next week?
An entry for a fictional hearing test is half written. The drive takes 20 minutes and you allow a 10-minute margin. Finish it.
| Entry | |
|---|---|
| What | Hearing test |
| When | Wed May 13, 1:00 p.m. |
| Where | City Clinic, 3rd floor |
| Bring | |
| Leave by |
This entry was written in a hurry. Mark every part a reader next week could not act on.
This task has no paper form; do it on a device.
A fictional eye-exam booking starts at 10:00 a.m. The bus ride takes 30 minutes and you want 15 minutes to check in. What is the leave-by time, and how many minutes before the start is it?
Leave by 9:a a.m., which is b minutes before the start.
Notes from a phone call about a fictional job interview. Write the field each note belongs in.
| Note | Field |
|---|---|
| Photo ID and a pen | |
| Fri Jan 16, 9:30 a.m. | |
| 8:50 a.m. | |
| Interview for the cashier job | |
| 555-0190 | |
| Green Grocer, 7 Front St, ask for Ms. Lee |
A fictional parent-teacher conference starts at 4:00 p.m. The drive is 18 minutes, parking at the school takes about 7 minutes, and you want 5 minutes to find the classroom. How many minutes before 4:00 should you leave, and at what time?
Leave a minutes before the start, at 3:b p.m.
Lesson test: one question per skill, one attempt each, no hints. Your answers are checked when you submit.
A fictional call: *This is the county library. Your tutoring session is Thursday, Feb 5, at 3:00 p.m. in room B on the second floor of the Main Street branch. Please bring your library card.* The walk takes 25 minutes and you allow a 10-minute margin. Fill in the entry.
| Entry | |
|---|---|
| What | |
| When | |
| Where | |
| Bring | |
| Leave by |
Open your own calendar and find one entry for the coming weeks. Check it against the six fields and add the leave-by time. Next: checklists you can tick. This course is optional practice alongside any care you receive. It is not treatment and does not measure your memory. If anything about your memory or thinking is new or changing, tell your own clinicians. You can stop at any point: close the page and the lesson opens again where you were.
13. Your turn: a text message about a haircut, step 3
11:00 − 10 margin − 15 drive → Leave by: 10:35 a.m.
Margin first, then travel.