Special Occasions

Here's something I started doing about 5 years ago. I have reoccurring tasks in my "planner" to help me remember special occasions. I know this doesn't seem the most sincere, but these are truly birthdays and anniversaries that I do want to remember and acknowledge and my brain just doesn't do well on overdrive all the time trying to remember everything. 

Each "mail card" tasks rotates about 6 days before the event. 
The "call" tasks come up on the day of the event. 

Here's the part that started making it possible for me to actually mail out a card on the designated day: Every 3 months (on an "errand day") I buy a stack of occasion cards. On the next "desk day" I have a task that reminds me to get out the stack of cards and have everyone sign them. I put the person's name on the card, but I generally don't sign them until I send them out. Just depends on how the month is going. This system allows for 2 really great things: everyone in the family can sign cards without me trying to track down my whole family every few days AND I can mail the cards off even if my husband is out of town (something that happens a lot around here). 
When it is time for me to mail out a card I can just pull it out, sign it and send it. This avoids the problem of trying to find time for everyone to sign or just plain forgetting to buy a card. 

If you are not one for mailing cards, you can still put a reminder to call family and friends on special occasions. Further, you can set up 2-3 months of e-cards at a time and set them to send on the correct date. You are still covered if that day comes and goes without you having time to attend to it. 

I really, really enjoy being able to send a card to friends and family and not have the day slip by me by 3 days before I remember. It's a simple trick with big impact. Everyone loves to be remembered on special days.