Well, this is more on today's high speed, Tech savvy, texty, screeny, tweety, yuppy crowd. I've noticed that keeping promises in a fast paced world (things as simple as, I'll return your book tomorrow, I'll give you some templates tomorrow ...) are easier said than done. The immediate explanation all my friends jump to is that our generation is careless, callous holding a cavalier attitude to life. Every individual faces
stress related amnesia.
I used to blame myself for forgetting trivia (now that I have gone lengths to preserve all requests that I have answered on my stead on a notebook to help me remember.) But the link above throws some light on the fact that we are actually pushing our mental faculty over the cliff. This results sometimes in short term memory loss. Here's the catch: unless you remember things within your short term memory, they have nil probability of being
archived into our long term memory.
It is true that the human mind is almost not duplicable, distinct and a wonder in its own way. Yet, all of us refuse to accept that the very power we lean on, is the very limitation that holds us. Funny as it might seem, our senses are the sole windows for our souls to the world outside; likewise they are the very ones who can fool us about the world outside. (Gnosticism derives extensive conclusions from this assertment.)
The solution I've slowly been working on is to fight the cause rather than the symptom. Noting things down in a notebook for better memory retention is symptomatically addressing the problem. In contrast, improving short term memory rententivity should help transfer memory streams to our long term archive. However, reducing immediate and unplanned work load by extensive planning and anticipation is a much better approach.
Symptomatically of course, I find that being transparent (and therefore sharing information with more people) can only improve our chances of not forgetting what we promise. Being an ardent admirer of Agatha Christie's works, I admire Hercule Poirot sitting in his armchair, wading through information (more of misinformation in his context) to beget the fruits of his mental labours.
A promise kept, is one of the most self satisfying exercises in the world as I know it. The one forgotten easily grows into a consciencous torment that eats us until we morally dissociate ourselves from it. (There are those of us who consider this a sin in its own demerit.)
My experience is to keep working hours shorter, relax longer, read more; plan longer than you work, and avoid confusing entertainment with work - their separation is a strong relaxative, the blurring a nightmare that you'd better avoid. A calmer, lucid mind has a better chance to achieve, keep promises and stay on the square within the circle of gentlemen.
