^Effective Nagging
  I don't like nagging. I don't like constant reminders, nor do I
  like giving them. This note is for parents and also for kids who
  want their parents to do something, but also husbands/wives,
  friends, bosses, teachers.. and I hope it helps somebody 'cause
  I'm proud how it turned out.

  Here is why what you're doing probably isn't working and how to
  get people to do things if you must.

  1) What you want them to do is boring.. The human brain detests
  boring things. It WANTS to see something that
  looks/sounds/smells/tastes/FEELS different.

  Proof that the brain craves Novelty?

  Want all of them in one place? amusement park

  Your chore is the anti-amusement park.

  SCHOOL TAKE NOTE: If you are an anti-amusement park school, your
  students aren't going to remember that stuff and hate you for
  making them try to remember boring things.

  (PS - the alternative to the "amusement park" analogy for
  novelty?

  There is none

  The secret behind meditation?

  The Amusement Park is inside of the deepest parts of your mind,
  so deep that everything is absolutely fasctinating in a
  completely relaxed way.. It is an Amusement Park Experience that
  goes beyond the emotional centers of the brain and goes into the
  quiet/peaceful/everything_is_ok part of the brain that's just,
  well, happy - like a hug. Yes, - an amusement park in the hug
  part of the brain. That's meditation )

  2) Wow Is there a number 2?

  Oh yeah. Why not doing chores/tasks is mostly the commander's
  fault.

  Same reason as #1. It's boring.. Find some way to make it
  interesting. If the chore itself (or school - take note schools!
  - and workplaces for that matter) - is dull, then you need to
  provide a:

  reminder system

  Cues.

  They don't have to be as fun as amusement parks. But here are
  some easy ideas:

  a) Reminder notes. Put them in places where they are more bored
  than then they're engaging in a fun thing.

  Going to the bathroom? Brushing teeth? boring Your note in the
  bathroom will be more interesting than going to the bathroom,
  and it will get read and possibly remembered.

  Waterproof notes in the shower would be ideal, but outside of
  WAX CRAYON IN THE SHOWER WALLS, there's not too many water-proof
  writing options.

  b) 3D cues

  Leave objects that reminds the person of the task that needs to
  be done.

  Garbage? move the garbage into a novel spot. In front of the
  bathroom/livingroom/bedroom door for example.

  It's 3D. it's not boring because its in an unexpected place.

  c) More elaborate systems
  The possibilities are endless for reminder systems.

  They act as "nags" that are not boring. Boring nags are "I told
  you 100 times to do...." and yelling and screaming and having
  fits. They're used to that and tune it out because... wel, it's
  boring. Save the drama for your next acting class - unless you
  find they are more effective. Not my personal favorite method
  but that's a preference on my part. If they work, they work, but
  see if quieter ways work too. It saves the both of you from
  headaches, bellyaches, backaches, frustrations and irritations.

  Some good systems that are more involved:

  i) Systems involving baskets at doorways with notes in them.

  This is BOTH 3D and written

  doorways are a great place for reminders. Why? They are the end
  of one place and the beginning of another. A transition point.
  And transition points, for even the moment you pass through
  them, are points where you unconsciously stop and think for a
  moment if there is anything you forgot or if there's anything
  that needs to be remembered.

  iii) alternatives to paper - emails, text messages, KiK, IM, are
  a few alternatives to paper notes you can do. For a REALLY
  dramatic effect, try video messages.

  The day you can pop up as a virtual character in the game to
  say, "Billy, do your homework" will be a day parents will cheer
  and kids will curse, because video games are often their only
  true freedom left from authority figures for them.

  So don't join their games to remind them of chores. That'll just
  ruin the whole thing for them. Kid's gotta have some freedom.

  iv) rewards / punishments aka - "Cause/Effect"
  You don't always need "If you do-don't / then you'll get-won't
  get" systems to be put into place.

  But if you do, make sure the reward fits the goodness and the
  punishment fits the non-compliance. Don't go overboard or
  they'll lose their effectiveness really quickly due to
  over-saturation.

  The same way that yelling and screaming became
  oversaturated/overused and then limited in their effectiveness.

  Overusing something is like sandpaper

  Keep doing the same thing OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN and the
  surface becomes slick and smooth and your words just SLIDE right
  through their left ear and out of the right ear. Or visa-versa.
  There's no place for that type of reminder to stick to anymore.

  Kenneth Udut [email protected] 07/21/2013 Copyright 2013. If
  you use this for non-profit, go ahead - I'd like credit though.
  But if you use this for money, please talk to me first. I'd like
  some of it too :)^