My mom was skeptical at first. She never understood why I needed a calendar at all and always told me to "just start remembering things"; she's one of those types who remembers everything she needs to know in her head. Never needs to write things down. Bully for her, but it didn't work for me. She was also convinced I'd lose it, but I told her that not to try was not going to help me remember things. I've been doing it for almost 20 years now, and SHE says I'm less absentminded now. She doesn't realize it's just because I've gotten so good at compensating for my absentmindedness, distractability, and "living in the moment"ness.