Memo is short for memorandum—an important document that gives instructions to a person or notes something very important. In a business environment, memos are absolutely important to ensure proper communication in the office, and many businesses use them in both their paper and digital forms. It’s such an important way of conveying information that a holiday was created to bring attention to the memo in 1989. This holiday is known as National Memo Day and is observed on May 21st annually.

The History of National Memo Day

National Memo Day was created in 1989 by a radio station based out of Denver, Colorado. The radio station that created it was KMJI Magic Radio 100, and they invented the holiday not to commemorate this form of communication but to bring attention to the sheer number of memos that flood American offices every single day. Memos were seen as a huge problem in the office, and this day was created so people could eliminate these paper piles.

Writing Better Memos

What’s the point of celebrating National Memo Day if you aren’t going to use the day to create better memos? After all, the purpose of this holiday is to help people create better memos so they can reduce their overall memo production in the office. Everyone knows that memos aren’t going anywhere, but we can at least reduce them by writing better memos. We’ve created the following list of tips that will help everyone make better memos with that goal in mind.

Use the Title Effectively

Every memo should have a title at the top that allows it to stand out against other paperwork or emails that might be cluttering up the recipient’s inbox. Directing the title to the person receiving it is very important, as is using a title that clearly explains the purpose and/or importance of the memo.

Please Date the Memorandum

Another thing that you should do when sending memos is to date them. Although emails and other digital forms of memorandum do include a timestamp, including the date in the body of the memo can make it easier to sort, especially when the same memo has been sent back and forth over a few days.

Make It Clear Who It’s To and Who It’s From

We shouldn’t need to say this, but unfortunately, we do. Whenever you send a memo, make sure that you clearly mark who the memo is for and who the memo is from. Nothing is worse than receiving a memo that is unclear.

Observing National Memo Day

National Memo Day can be observed simply by taking the time to reduce the number of memos you create daily. The best way to do this is to learn how to make more efficient memos so that you aren’t sending multiple of them to cover the same ideas. People can also use this day to learn more about memos or by posting their favorite memos to social media using the hashtag #NationalMemoDay.