Jeremy Wagstaff comments on the various ways that different companies or websites help you recover forgotten passwords. And while password reminder systems can involve things ranging from the forgettable (favorite places, colors, things) to the unsecure (mother’s maiden name, social security number), here’s one memory cue we oft overlook: the tactile ones.

Four digits I’ve used since 2000, and yet, after two weeks off, I couldn’t remember. It was only when I stopped trying to remember, that I remembered, if you know what I mean. It’s not that I had forgotten the number, it’s that I could retrieve the number from my memory. The way I “remembered” the PIN was to stop thinking and just type it. My fingers, if you will, remembered it better than my memory did.

I tend to “remember” my ATM PINs the same way. I don’t usually even look at the keypad. I just let my fingers glide across the corners of the keypad to get a feel of the placement of the keys first. I then let my fingers do the typing from their own “memory.” To some extent, this also works with my Web passwords. It feels as if I could type the passwords subconsciously letting my fingers do the remembering.

It’s a concept called muscle memory, and it relates to how muscular movements are learned and eventually become automatic with practice. It’s just like walking, riding a bike or even driving. So the next time you forget your password, lighten up with the deep thinking and let your fingers do the remembering.