It's hard to recall every single little detail. Here are 10 tips to make remembering easier.
1. Establish Routine
I rarely lose my keys or sunglasses because I put them in the same
place every time. On the rare occasions I don't put them in their proper
place, I can drive myself crazy trying to find them. The same applies
to important information. If you establish specific e-mail and desktop
folders for critical documents, you'll know right where to go first.
2. Go Against Habit
If you really want to remember something critical, intentionally
break the routine surrounding it. Suppose you keep forgetting to back up
your computer at night. And let's say you always keep your keys in your
right-hand pocket. Put them in your left pocket in the morning so when
you are ready to leave you have to break your pattern. The odd feeling
acts like a string around your finger, making you aware that something
needs to be done.
3. Eat More Brain Food
Lots of foods
improve your memory because they are filled with special antioxidants
and vitamins. Try adding more green tea, blueberries, salmon, cabbage,
broccoli, cauliflower, dark chocolate and turmeric to your daily intake.
Experts say a glass of red wine every so often can help as well. Of
course, too much of that and you probably won't remember what happened
the night before.
4. Get More Sleep
Your brain needs downtime to stay sharp. If you don't get enough
sleep, you'll tax your memory and start forgetting things. Stay rested
so you can keep your mind alert.
5. Have a Mental Workout
I am all for zoning out on mindless videos and light fiction, but
actually challenging my brain makes me sharper and more effective at
remembering. Mental challenges like studying complex concepts make simple tasks like remembering names at a party seem like a piece of cake.
6. Create Stories in Your Mind
Names and numbers by themselves can be easily forgotten if there is
little or no context involved. As you are being introduced to new
information, be aware of the surroundings and any possible details you
can associate with the specific information. Recognize the order of
events and then you can replay them in your mind to retrieve the answer.
7. Write Things Down
The keyboard on your smartphone or tablet can help you take notes and
keep records. But it is not necessarily your best friend if you want to
remember some of those important nuggets off the top of your head. The
pen is mightier than the board when it comes to encoding the brain. The
actual act of physically writing something down helps to register text in your mind where you can recover it later.
8. Get Creative
I constantly make up poems, songs and other mnemonics to lock important facts in my memory. They can be very powerful tools. I still use the 30 days has September poem from childhood to figure out the number of days in each month.
9. Pay Attention
Ultimately you want to shift important facts from your short-term memory to your long-term memory. Science dictates that
this process takes about 8 seconds of focused attention on a specific
item. So next time you need to encode something important, focus on it
while counting to 8 alligators and lock it in.
10. Exercise
A healthy body provides for a healthy mind. Not only does exercise
make the brain work better, getting the blood pumping actually makes it
work harder. I recently came up with 18 column ideas on a 10K run
and--with a little work--was able to remember all 18 by the end. Not bad
for an old guy.
By Kevin Daum
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