How to
Remember: Useful Tricks!
How many times have you forgotten your password for something? Your friend's phone number? The address to the office? The birthday of your best friend or the name of that guy you used to know? Sometimes we forget where we put our keys or if we turned off the oven, and when we forget, that can really take us out of balance. |
Forgetting
Boring or Mundane Details
Problem: You tend to forget
meetings, addresses, passwords and phone numbers, as well as
historic dates and birthdays.
Don't
take it hard. In a reality where we are flooded with huge amounts of
information, the brain isn't able to process everything at once. Even though
it has a folder called 'declarative memory' in which it plans to keep factual
information of this kind, it isn't made to remember such things, and if we
don't make a special effort to remember these facts, they will have a short
shelf-life.
Solution: The only way to turn boring
information into part of our long-term memory, is to store it right, so we
can access it later. If we don't make a conscious effort, it will be gone.
The best way to do this is to add meanings, as we are configured to remember
such things. For example: If you connect a memory to something else you never
forget, like a holiday. "My niece's birthday is 2 weeks after new years
eve."
Another
great way to remember boring facts and lists is to construct a short and
simple story. For instance, if you need to remember a list of numbers, break
them down to a few numbers and give each a part of the story. So, say you
need to remember the number 821576 (as a password or code), you can imagine a
story in which an 82 year old grandfather has 15 grandchildren and is married
to a 76 year old named margaret (you can use Margaret, but we came up with it
first!). The more details you give the story (his name is Jack and he
is a retired race car driver), the easier it will be to recall these numbers.
Forgetting
to Carry Out Automatic Tasks
Problem: You don't remember if
you turned the stove off, turned on the washing machine or made sure no
lights are left on in the house.
While we
do these automatic tasks, we use the 'Procedural memory', the memory we use
to store chains of actions (a simple one would be to first check if any
lights are on, then to turn them off). This type of long term memory is
used to carry out action chains we learned, like riding a bicycle, tying our
shoelaces or making coffee. Becuase of the automatic nature of this action,
we usually don't really concentrate on doing it, and just let our
body go through the motions.
Solution: In most cases we think
we forgot to do something like this, you probably DID remember to do it. But,
if you find yourselves constantly doubting yourself, attach another action to
the action you're obsessing about, and use it to make sure you remember doing
it. For example: Every time you turn off the stove, say loudly: "I
turned off the stove" to yourselves, or take a long sip of water. Any
action that will be easy to remember will help. Then when you doubt yourself
it will be much easier to remember if you have something else to remember.
Forgetting
People's Names
Problem: You run into someone
you met a few days ago, but you already forgot their name! You're not alone,
this is one of the most common memory problems. The problem could be in the
storage of the memory (you didn't pay much attention when you met the person)
or in retrieval (you can't get out the name when it counts), or
just a combination of both.
Solution: Most people learn
visually instead of orally, which explains why we usually remember faces but
are quite bad with names. Next time you meet someone new, look at them really
well and repeat their name for yourselves at least 3 times. Use it in the conversation,
as we tend to remember those better than just names. Try giving the name
meaning, or rhyme it. For example, if you meet a man named Mark, you can
secretly call him: "Mark of the Ark", or imagine him marking a
paper. We know it sounds silly, but the more extra meanings you
give to a word, the easier it will be to remember it! Remember just a bunch
of sounds is much harder than trying to remember an association.
You
Get Distracted
Problem: You go into a room and you
forget why you did so. You were looking for something, got distracted by the
dog or something on TV, and then suddenly you can't remember what it was!
Solution: Get a mental image of the
thing you are looking for before you go look for it. If need be, associate
that object with other objects or a logical chain of actions. So for
instance, if you are on your way to the storage room to find your old bathing
suit, think on your way of summer, pools and sunshine. This type of mental
organization makes these associations easier to your current situation, and
when you get there, you will not lose track of what you were doing.
If you do
still find yourself in that situation, ask yourselves: What was the chain of
actions that brought me here? The little things you were doing just before
this will give you a clue as to what you are doing there.
Losing
Daily Items
Problem: You don't remember where
you put the keys, wallet or your sunglasses. This is usually an attention
problem. When we go into the house in a huff, while lost in thought or maybe
talking on the phone, our mind wanders and we might place objects in various
places without remembering where. As usual, if we don't make it clear to the
brain that we must remember these things, it will let them disappear.
Solution: This is a very similar
problem to forgetting the lights on. Try not to put anything down while doing
something else, and try to add an action to the putting down. Say: "This
is where I'm putting my keys, on the armchair of the sofa." or "I'm
putting my glasses in the blue box." Then you don't have to remember the
exact location, just what you said, which is much easier and even if
you don't remember it exactly, it will give you important clues of where to
look.
Another
and perhaps even better way, is to stick to your habits. This is the one of
these rare times when obsession actually pays off. Religiously place your
items in the same place, over and over again. Designate an easy to
reach place where everything goes, and later sort them from that place into
their rightful places. For instance, you can keep a big bowl next to the
entry door, where you put keys, wallet, glasses etc. When you are not busy
and can pay attention, go back to the bowl and put everything in its
rightful place. Now that you are paying attention, you'll probably
remember where they are.
Having
trouble Remembering...ahh...what was it? Oh yes Words.
Problem: Having a hard time
remembering words, names of books and play, names of actors, old tunes etc.
This is a universal problem and it gets worse the older we get. It doesn't
matter how much we pressure ourselves and try to remember by force, it just
won't happen if our mind is preoccupied.
Solution: First, let go of
stress, it is the killer of memory. The second worst thing for memory is
multiplicity, or concentrating on a few things at once. Clear your head and
focus only on the words you are trying to find. Sometimes, the word seems to
be right on the tip of our tongue, but we can't get to it. Don't worry, it
happens all the time and it is actually a biological process. Sometimes the
actual biological pathway in the brain to that word may be blocked, and you
have to find a way around.
The best trick
is not to think of the word itself, but think of a word that rhymes with it,
or a word that has similar associations, or a word that is similar in
meaning.
For
example: We're trying to find the word 'University', it's right on the
tip of our tongue, but we can't remember it exactly. Try to think of:
'college', 'student', 'place of learning', 'municipality' etc.
When the
path to the brain is blocked, no amount of 'trying to remember' will help.
The best way is to take an alternative route, and remember similar words.
These will help approach the word from a different direction or path.
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