So many ways to forget! You forget names and faces; appointments and anniversaries; where you left the car keys; what you read; what you said; what you were doing before you were interrupted. Not to mention all the numbers you have to memorize these days: telephone and cell numbers, new area codes, PINs, passwords, user IDs, Social Security numbers, which five of those 500 cable channels you actually use.
How does your memory handle it all?
And how can you get it to be more reliable?
Your memory is like a computer. Material has to be inputted properly, saved in storage, and retrieved efficiently. How effectively your brain performs each of these steps depends on three things:
- How recently the remembered event took place
- How vivid, spectacular or striking an impression it made
- How frequently the event recurs
In addition to these factors, attention, concentration, imagery, organization and mood all play key roles in what could be called the chain of memory:
- Need or interest motivates the brain to remember
- Motivation generates attention
- Attention demands concentration
- Concentration permits organization
- Organization allows for the efficient processing of information
There are ways you can strengthen the process. One is rote memorization; going over a list of items repeatedly until you can remember the whole thing.
Another, more efficient way is to use mnemonic devices. These techniques strengthen the connections between various pieces of information by using the most under-exercised portion of the brain—the imagination. Using a mnemonic device is as simple as exaggerating the features of what you want to remember until it’s as silly as a cartoon. The ridiculous image you construct, and your participation in its creation, combine to make mnemonics surprisingly effective.
4 Tips to Improve Your Memory
Memory Tip 1
Mnemonic devices are systems using images and associations to aid your memory. Your mind grasps the new image and association easily and then remembers the information it represents. You probably learned a few mnemonic devices in grade school—the rhyme of I before E except after C.
Memory Tip 2
The key to every mnemonic system is association. You create an image connecting you to the information you want to remember, the more vivid, involved and outlandish the image, the better. If you wanted to remember to pay your credit card bill first thing tomorrow morning, you might imagine yourself opening your eyes at dawn to find a duck-billed workman standing in the middle of your bedroom, cutting up your credit cards. The patch on his work suit would read “Bill” (of course).
Memory Tip 3
The essential first step in improving your memory is analyzing how you learn. There are three types of learners:
- Visual learners do best by mentally picturing what they want to remember. A visual learner would picture Bill, the duck-billed workman in specific detail, down to the buttons on his clothes.
- Auditory learners are most comfortable hearing information. He might imagine the sound of scissors slicing through credit cards while Bill sings a song about paying bills.
- Kinesthetic learners remember by doing. The kinesthetic learner might imagine himself or herself getting out of bed in the morning and following Bill as he dances him or her over to his or her checkbook.
Memory Tip 4
When you forget, it’s usually not your brain’s fault. It’s more likely due to outside factors preventing you from recalling the information as quickly or with as much detail as you’d like. These distractions usually come from three sources:
- Your environment (distractions or being rushed)
- Your body (fatigue or anxiety)
- Medications or other conditions interfering with your normal functions
Other Memory Boosters
Sometimes you can improve your memory just by paying more attention and concentrating on what you’re doing, so switch off the automatic pilot:
- When you park your car at the mall, look around. What level are you on? How can you remember this information? Are there landmarks that will tell you you’re in the right place? (Be sure to choose a landmark that won’t drive away before you return.) To be on the safe side, write down your location on a piece of paper, and put it with your car keys.
- Keep all your important papers, lists and calendars in one central location, like a kitchen drawer.
- If you have something to do, do it now. If you can’t do it right away, leave notes for yourself in places where you know you’ll see them.
- Solve one problem at a time. Multitasking is inherently distracting, which makes it easier to forget things.
We Can Help
EAP members contact us at 800.383.1908 or access resources through the VITAL WorkLife App.
Source:
Schinhofen, L., Trier, N., & Searleman, A. . Improving your memory: An overview. Raleigh, NC: Workplace Options.
