Don't Forget These Memory Tricks
What's the biggest problem with memory tricks? Remembering to
use them, of course. There are many memory techniques that work
well, but you'll forget them when you need them most - unless
you make using them a habit. So when you take the time to learn
a technique, use it until it becomes automatic. Here are some to
try.
Using a Story-List
I went to a party as a child. There was a game that involved
looking at a table covered in 15 various items. After a few
minutes, we were taken to another room, and each child was given
paper and a pencil. We had to write down as many items as we
could remember. I recalled seven or eight, but one boy won the
prize by remembering all 15 items.
Years later I learned why he won. His father taught him a simple
trick that none of us other kids knew. The technique is to tie
the items together in an imaginative story. For example, what if
you want to remember a list of the following things: Soap, milk,
honey, fork, and flowers.
Start a vivid story in your imagination, adding each item to it
as you go: At the sink, you reach for the SOAP. The soap dish is
full of MILK, so you wash your hands in that. Then you comb
HONEY into your hair with a FORK, and finally pick up a bouquet
of FLOWERS and smile at the mirror. Say each item while mentally
reviewing your "movie," and you'll remember all five things,
even the next day.
Some Other Memory Tricks
Tell yourself to remember. When you learn a person's name, for
example, tell yourself, "remember that". This signals your
unconscious mind to rank this input as more important.
Know WHY you want to remember something, and HOW you'll remember
it. To remember a person, for example, ask why they'll be
important to you in the future, imagine where you'll see them
next, and connect that to anything you notice about them. Seeing
the importance of remembering really helps, and additional
associations (where you expect to see the person next) set the
memory more firmly in your brain.
Do you ever forget where you put your car keys? You've probably
tried retracing your steps, at least doing it in your
imagination. This can work well, but even better is to prevent
the forgetting beforehand. When you set the keys on the chair,
see yourself walking in and setting the keys on the chair. You
won't forget where they are.
There are many more of these memory tricks. If you want them to
be useful, though, don't just read about them. Make a memory
technique or two into a habit, starting today.