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5
Tools For Improving Your Memory
By Barry Gordon, M.D., Ph.D
From AARP
We
normally let our memory do its job without thinking
much about it. But if we want to boost the
effectiveness of our memory – if we're not satisfied
with how well it's working, or if we just want it to
work better – there are five tools we should prepare
and keep ready to use on memory jobs:
Tool #1: Paying Attention
The
first tool is paying attention – think of it as a
flashlight that focuses on what you want to
remember. The biggest problem in general that people
have with their memory is not paying attention.
Attention is the gateway to your memory. Without it,
a memory doesn't get into your head, and what
doesn't get in can't be saved. Besides being a
gatekeeper, attention also fixes things in your
memory. It burns things into your memory and helps
move information from temporary storage to permanent
storage. Without sufficient attention, you may
remember something for a moment, but then it
evaporates.
One
big barrier to paying proper attention is
multitasking. When you're multitasking, you may feel
like you're paying attention to many things at the
same time, but you're really not. You're still just
doing just one thing at a time – you're just
juggling them quickly. And you're doing any single
thing much less well than you think, because the
mental juggling takes effort away from paying
attention and remembering. If you have a set of
things you really need to do and remember, do them
one at a time. It will be far more efficient in the
long run.
Tool #2: Organization
Organization is critical for memory. Most of the
differences in peoples' memory abilities are because
of differences in how they organize memories, not
because of any differences in how well their brains
can actually remember.
Organizing memories involves putting them into
meaningful categories. What's most meaningful will
depend not just on what you're trying to learn, but
also how you intend to use what you've learned.
People you meet, for example, might be categorized
by how you know them – from work, leisure, or family
– or by their interests (Uncle Bob and Dr. Chesnik
are both enthusiastic bike riders; Sally from the
office and Grandma both like to play bridge).
Organization gives you a way to file memories as
you're learning them, and also a way to find them
again when you need them.
Organization is extremely powerful. It's how
professional mnemonists can remember so much. The
mnemonist who remembers the name of everyone who
walks into a room almost certainly uses an
organization system, one that he has probably taken
years to learn. Us ordinary people can get by with
more practical organizations, and ones better suited
to actually understanding what we're learning,
rather than just rote memorization.
A
really good organization system may also help pack
memories together, so instead of many separate
memories, you have just one bundle. This makes the
set of memories much easier to remember, and much
easier to move around inside of our heads. The
process is called chunking.
Tool #3: Making Connections
The
third tool is related to organization but has its
own place in the toolbox. It's making sure that
there are the right connections or links between
your memories.
We
normally have many connections already in our
memories. But you may have to, or may want to, make
new ones. Some connections are relatively simple,
and between relatively simple thoughts, such as the
connection between "snow"; and "ice." But other
connections can be complex, or between complex
ideas. For example, hearing that an investment is
offering an interest rate of 1.5% may evoke
connections to memories of interest rates on other
kinds of investments.
Connections are useful for three major reasons. One
is that they simply make memories much stronger and
more permanent. Any single memory by itself can fade
or get isolated, and be forgotten. But when that
memory is linked with others, the whole network
becomes very much stronger, and much easier to
navigate. It's like the difference between the
strength of a single thread and the strength of a
rope with many threads woven together.
Connections are critical for our ordinary memory for
events, names or facts, because it's the connections
to tags that we put on these that help us to
remember them.
Connections are even more critical for our everyday
thinking, problem-solving, and creativity.
Connections are what allow us to connect the dots
inside our heads, which is what we do when we think.
The more we have, the better we can be at thinking.
Tool #4: Sharpening Your Intelligent
Memory
The
fourth memory tool is sharpening your Intelligent
Memory, which is essential for smart, quick
thinking. Intelligent Memory is the automatic,
unconscious, lightening-fast memory we have that is
generally what's connecting the dots in our heads,
before we even realize it's working! While our
ordinary thinking is pretty much limited to one
thought at a time, Intelligent Memory can be pumping
many thoughts at once. So it's a very powerful tool
to have available.
Even
though Intelligent Memory is largely unconscious,
automatic, and fast, you can sharpen it by thinking
through what you have to do slowly and deliberately.
It's just like learning how to drive or play a game
like golf. If you work on getting each step right,
you'll be rewarded with skilled, rapid, automatic
driving or playing.
So
if you've already faced a problem, think about what
you did and how you might have done it better. If
there are problems you know are coming up, think
about what mental skills you need to do them. Work
on those skills. And never be satisfied with a quick
answer, from your own mind or anyone else's. Think
it though, and double-check.
A
fun way to improve your Intelligent Memory is to
expose yourself to new ideas and new experiences.
Put your car radio on scan, and listen to a
commentator you don't agree with. Argue with him or
her in your mind. Read a new section of the
newspaper, or pick up a newspaper or magazine you
normally wouldn't read. Stretching your Intelligent
Memory, and challenging your Intelligent Memory, is
good for it.
Tool # 5: Having a Plan
The
fifth tool is having a plan for how you're going to
use your memory. Think of it as a blueprint or map.
You have to decide what you need to do with your
memory in a situation, and you have to determine
what tool or tools you need for that job.
We
of course do this automatically to some extent. For
most of us, visual memories are very strong, and our
preferred way of remembering. For example, we may
remember the name of a person that we hear by
visualizing it as a printed word.
If
you know you're going to face a memory challenge,
such a going to a meeting where you'll want to
remember everyone's name, you may be able to plan
ahead to make it easier. Review the list of people
who are likely to be at the meeting ahead of time.
That way, their names will come to mind faster, and
you can devote more energy to learning the names of
people you didn't know already.
Sometimes the best way to remember something is not
to have to remember it at all. If you can, write it
down! The worst pen is still better than the best
memory. Also, the simple act of writing something
down helps engrave it in your memory, and having it
written down will also boost your confidence. So
when you write something down, you may find you
remember it perfectly, and never have to look at
your note!
Take
the memory out of routine problems such as finding
car keys, wallets, and purses by having a single
spot to keep them in, such as a bowl or a hook by
the door. Park your car in the same kind of place
each time, such a near a lamppost. That makes it
easier to remember where it is, and easier to find
if you can't remember exactly.
Often another person – a spouse or good friend –
should be part of your memory plan, because their
memory abilities complement yours. Your spouse may
remember names and faces better than you do; if so,
they can be a great help at parties!
©
AARP. All rights reserved.
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Organization is critical for
memory. Most of the differences in peoples'
memory abilities are because of differences
in how they organize memories, not because
of any differences in how well their brains
can actually remember.
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