TRY THESE MEMORY BOOSTERS
YOUR DAY’S TOP 10
One of the main things you can do to boost memory is to actively learn and repeat things. So make it a habit at the end of the day to go through the 10 most interesting things that happened that day. Just doing that makes your life feel bigger. You may think, why am I bothering to do this, I didn’t do anything today. But you’ll remember that you bumped into a friend. What was their name? What happened next? What can you recall?
■ TRY: Write down your top 10 from today.
THE STORY TECHNIQUE
Learn how to recall 10 or 20 objects by joining them together into a story.
Take for example, a pot of honey, a monkey, a pineapple and a rocket. There was a pot of honey, and then a monkey comes along and throws the pot at a pineapple, which falls off the table and bumps into a rocket, which fires off too early. By doing this, you’re bringing the objects to life, making sure your brain thinks about them, and weaving them into a narrative. It’s a very powerful technique.
■ TRY: Have a go at home with these 10 objects: banana; shoe; book; hairbrush; cat; telescope; door; pot plant; suncream; ring.
USE YOUR IMAGINATION
People remember what they’re interested in. So if you’re trying to remember something you’re not that into, you probably won’t recall it so well.
But as soon as you bring in a bit of play, fun and imagination, the memories going into your mind will be richer, more interesting and easier to hold onto.
■ TRY: Take these five random words – horse, baby, sink, leaf, nail varnish – and let your imagination run wild. Is the horse galloping through your garden in a cape?
MEMORY PALACE
Imagine what you’re trying to remember in places around your home. So, taking the earlier objects, imagine a pot of honey on your bed, a monkey in the wardrobe, a pineapple by the door and a rocket in the garden.
All humans have incredible spatial memory for different locations, so this is a great way of remembering long sequences of things.
You can come back to them in your mind. It works anywhere too, your walk to work, even the pub.
■ TRY: Have a go with these five words – globe, plane, tiger, slippers and tangerine.
FIND MEANINGFUL CONNECTIONS
Say I want to teach you that New York was originally called New Amsterdam, we would try to find some meaningful connection between the two.
When you think of Amsterdam what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Let’s say it’s tulips. Now the same for New York. Let’s say it’s The Statue of Liberty. Put the two together – an image of The Statue of Liberty holding a bunch of tulips. Go with your own associations – you’re connecting them in your mind, not somebody else’s.
■ TRY: Link these three facts: Baby rabbits are called kits; Brazil is named after a tree (brazilwood); Finnish people consume the most coffee.