Strategies You Can Use For Improving Your Memory
In our busy world of today, we often find ourselves having to remember a lot of information. If you are like most people, you probably have appointments to make, deadlines to meet, and numbers you need to memorize. You may find that you forget some of these things, and it is having an adverse effect on your life.
In this situation, you will want to improve your memory. There are a number of important benefits to having a sharp memory. In addition to your ability to remember important things, your mind will also be clear and sharp.
If you find that you forget appointments or passwords, it is important to realize that your brain was not designed to remember certain types of information. Much of this information is called declarative memories. Declarative memories are facts that your brain will only store if you have made great efforts to remember them. Declarative memories are things which are not very important. They are things that you don’t need to remember or use on a daily basis. For example, your phone number of something that your brain will store for long periods of time. It does not fall under the category of declarative memories, because it is something you use consistently.
An example of declarative memories are dates and birthdays. If you wish to make an uninteresting fact a part of your long term memory, you will want to store it in a manner which will make it easier to retrieve. If you don’t make a mental effort to remember it, your brain will assume that it is not important, and the information will largely be lost. If you connect it to a symbol which is important, this can help you remember it. For appointments, it may be best to simily use either a PDA, cell phone, or organizer in order to help you remember it. When you conciously attach something significant to a fact or figure, this will typically make it easier to remember.
Have you ever been in a situation where you got up to go do something, but you then forgot what you were going to do? What usually happens in this situation is that you are distracted by something while you’re in the process of getting ready to carry out a task. This may also mean that the task you were about to carry out isn’t that important. To solve this problem, you will want to visualize the task at hand before you get up to carry it out. For example, if you are getting ready to go check your email, create a visual image in your mind of you checking your email before you actually get up to do it.
When you do this, it sends a signal to your brain which tells it that checking your email is important. This will keep you from suddenly forgetting why you got up. Even if you’re distracted by something else while you get up to go check your email, you are not likely to forget it, because you created a visual image in your mind. This will take some practice, but once you get used to it, you will rarely run into this situation. Another situation where you want your memory to be sharp is when you are trying to use your PIN number, or you are trying to find your wallet. Imagine going to an ATM machine on the weekend to withdraw money, only to realize you can’t remember your PIN.
If you’ve been in a situation like this, it can be very frustrating. However, there are some techniques you can use which can help you remember your PIN and the location of your wallet or pocket book. What usually happens in this situation is you failed to pay attention to where you put your belongings, or you didn’t take the time to memorize your PIN. The best solution to this problem is to always make a mental note of where you put things. Treat your keys or wallet like a $100 bill. You’d probably wouldn’t forget where you put $100, because this is money, and you may feel that it is more important than your wallet or keys. To remember your PIN, you will simply need to mentally attach the number to something that is important.
