If you find yourself struggling to remember passwords, names, or just where you left your keys, we’ve got tips from “memory athletes” for remembering just about anything.
#1. Create a memory palace, visually linking things you need to remember to each room.
The idea is that spatial memories and stronger than memories for specific words or objects, like how it’s easy to remember where you store things at home but you might miss bananas off a grocery list.
So take a list of, say, shoes, pencils, and paper towels. As you walk through your home in your mind, create a scene with each item in each space — someone juggling shoes in your bedroom, a kid scribbling in the kitchen — and you’ll easily recall each item.
#2. Establish an emotional connection to form memories.
Harvard and MIT scientists recently tested how well people could remember photographs compared to recalling the color of plain squares. Emotional connections to the photos use feelings and memories and make it easier to remember new things.
#3. Make up a mnemonic.
A classic technique for pre-exam revision, mnemonics are a great way to remember items on a list. A well-known example would be the name Roy G. Biv to remember the color spectrum (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet).
#4. Take a mental picture.
Visual memories are super reliable, so next time you toss your car keys as you walk in the door take a mental snapshot of the place you left them; is it a wooden surface? Maybe there’s a nearby object? Is it a bright or dark place?
This technique helps you improve your memory and you’ll stop losing all those odds and ends.
#5. Connect the new thing to an old thing.
Say you’re trying to remember someone who’s last name is Baker; linking their name to an actual baker — because it’s something you’re familiar with — will make a much stronger imprint in your brain than simply remembering that their name is Baker, which means nothing.
So now you have all the tools you need to be a professional remember-er. For most things, anyway.
