Top ten tips to improve your memory

HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR MEMORY

Four simple truths about memory:

1. It is normal to forget.
2. You can remember more and retain more for a longer period of time than you probably think you can.
3. A few memory aids that many people have found useful may work for you.
4. The best memory technique may be one you create for yourself, one that corresponds to your learning style.

Top 10 tips

The following is a list of strategies that have worked for many people:

1. Decide to remember. Resist passivity. Become an active learner by making a conscious, deliberate decision to remember. Follow through on this decision.


2. Combine memorizing with a physical activity. Each sense that you use while reviewing provides another pathway for information to reach your brain. Recite either silently or aloud, while riding a bicycle, while doing aerobics or calisthenics (floor exercises like sit-ups and jumping jacks), and while walking or running. Feel good about yourself for keeping fit and for exercising your mind.


3. Use mnemonics. Mnemonics are tricks, games, or rhymes that help you remember things. You learned some as a child—“In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue.”


4. Use acronyms. An acronym is a word formed by the first letters of other words or items that you want to remember. For example, “TEAM” is an acronym for --
   “Together Everyone Achieves More”.


5. Associate to remember. Association is the process of connecting new information that you want to remember to something that you already know. An association is often
   personal. For example, use something personal to you to remember something unrelated. A friends name or a place you know can be used to trigger the association.


6. Visualize. Form an image, or picture, in your mind of something that you want to
   remember. Visualization is an especially good way to link names with places or parts with
   locations. Draw things on a board or in a book that will remind you of the thing you need to remember rather than listing in words what needs to be remembered


7. Use an organizational technique. Organize information in a meaningful pattern that shows how each item relates to the others. List steps in a process. Outline complex
   materials. Make charts, diagrams, and information maps that show the relationships of parts to a whole or one part to another.


8. Sleep on it. Reviewing before sleep helps you retain information. Because you are relaxed, concentration is focused. The information stays in your mind while you sleep. When you awaken, try to recall what you reviewed the night before. Chances are good that you will remember.


9. Remember key words. Sometimes you have to remember a series of connected ideas and explanations. To recall items stated in phrases or sentences, select a key word to two in each item that sums up the whole phrase. Recalling key words will help you recall the whole item.


10. Memorize. Useful for recalling certain kinds of information, memorization can be an effective tool if it is combined with other memory techniques. Memorization works best when recalling spelling, definitions, maths and facts about historical events, life cycles, etc.

Remember: A flexible memory system is best. The basic elements of successful memory work also include the following:

• Be organized. Information that is organized is easier to find.
• Be physical. Learning is an active process. Get all of your senses involved.
• Be clear. You can reduce the background noise that may interfere with recall.
• Be smart. Intelligent application of memory techniques can save work.

Your memory is a muscle.. if you exercise it, it will become bigger and stronger… Exercise your memory daily…
By improving your memory, you can find greater success in your career and in your personal life.