How to Improve Your Memory
Now that I’m done with school I can admit I was somewhat of a lazy student. Maybe the correct spin on that is I was a very efficient student; I did the minimum work required to get the grade that I wanted. On one vocab. test in high school, I discovered a trick that worked as brilliantly as cheating, without the ethical violation.
Here’s the trick. I visualized the classroom and then associated each word with a particular object in the room where I would be taking the test. So for example, I visualized the clock above the chalkboard and thought about my vocab. word “recalcitrant”… I pictured the word on the second hand, on the minute hand, as a logo on the clock, and printed in a circular text instead of the numbers. Then I imagined, “resisting authority or control, hard to manage or operate” – and I gave this attribution to the clock. For example, the clock is recalcitrant because one has to get a step stool to change the battery when it dies. Whatever, it doesn’t have to be perfect. When it came time to take the test, all I had to do was look around the room and both the words and definitions popped into my mind. If you’re relatively creative, you can do that with any word and any object.
I still use this trick today. If I want to remember something but can’t write it down, I’ll think of an object that will be around at the time I want to remember, and merge the two together in my mind. So for example, if I want to remember to bring a book to work with me the next day, I’ll picture the cover of the book as a big poster on my refrigerator. The next time I see my fridge, the book, as well as the fact that I wanted to pack it in my bag, pops into my mind.
Though I didn’t know it at the time, that trick is a way of enhancing your long-term memory’s storage-and-retrieval process. It works much better and much faster than memorization by repetition. You store the information when you associate the two unrelated objects. You retrieve the information when you encounter the tangible object. Just as a multiple-choice test is easier than an essay test, you are basically making things easier by taking something that requires a recall function and turning it into recognition task.
Just to name a few, you can do this with remembering people’s names and birthdays, making a mental to-do list, or giving a presentation without notes.
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Wow, nice how you got that down pat. I was an efficient student too (lol) but there is a limit to how many words I can try that on. Did you have a ceiling with the number of words you could apply it to?
I was thinking about this a little after I posted – in the context of grocery shopping lists. I think for someone trying it the first time, the number of items may be ~5. If they’re thinking of a specific grocery store they always go to, they may use the layout as a guide and the number will be higher. If they practice this each time they go grocery shopping, they may never need a written list again.
I was able to do it with 20 words the first time. It’ll depend on how well you know the room too. It’s definitely something that builds with practice, though.
There was a guy that was able to remember 1000s of random numbers – he used a similar technique. I think maybe it was Malcolm Gladwell who wrote about it in one of his books…I’ll have to look that up.
Hi Eva
Just wondering how you remember when you look at the fridge? Is that automatic or just from practice? I think what would happen to me is that I would remember the “book on the fridge” later on in the day when it is too late.
Perhaps I would just need to make a stronger connection.
Juliet
Juliet – it would be automatic, if you encoded the information well enough. The fridge would automatically trigger the memory of the book. Try it, I think it’ll be easier than you think!
Several things can go wrong, as you point out – if the object you choose is not specific enough or you are not familiar enough with it, or you don’t encounter the object before you need to remember, or if too much time passes and as a result there is interference of memories between the time of encoding and time of retrieval.
It might take some practice to be able to simulate this process consciously. But everyone already does it automatically – whether they know it or not. Ever notice how when you visit your hometown, you begin to remember aspects of your childhood you never think about otherwise? Or when you reconnect with a friend, you get a flood of memories of old times that you haven’t thought about in years? Or the way you automatically remember to check to see if you have your keys and wallet before leaving your house?
Your brain already has this ability, why not take advantage of it?
Yes, memory triggers are a great thing. Sometimes I will get up to do a specific task, but by the time I leave the room my thoughts have distracted me. I’ve found that being in that same room with the visual cues helps me to remember my forgotten task a lot more quickly.
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