When was the last time you walked into a room with purpose only to forget what that purpose was? We all forget things but what you might not know is that your brain is actively sabotaging your memory. Think of the brain as a might super computer but one with limits. If you’ve every gotten a warning about “low memory” on your computer or phone, then you need to “clear space” to add more data. The brain works on the same principle.
For every new bit of information, you take in, some other fragment needs to be squeezed out to make room. But there are ways to trick your brain to create new memories and in turn it will actually clear up space and help you recall what needs to be recalled. Keep in mind, that if you are forgetting relevant or recent information like a conversation from this morning or your home address, then you might be dealing with a more complex issue that needs to be checked by a doctor. For the occasional random acts of forgetfulness, try using these tricks to lock down what you want to remember.
Sleep More
Long-term memories are fused in the brain during deep sleep. When that sleep is disrupted, then the memories can become fractured. You might be amazed at how much you’ll start to recall when you get in your eight hours.
Project What Forgetting Would Mean
Try to imagine what would happen if you forget the thing you want to remember. Consider wanting to set an alarm to wake up. You might think about that at dinner time. Take a moment to consider what would happen if you forget to set the alarm. You’ll be late for work, stuck in traffic and fall behind at the job. Catastrophe all because you forgot to set the alarm. Once you’ve locked into that worst-case scenario, you’re going to remember to set that alarm later on.
Put Things in Groups
A single piece of information that is floating in your brain without any connection to your life can be hard to recall. This is why you want to put things in groups and associated them with other connections. For instance, it might be easier to remember numbers if you key them with certain colors. You could even envision a number you have to remember on a specific colored door. Or put things into a category like a file folder to summon up when you need to.
Put Tech to Work
Finally, you can use technology to improve your memory by freeing up space in your brain. When you don’t have to commit phone numbers to memory, then you get to use that brain space for other facts. There is nothing wrong with depending on your Smartphones contact list. Just be sure to back it all up!
