A,B,C,D,E,F,G . . . I’ve been reciting the alphabet a lot lately. It’s a trick my mom taught me. When something escapes my memory, I basically go through the alphabet and when I get to the correct letter, all of a sudden, I remember the title of the book, password or name that I was trying to remember.Recently there have been a lot of books and articles discussing the importance of exercising our brains.
There are several memory tricks that have been successful for me (although I never realized they were “memory tricks” until all of these books on the subject started to surface).
1. Shopping without a list
When I need to add items to my mental shopping list, I picture the store and walk down the aisles visualizing the items that I need. When I get to the store I already know where to go.
2. Mnemonic
My piano teacher first introduced this to me when I was a child. “Every good boy does fine” helped me remember the musical notes: E G B D F. I also used this technique a lot in college when I was required to memorize lists.
3. Reenact the Story to Trigger a Memory
This works well with children when they have “lost” their favorite toy. It helps to walk them through their actions. “Where did you last have it?” “What did you do next?”
4. Memorize Speeches and Poems
My Granny had thousands of poems she could recite from memory. It kept her brain active especially as she got older. It is extremely beneficial to memorize poems, speeches and presentations. It keeps the brain focused and active without having to rely on “cheat” notes.
5. Move Something out of Place
If I am rushing out the door and I need to remember something when I get home, I quickly put an unusual item in a place that it doesn’t normally belong. When I return home and I see the item that is out of place I immediately remember the reason why I placed it there.
6. Write a Daily Journal Entry
Exercising your brain is just one of the many benefits of keeping a journal. If you write descriptive entries that engage your senses, emotions and actions then the memories will be easier to recall at a later time. It is also useful to read old journal entries to exercise the brain.
7. Use the Opposite Hand
I usually brush my hair holding the brush in my right hand. When I injured my hand I had to switch to my left hand. Have you ever tried that? It was extremely difficult for me to do at first. Another thing to try is to brush your teeth with your opposite hand. This is a great exercise for the brain.
8. Make it a Habit
There is something to be said for repetition. Keeping your keys in the same place or creating a nighttime bedtime routine for your kids makes things easier to remember.
There are a few exercises for the brain that I have not tried. In Memory Power by Scott Hagwood, he recommends reading a chapter from a book or a magazine article for fun. Then, read the same thing upside down.
It is very important to exercise our brains. The best way to remember things is to focus and pay attention. If you forget where you parked the car, you probably weren’t paying attention when you left it. The same is true when we forget the names of people we just met. It is most likely we were not concentrating when we first met them.
Slow down and take time to think. Exercise the brain and stop to think about what is important.