Memory is a process involving the ability to REGISTER, RETAIN & RECALL information and knowledge. In the age of information a good memory is a necessity rather than a luxury. Memory always goes hand in hand with learning. A good memory provides many advantages in life, particularly in the areas of business, education, and in social situations. The ability to remember a name, a fact, a figure, or an important point at the right time can be of great advantage. In everyday life having a good memory means more convenience and time. The following 10 tips are designed to assist you to remember more effectively.

1. Trust Your Memory
What are your beliefs about your memory? Are you continually using phrases like, ‘I’ve got a terrible memory’ or ‘I just can’t remember anyone’s name’? Remember if memory is the act of memorising, it is more important to focus on what strategies, techniques and principles you can utilise in order to remember what you want to remember, rather than using an inaccurate generalisation by labelling yourself as having a ‘bad memory’.

The first step to having a good memory is decrease negative beliefs or utterances about your memory. Begin to tell yourself you have a fantastic memory and start catching yourself whenever you have been served well by your memory. This is important as the unconscious mind takes things literally - it just accepts whatever you tell it, regardless of whether you believe it or not.

Accept that you already have a remarkable memory! Think of all the songs, movies, names, events and abilities you can remember so easily and realise that it’s not your memory that is at fault, more likely that you may be taking what you can remember for granted.

2. Exercise Your Memory
The building blocks of the human brain are called neurons. One neuron fires off electrical and chemical energy to the next neuron. How do we keep our neurons firing? By keeping our brain active. Read, listen, do…whatever it takes. This is especially important if you’re retired or mentally inactive. Consider your neurons to be like muscles. What happens to a muscle that isn’t exercised? It becomes flaccid. By remaining mentally active you’ll be utilising the incredible potential of your brain. We have approximately 100 billion neurons and each one of those neurons is capable of making up to 50 000 connections.

Never stop learning, irrespective of your age or situation in life. One of the key ways to improve your memory is to train it regularly.

3. Get Physical
Eat wisely and remain hydrated to keep your brain running efficiently.

What you eat can play a role in how effective your memory is. Foods high in fat or sugar, refined foods, or large meals can make you not only physically sluggish, but mentally sluggish as well.

If you have a meeting, interview or exam coming up, eat light foods such as fruit or salad just prior to the event so that you are able to perform at your mental peak.

Light, physical exercise has also proven to be beneficial for the brain. Take a regular walk, swim or cycle to keep your brain healthy.

4. Remain Organised
Basic organisational skills such as having simple systems and procedures can be a good aid to memory. Free yourself from external clutter.

The brain is very good at making associations. For example, if you put your keys on top of the fridge a few times the brain will quickly establish a link between keys and the fridge. Take advantage of this!

5. Relax
One of the big enemies of memory is undoubtedly stress. We are much more likely to forget information in a stressed state than a relaxed one. One of the first things we tend to do when feeling stressed is to breathe in a more shallow fashion.

Although the brain weighs just 2% of our total body weight it, requires 20% of the oxygen we absorb.

Spending more time breathing from our diaphragms can increase the amount of oxygen entering the brain, thus allowing it to perform in a more proficient manner. This will greatly benefit your memory, particularly when faced with stressful situations, such as exams or interviews.

6. Utilise Your Senses
Generally speaking, we remember approximately:

• 20% of what we read
• 30% of what we hear
• 40% of what we see
• 50% of what we say
• 60% of what we do
• 90% of all of these combined

Where can you take advantage of this? Anywhere! Whenever you meet somebody new, don’t just hear his or her name, say it back in conversation, or imagine a person with a similar name that you know associated with this new person.

If you’re studying don’t just read, talk into a recording device and play it back to yourself. Although we tend to have a preference when it comes to our senses i.e. some people prefer to learn through seeing, others through hearing, and others through doing, make it a habit to use as many senses as possible, to not only accelerate the learning process, but to make it more enjoyable as well.

7. Pay Attention
Often the reason why we don’t remember people’s names or keep forgetting where we put our keys is that we simply don’t pay conscious attention to what we are doing. By fully concentrating on people’s names and where we put items down can make a big difference to an improved memory.

8. Make it Smaller
Because we are easily overwhelmed by lots of information the idea is to break it down into manageable chunks. We do this already with phone numbers and credit card numbers. If you’re in the typical social situation of being introduced to multiple people quickly, it is a big challenge to take everybody’s name on board all at once. To make it easier on your self, reintroduce yourself at a slower pace and ensure you register that person’s name effectively when meeting them.

9. Use Your Imagination
Many mnemonics or memory aids involve the use of imagination. For example, an old Greek mnemonic involves remembering a familiar journey, such as walking through your own home and remembering the different rooms along the way. The next step is to link the information you wish to remember to each room. So if the first item on your list was a loaf of bread, you imagine that linked to the first room. When you link you must do so in a way that is memorable - use exaggeration, fun, feeling and movement. You may, for example, imagine the loaf of bread with arms and leg jumping on the bed. Why? Because we tend to remember things that stand out (known as the Von Restorff Effect in memory). The proof that this works is bad memories. Have you ever found them difficult to let go of? What is the glue? It’s typically the emotion surrounding the event. This technique involves using emotion in a playful, illogical way.

If you’re not a visual person you can still utilise your imagination by using words in an imaginative, fun way. Using rhymes, ditties and acronyms are just some of the ways you can do this.

10. Use a Better Strategy
It is possible to improve your memory simply by consciously using a new mental strategy.

We have mental strategies for all kinds of things - decision-making, motivation, and problem solving. Some people’s strategies are much more effective than others.

What are your current strategies when remembering? How do you remember names? Does it work for you?

My strategy is:

1. Remember to remember (be prepared)
2. Remain calm and confident
3. Pay Attention
4. Use a mnemonic. I use a visual technique.
5. Review the name periodically if there’s a chance you’ll be meeting that person again.

Any new strategy involves discipline to begin with, but after a while will simply become an ingrained, automatic habit.