by: Greg Frost
Memory techniques are very simple, and can be used to improve your mind and your life. Learn how to enhance your mind to impress your friends or your boss for that pay raise!
Imagine being able to remember your grocery list effortlessly, without rote memorization! The human mind is complex, and with understanding and some memory techniques you will find that knowledge is ingrained in your mind, and recalling it will be a breeze.
Connection Technique
The connection technique creates meaning or a link to an event or fact that you know, thus allowing you to recall it easily. An advantage of this memory technique is that it makes use of common information that you know and thus makes it unlikely for you to forget the information once the meaning has been attached. For example, it is easier to recall an address of 2612 Memory Walk, by linking it to Boxing Day, which falls on the 26th December.
Mind Mapping
An equally easy and potent technique for training your mind is through mind mapping, which is based on how we think and recall information. This memory technique uses your entire brain by linking ideas and processes. By forcing you to put down on paper your thoughts, it forces you to focus your full attention to the information. The usage of visuals through colours and pictures also reinforces memory.
Repetition
This is a simple technique often used to remember something by focusing your entire attention on it. The use of repetition entrenches the information in your long term memory. By doing so, you are able to avoid the common mistake many people make – forgetting things because they did not remember them in the first place.
Mnemonics
Mnemonics are a form of memory tool that trains your entire mind to store and retrieve information through the use of association. Language is an important aspect of recalling information, and mnemonics in the form of rhymes or familiar trigger words can serve as resources to your mind. You can link the main ideas or information that you need to remember in a story, or via the use of acronyms. An example would be Roy Of York Gave Birth in Vain, an acronym for the colours of the rainbow – Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet.
Simple day to day activities such as reading is also a great way to improve your memory by exercising your mind. By learning and using any of the techniques above, you will soon find yourself able to rely on your mind more than ever. The capacity of our memory is virtually unlimited, and by matching new information to things already in our memory, you will be able to train your mind into being a reliable store of data.
