How To Remember Things

Posted by Patrice: Your Virtual Assistant at 7:55 AM

Today you will probably forget a thing or two (hopefully not many more) so I've come up with tips and ideas to show you how to remember things more easily.

1. Engage
If you are truly interested in something, chances are you will remember it. Think about it, you easily remember that concert or game you are going to, but it may be more difficult to remember your account number for a billing account. If you aren't interested in whatever it is you are trying to remember, you should try to come up with a way for you to become interested in it.

2. Visualize
One of the best ways to remember things is to come up with a visual. For example if you need to remember your new co-workers name which is Daisy, you can mentally visualize daisies. When you sit something down, pause and look down at where you sat it down because your mind will take a snap shot of that place and when you think 'Where did I put my keys?' your mind will flash back to that image of you sitting them down on the counter.

3. Group
It has been recognized and proven that people can easily memorize large chunks of information if we group them instead. Think about phone numbers: 860-555-5123 or social security numbers: 000-55-1234

4. Associate
Try to associate what you are trying to learn with something that you already know. You can also use mnemonics to help remember things. Remember in high school when you had to remember PEMDAS?

5. Write
One of the ways I quickly remember things is to write them down. I may have to write it down two or three times, but it embeds it into my mind nonetheless. You can try first writing down what it is you have to learn. Then quiz yourself and compare the difference. Do this again until you have successfully remembered what you wrote down.

6. Summarize
If you read a paper, summarize each paragraph and then go over the summaries to remember what the paper was about.

7. Sleep
Getting enough sleep proves to help memorize things. Instead of cramming your head with info all night, make sure you get adequate rest.