If you’re like me — I really hope you aren’t — and your memory is trash, you know how much harder your day is when you can’t remember all the important things that need to get done. It’s incredibly frustrating to deal with, but we aren’t lost causes entirely.
It turns out there is some hope for us, but it requires understanding the different kinds of memory. There are three types of memory: long-term, short-term, and sensory. They can all be broken down into much more complicated explanations, but we’re going to keep it simple.
Long-term memory, as the name suggests, sticks with us longer. Short-term memory comes and goes, with the potential to turn into a long-term memory. Sensory is even shorter and is associated with sensory stimuli like smells and tastes. And to make matters even worse, our short-term memories can only hold about seven pieces of information at one time.
But all hope isn’t lost. Understanding how our memories work allows us to take advantage of some useful tricks to make all our lives easier, especially our significant others’ who have to put up with: “When did you say that?” Or “I don’t remember us having this conversation before.” Or, “No, I said not to get these. Of course, those are the ones you remembered.”
These 15 memory tips are incredibly easy to follow, require little-to-no effort to implement, and will make the world of a difference.
Now that you’re aware of all the different ways you can improve your memory, the only thing left to do is to commit to trying them. It’s not going to happen overnight, and it might not feel like it’s worth the effort, but if you’re like me, and your memory can’t get much worse, it doesn’t hurt to try.
These 15 memory tips are backed by science and take no time at all to implement. Simple changes like writing things down, using flashcards, making sensory connections, and repeating things out loud can be a significant game-changer, and with time, will make your life much easier.
Sources
