Memory and Aging, continued
Write things down
Writing things down is a very useful way not to forget things.
Decide what will suit you best a day planner, weekly planner, a notebook, post-its, PDA, organizer programs on a computer, or whatever. Often it will be more than one system.
Write down to do lists, important facts, people’s names, locations of things, enter dates in calendars… Anything that you think you might want or need to remember.
A little time writing (or typing) can save you time and frustration.
Find some tricks for remembering, that work for you
I have had a terrible time remembering names my whole life - and aging does not help. Later, I can often remember what you wore, a lot of what you said, but I don’t have a clue what your name is. I am always trying to find ways to remember names.
Most tricks for remembering try and link what you want to remember to something else.
To use remembering the name of somebody you have just met, as the example. The easiest for names is if you know somebody else with the same name. Try picturing the Bob that you have just met with your cousin Bob. Associate the person with an object or topic. They talked about fly fishing. Try and find a way to associate their name with fly fishing.
Try making a mnemonic that will be memorable to you. As an example, for Joe; jumps over eggs.
Group information is some way that is meaningful to you. Compare HBOFBICBSCIA with HBO FBI CBS CIA. Which is easier to remember?
If you are very visual write down the information as soon as you can. This helps me with names, linking a name to a visual memory of the written name.
Allow time to think
Obviously if you have plenty time you can concentrate on recall.
Repeat and review
Repeat what you want to remember and then review it. Ask yourself questions.
For instance, if you want to remember the details of a news article. Read it carefully twice. The second time, think about what are the main points or the details that you want to remember. Often it is helpful to count the number of points. That way you know there are 5 main points. Then in your mind without looking at the article unless you need to, try to remember the 5 main points. Go over the points several times in your mind.
Continued...
