Stupidly Simple Memory Improvement Techniques that Improve Memory Naturally
Does this sound like you?
You hear something, and minutes later, you can’t recall it.
You learn something important, and before long, you’ve forgotten that you even learned it.
You meet someone important, but completely blank on their name.
If it does, keep reading.
This article will explore the fascinating reasons why we forget and how to improve memory of the things that matter.
But before starting, it's important to understand…
What is Memory?
Memory is your brain’s remarkable ability to both receive and store information, and then retrieve it when you need.
As you will learn, the key to memory is not just about storing information, but also bringing it back up to use.
More or less, memory is the process that helps you take what you learned in the past to use it in the present.
That includes everything from a friend’s name and what you did yesterday, to where you parked, a family vacation, and playing the violin.
Every time you learn something new or recall something you already know, you are using memory.
So…
Why is Memory Important?
Memory is important because everything you do or are not able to do comes down to your ability to remember to do or not do it.
- If you don’t remember a meeting, you’ll miss it.
- If you don’t remember a goal, you won’t reach it.
- If you don’t remember a sales call, you’ll lose that client.
Memory helps with communicating, making decisions, and most importantly, developing relationships.
If you didn’t have the ability to recall what you learned, you would essentially start every day from scratch.
If memory is so important, then…
Why Do We Forget?
The answer is simple, your brain is built to forget.
It’s hard to imagine, but your brain is designed to forget and it is actively making you forget.
You’re probably thinking, how could that be? Why would my own brain make me forget?
Well, there are many benefits and advantages to forgetting.
1. Your brain receives too much information
Every day, your brain is bombarded with an enormous amount of info.
Most of it isn’t important enough to keep.
Imagine if your brain remembered every conversation you overheard, advertisement you saw, articles you read, and face you passed on the street.
Your brain would quickly become overloaded.
To make it easier to find the useful information, it throws out the majority that isn’t useful.
2. Your brain has processes that need you to forget
One of those processes includes fear.
If there is something you are scared to do, of course, your brain will try to keep you from doing it.
One of the ways it will do that is by making you forget.
As I said before, if you don’t remember something, you can’t do it.
So when your brain doesn’t want you to do something, it makes you forget what you committed to or learned, just to keep you from doing it.
The question is…
How Does Your Brain Decide What Memories to Keep?
Most people make the mistake thinking the brain stores information based on how important or valuable it is.
But that couldn’t be further from the truth!
The truth is, your brain retains information if it is presented in ways it is built to take in and store that info.
If not, it’ll likely be lost and forgotten.
For example, you can give a client the most important advice in the world, but if you speak to them in a language they don’t understand, the message will be lost.
Your memory is no different. It has its own language for receiving and storing information, and if you speak that language, information will stick. If you don’t, it will get lost and forgotten and sooner than you think.
Let’s learn some of that language…
Memory Improvement Techniques
Now that you understand why we forget, the good news is you can train your brain to remember more of what you want and need.
There are several memory improvement techniques you can use to do this, but three stand out above the rest. They are simple, natural, and can be used in school, at work, and in life.
Let’s start with the most fundamental one.
1. Repetition Memory Strategy
The first language of your brain is repetition.
Most people looking to improve memory are looking for tips that will retain information the first time they see or hear it.
Unfortunately, that’s not how your brain works.
If you want to remember something, you have to repeat it.
That’s because anytime a memory is formed, grooves or tracks are created in the brain. You can think of these grooves or tracks like footprints that lead to a specific memory.
The more something is repeated, the deeper those tracks get, and the easier it is to find that memory.
A great analogy for this is to imagine a storage shed at the end of a lawn. The lawn hasn’t been mowed in a while, so the grass and weeds have really grown in. So, it’s going to be difficult to access the shed.
The more you walk to the shed, however, the more your footprints form a path, making it easier to access the shed.
Now this path doesn’t deepen based on how badly you want to remember it.
It deepens solely through repetition, which is why the repetition memory strategy is so important.
Even if you were to use other memory techniques, like acronyms or visualization, you still need repetition to learn and remember those techniques, but more importantly, to use and apply them.
In other words, you can create an acronym to remember a fact, but if you don’t repeat it, it’ll be lost, and so the memory technique will not be useful.
If you don’t believe me, think back to all the acronyms you learned or created in school. Exactly, you can’t recall most of them, let alone what they stood for.
Repetition Example
Now, when people think of repetition, they think about the rote variety, or verbalizing a fact over and over.
This is one repetition example, but not the only.
Repetition can be done many ways, including:
A. Reviewing information
B. Taking notes of the information
C. Looking back at those notes
D. Testing yourself on the information
E. Explaining the information to others
Repetition Example #1 - Remembering Names
To remember the name of a person you meet, repeat it a few times immediately after hearing it.
For example, if you meet someone named Rose:
1. Start by saying, “Rose, it’s nice to meet you, Rose.”
2. In your thoughts, repeat the name again by saying “This is Rose” or “I just met Rose.”
3. At the end of the conversation, say the name one last time, “It was nice to meet you, Rose.”
This has given you 3 opportunities to repeat the name, which will make it easier to remember.
Repetition Example #2 - Remembering Instructions
Say your boss gives you the following instructions for an assignment, “I want you to fix the errors, print the report, and bring it to the meeting.”
1. Begin by repeating the instructions back to him or her. “You want me to fix the errors, print the report, and bring it to the meeting?”
2. When your boss confirms, repeat “Alright, I’ll fix the errors, print the report, and bring it to the meeting.”
3. To add more staying power, silently repeat the instruction in your head, “I’m going to fix the errors, print the report, and bring it to the meeting.”
Here you had three opportunities to repeat the instructions.
Repetition Example #3 - Remembering Meetings
Or if you want to remember more of what happens in a class or meeting:
1. First, start by taking notes. You can do that on a notepad or a note-taking app on your phone.
2. After the meeting, review those notes. If you feel called, rewrite those notes in a cleaner and more organized way.
3. Finally, recite the notes.
This is the first way to improve your memory, using the repetition memory strategy. It is a great way to improve memory naturally.
The second way is with the …
2. Retrieval Practice Strategy
As mentioned earlier, memory is a two-way street.
First, it involves putting information into your head.
Second involves getting that information out.
Just because information goes in your head doesn’t mean it will come out, when you want it out, or as fast as you want it.
For example, if I were to ask you to sing lyrics to your favorite song, you might find it difficult to do. But if I started playing the song, you could sing along without any problems.
This illustrates that a memory can be in your head, but seem lost or forgotten. It seems that way because you can’t get it out. The reason you can’t get it out is because you haven’t practiced getting it out.
So, not only do you have to practice putting information into your brain, but you have to practice getting it out as well.
Going back to our example of the storage shed, once you put items in the shed, to use them, you have to bring them out.
It works the same with your memory. You can have information in your head, but if you can’t get it out, you can’t use it.
So when people say, “I forgot,” that’s not technically true. What they're really saying is, “I can’t recall.”
So the key to improve your memory is to practice getting information out. The more you practice, the more you improve your memory.
You can do that with this retrieval practice strategy. Anytime you read, hear, or watch something, take a few minutes to retrieve what you just read, heard, or watched.
Retrieval Practice Examples
After reading a chapter in a book, recall what you just read before moving to the next chapter.
After getting out of a meeting, as you’re walking to the next meeting or back to your desk, think about the key takeaways and action items.
Then later in the day, call up these things again. It might go something like this:
- I had a great conversation with mom at lunch, she wanted me to pick up her mail.
- It was an interesting article I read on the commute to work. The article said this, this, and that.
- These are the points that came out of this morning’s client call.
- The key takeaways from the meeting were….
Then of course, retrieve it again in the evening, and one last time before going to bed.
The more you retrieve what you’re reading, hearing, and learning, the more you will remember.
The more you practice retrieval, the more you improve memory naturally. In fact, this is one of the best ways to improve memory naturally.
That’s because your brain realizes it will be called on for that information later, so it does a better job of remembering it for later.
3. Association Memory Strategy
It may sound strange, but it’s easier to remember two pieces of information than one.
That’s because your memories are not floating aimlessly in your brain. They are all connected to each other like the roots of redwood trees.
In other words, your brain has an easier time remembering something if it is connected to something else. That connection creates a pathway to the memory. The more connections you have, the more paths there are to that memory.
Revisiting our analogy of the storage shed, imagine now that the shed is in the middle of a large field with other sheds. Some sheds have paths that connect to other sheds, while some don’t.
The ones that don’t will be difficult to access, and the ones that do will be easier.
It works the same with your brain, the more connections or “paths” to a memory, the easier it will be to “access” and thus remember it.
Association Memory Examples
Let’s go back to our example of remembering the name of Rose. In addition to repeating her name, you can associate it with an actual rose. You might imagine an image of a rose on her blouse, her handing you a rose, or both.
I say both, because as mentioned, the more connections you create the more paths you build to the memory, making it easier to recall.
Now you no longer have an isolated path to the memory, but a network of connections that lead to it.
You can do this with almost anything:
- To remember a fact, connect it to something you already know.
- To remember a list, create a story that links the items together.
- To remember a number, associate it with a familiar date, age, address, or something else meaningful.
Just like we humans don’t like to be alone, neither do the memories in our heads.
Conclusion
These are the 3 memory improvement techniques.
- Repetition Memory Strategy
- Retrieval Practice Strategy
- Association Memory Strategy
Remember, improving your memory isn't about trying harder to remember, but speaking the right language. The above techniques help you speak that language.
The next time you meet someone new, repeat their name. After reading something important, close the book and see what you can recall. When you need to remember something new, connect it to something you already know.
These small actions may seem simple, but they give your brain exactly what it needs to make memories stronger and easier to access.
