Remembering Things

I remember a birthday party I went to as a child. There was a contest that involved looking at a table covered in 15 various items. After a few minutes, things were taken away, and then we each got a piece of paper and a pencil. The object was to write down as many items as we could remember. I struck out after seven or eight, but one little boy got all 15 items, and won prize.

Only years later did I learn why he was able to do that. His father had taught him a simple technique that none of us other kids knew. All you have to do is tie items together in an imaginative story. Imagine, for example, that you want to remember a list of following things: milk, soap, forks, honey, and flowers.

Create a story, and see it vividly in your head: You are in front of bathroom sink, and you reach for soap. The soap dish is filled with milk, so you wash your hands with that, then comb honey into your hair with a fork, pick up a bouquet of flowers and smile at yourself in mirror. Say each item as you review this "movie" in your imagination, and you'll remember all five things, even next day.

Some Other Memory Tricks

Boost Brain Power Through Writing

Have you ever noticed what happens to an idea once you express it? Just talking about it or writing it down causes you to clarify it in your own mind. How can you use this to increase your brain power? Start writing.

By putting thoughts into words, you are telling yourself logic behind what you think, feel, or only partly understand. Often, explaining a thought is process of understanding. In other words, you boost your brain power by exercising your "explain power."