by Brad Zupp
THE TECHNIQUE Combine Systems
This technique uses a combination of methods you’ve already learned to visualize birth dates, but don’t panic—it’s easier than it seems! You’ll use the Month Memorization System and your preferred number system—the MOST Method, the Simple System, the Major System, or Rhyme Time—for the date and then combine them all using the Story Method.
The beauty of this technique is that you can ease into it. Pick a few people to start with so you’re not overwhelmed. Next, focus mainly on the month. Just being able to say, “Hey, isn’t your birthday coming up sometime this month?” makes people feel wonderful!
HOW TO DO IT
1Pick three people whose birthdays you would love to remember.
2Ask when their birthdays are or look them up on social media or an old calendar.
3Pick one person to start with and picture them. What do you see? What physical features make them stand out in your mind?
4Think of the month of their birthday. Imagine what that month reminds you of, using your own experience or the Month Memorization System.
5Connect the image of your friend with the image of the month in a creative, exaggerated way.
6Look at the date of their birthday. Using the number system of your choice, turn that date into a mental image.
7Add that picture to the story you have so far.
8Review the entire story from the first image (your friend) to the last (the date). Add details and exaggerate them to make it memorable.
9Continue with other friends, making each mental story as silly and fun as possible. Here’s an example:
Abraham Lincoln: Focus on a mental picture of what he looked like.
His birthday was February 12. February always reminds me of Cupid and love.
Picture Abraham Lincoln with his long face, beard and tall hat playing Cupid, shooting a bow and heart-tipped arrow. Isn’t that strange? Lincoln in my mind is always a very serious figure!
The number 12 could be a candle (1) and shoes (2): In addition to the bow and arrow Lincoln has a burning candle on each shoe as he walks around finding people to help fall in love. Or from the Major System: 1 (t) + 2 (n) could be tine: he’s invented a new bow that shoots an arrow with three tines (like a fork) with hearts on the end. Also, 12 makes me think of a dozen eggs that could be incorporated into the story.
Use your imagination to create an interesting story about Lincoln, and then move on to making your friends feel special by remembering their birthdays.
[ 22 ] Learn Odd Words for Games
MANY GAMES REWARD those who can remember odd words, especially two- and three-letter words or ones that start with “X.” Once again, here’s a memory hack to the rescue! If you are especially competitive, or play with those who are, this is the hack for you.
THE TECHNIQUE Alphabet Images and Stories
This technique helps you remember out-of-the-ordinary words so you can recognize them among the letters in your tile rack. It doesn’t help with the definitions, though, so don’t use this technique on a vocabulary test! With a list of hard-to-remember words, it’s a simple matter of using the Alphabet Images to transform the difficult to remember into the easy to remember—and help you win! Here are a few examples for the popular Scrabble game:
Word Alphabet Images/Story
Aa Ant crawling through an apple
Ab Ants crawling on a banana
Ae Ants scaring away an elephant
Ba Banana attacking an ant colony
Da Dog chasing an ant
Ef Elephant throwing a frog
Gi Giant with an iguana on his head
Xeric Xylophone on the back of an elephant with a rat playing the xylophone with one hand and feeding an iguana a cake with the other.
Xerus Xylophone on the back of an elephant with a rat using an urchin as a mallet to smash strawberries on it
Xi Xylophone with ice cream melting all over it
Xis Xylophone with ice cream melting and snails eating the ice cream
Xu Xylophone protected by an umbrella
Xyst Xylophone with yogurt smeared on it, strawberry chunks, and a turkey walking up and down the keys eating everything
Xysts The plural of xyst: Picture two of the exact image from above.
HOW TO DO IT
1Pick your favorite word game and find a list of playable words grouped by letter or number of letters online or in a book. Use this as your resource to create your list to memorize.
2Using the sample table as a guide, jot down the words you want to remember and use Alphabet Images to create a memorable story for each word. (Creatively link each story to the table where you play, the board, etc. as your anchor.) Associate each story image with the game, or put all the images into the room where you play by connecting the images to the room’s furniture.
3Set aside a half hour to memorize as many words as you can for your favorite game. Then, next time you play, when you see you have an “X,” for instance, you will start to think of the funny stories you’ve created, double-checking to see which other letters you have as you go. Then, add up those points!
[ 23 ] Remember to Remember
AS YOU IMPROVE your memory, there will be times when you want to remember something but you’re too busy, sleepy, unfocused, or sick to make it stick in your mind. Maybe you’re in the middle of a discussion, phone call, or otherwise don’t have a piece of paper handy. You need a reminder to remember something later. Having mental hacks available for times like these eases the stress of worrying about forgetting something. Learn this simple method for when emergency situations pop up.
THE TECHNIQUE The Obstacle Method
In the past, people used to tie string or yarn around a finger as a reminder for later. That’s fallen out of fashion, but we can use other methods to remind ourselves that there’s something we need to remember. The Obstacle Method is just that. It’s simply a matter of placing an object (the obstacle) in an unusual place where you are sure to see it when you need to, such as before leaving for work. You can also change the orientation of a common object to make it noticeable. Seeing that object prompts you to remember to do something important.
The Obstacle Method is a simple, real-world way to remember things. It especially works great at night when you’re sleepy and know that you need to remember something in the morning or to remember to do one thing before another.
HOW TO DO IT
1When there is something important that you need to remember, such as remembering to take lunch with you before you leave in the morning, place an object in a place where you will be sure to see it the next morning (or change the orientation of an object).
2When you see the object, immediately do the task that needs to be done. In this case, grab your lunch bag out of the refrigerator.
This sounds easy enough, doesn’t it? But here are a few important tips:
•Do not hide the object in an unusual place! It must be out in the open and easily noticed when you wake up or before you leave. Location, location, location. For example, don’t think, “I need to remember to take the spare keys tomorrow, so I’ll put them in the freezer. I’m sure to remember that.” You’ll end up remembering that you have to take the spare key but won’t be able to find it because there’s nothing to associate the keys with the freezer. (Yes, this actually happened, but not to me!)
•If you change the orientation of an object, it must be obvious. Don’t assume you’re going to notice the upside-down magnet on the refrigerator and remember to take the leftover chili into work. Better to turn the kitchen chair upside down or put it on top of the kitchen table (or both).
•Don’t put a shoe, book, or water cup somewhere it can be tripped on in the middle of the night or when you wake up. It won’t do you any good to remember something in the ambulance on the way to the emergency room.
Here are a couple examples:
EXAMPLE 1
You’re on your way out for a walk and you want to r
emember to move the clothes from the washer to the dryer when you return. Lean your doormat against the door as you go for your walk. As you try to enter the house, you’ll notice the mat, which will remind you that you need to remember something. Your natural memory will figure out the rest.
EXAMPLE 2
You’re about to lie down in bed and remember you need to take the potluck dish to work in the morning. You don’t want to find a pen to write a note or use a memory technique. Instead, grab a sock and place it in the middle of the bathroom floor, in the sink, or in the bathtub. In the morning, you’ll see the sock in the unusual place and know there is something you need to remember. Of course other objects can be used if a sock isn’t handy or if you normally have socks in unusual places!
This hack is another example of helping your mind by offering it something unusual to latch onto.
[ 24 ] Easy Daily Memory Improvement
HERE ARE SEVERAL easy ways to make remembering better a daily practice. Best of all—they are fun! I recommend doing them on your daily commute, walk, or whenever you go out. These are also wonderful if you have kids or family members you would like to help with memory improvement.
THE TECHNIQUE Play Games
A great way to improve your memory daily is to play memory games. You can do this on your own or with your family. There are three great options, all of which give you opportunities to use the memory techniques you’ve been learning throughout this book.
HOW TO DO IT
OPTION 1: I SPY
Remember the car game I Spy? The memory version is useful for frequently taken trips to or from school, the mall, or the store. Ask, “What are the main restaurants (or stores, signs, buildings, or any other noteworthy objects) between here and where we’re going?”
Start with the first one and visualize the path: “Brad’s Diner is the first restaurant; it’s on the right side of the road. What’s next?” Quiz your passengers (or yourself) on the color of the sign, the location of different items, what’s in the window of the store, or anything that comes to mind. This is a great way to create Memory Palaces! Any journey can become a palace to fill with information.
OPTION 2: SECRET AGENT ESCAPE
This game is great to play on a medium-length trip or one that you take often. Use the Alphabet Image System to remember the license plates of cars traveling near you. One twist: Connect the license plate with the color, make, or model of the car so you can easily pick out specific vehicles near you.
Pretend to be a secret agent who is concerned with being followed. Are any cars following you? Do the same cars (with the exact license plates) travel the same roads with you from day to day? You’ll know for sure because you’ve memorized the license plates.
OPTION 3: MEMORY
The last game is an old favorite called Memory, which is used to improve both concentration and memory. Shuffle a deck of 52 playing cards and lay them out in rows. Each player takes turns flipping two cards up. If they match (two kings, for example) both cards are removed. Whoever has the most cards at the end wins.
If you’re competitive, use a system to win. Mentally number each row and each column. As unmatched cards are turned over, think of three images—row location number, column location number, and card image (a king can be an image of king, an eight gets translated into an octopus if using the Simple System for numbers or a worm—“bait”—for Rhyme Time). This is a fun way to perfect the basics of a number system. There will be a small learning curve, but once you can quickly picture a funny story for 3-5-king (tree-hive-king), it will seem like you have special powers to remember exactly where each match is.
TIP | REVIEW THE DAY
Reviewing your day helps your mind by telling it what information is important to save. Focus on what you—and your family—need to remember by taking time each day to review. Ask your kids what happened in a class where they struggle. Don’t take “Nuthin’!” as an answer. Get out the textbook or homework if necessary. A few easy questions will make a big difference. Instead of purposely sweeping it under the rug, their minds will make note that the material is important.
[ 25 ] Short-Term Memory Success
WHAT STARTED MY path to memory improvement was walking into rooms and realizing I couldn’t remember why I had gone there. This terrified me. Why couldn’t I remember something so simple? I know others frequently experience this along with other short-term memory problems. Does your coworker ask you for something that you completely forget a minute later? Do you intend to bring a glass of water to your spouse only to show up in the other room without it? All issues like this are easily addressed with the 1-2-3 Method.
THE TECHNIQUE The 1-2-3 Method
Have you ever played with a dog only to have her suddenly distracted by a squirrel? You can see the dog thinking, “Squirrel!” and she’s off. That’s how I picture our minds when we have short-term memory problems. We’re happily doing our thing but easily get distracted by the next thing, and the next thing, and the next thing. If we’re asked to do a task and get distracted, the task doesn’t get done; that’s our dog mind at work. To fix this, you will teach your mind to pay attention to what you want with a simple breathing exercise called the 1-2-3 Method.
This method will initially show how well or how poorly you focus. As you keep practicing, you will improve your ability to concentrate and be in the moment. This will eliminate being easily distracted. Your natural memory will finally have the help it needs to focus and will be able to help the way it’s supposed to.
HOW TO DO IT
You’ll need a device with a countdown timer for this method.
1 Sit upright with your feet on the floor. Avoid the comfortable couch or recliner. A stool, kitchen, or desk chair is great.
2Set a timer for one minute.
3Pick a sound in the room like the hum of a fan, the air conditioner, the refrigerator, traffic, birds, etc. You can also listen to quiet, non-distracting instrumental music.
4With your eyes closed, focus on that sound for three breaths in and out through your nose, counting to yourself at the end of each exhalation (one, two, three).
5After three breaths listening to the sound, switch your attention to an awareness of your breath going in and out of your nose. Count at the end of each exhalation (one, two, three).
6Switch your focus back to the sound for another three breaths.
7Continue changing your focus after every three breaths until the timer goes off.
How did it go? Did your mind wander? Did you lose track of what you were supposed to be focusing on or what number breath you were on? Did you get sleepy? Stressed? These are all common problems and exactly why you’re doing the exercise! If it wasn’t very difficult, try it for two, five, or ten minutes. Do this exercise at least once a day and work up to at least five minutes. You’re training your mind to focus, and you’ll see improvement in only a few days.
Whether we’re in school or not, learning is an important part of life. One of the best ways to keep our minds fit is to keep studying and learning as we age. This part of the book contains more essential tools and techniques for learning. Even if learning a particular subject holds no interest for you—like cellular mitosis or the first 30 digits of pi—please at least skim the explanation of the memory hack anyway. It will help your memory to practice the techniques. You may be surprised by how enjoyable it is and how much you learn.
[ 26 ] Remember by Hacking Your Motivation
SOMETIMES IN LIFE we have to study things we’re less than enthusiastic about. Learning happens best when there is both need and desire, and we tend to struggle when we need to learn and remember information that doesn’t really interest us. If we want to learn something but it’s not immediately necessary to us—we think learning French would be fun but don’t have a trip planned to France—we won’t remember what we learn as well as if we were going to Paris in a month. But we can hack our motivation to focus our minds and naturally remember anything.
Think spearfishing—but for motivation. To help your mind remember, you’ll hack your natural motivation for learning using:
1Support
2Punitive measures
3Envision
4Advantages
5Rewards
In most cases, one or two of the strategies in this technique will serve your purpose. It’s your job to discover which ones work best for you by trying them with your next learning endeavor.
HOW TO DO IT
SUPPORT
Work with another person to be there for each other when you’re both lacking motivation.
1Bookend study sessions by calling or texting before you start and after you finish. “I’m going to study for one hour and really focus. I’ll text you when I’m done to confirm I worked hard.”
2Hold each other accountable and pick each other up when needed.
PUNITIVE MEASURES
I only suggest this strategy in extreme situations.
1Decide whether you need motivation for a series of small things (homework or quizzes) or one large event (an exam or final class grade).
2Pick a dollar amount that is painful to lose. For a series, each small amount should be painful, and the overall total should really hurt if you have to give it up.
3Carefully choose a friend who can be supportive, no matter what.
4Put the money in an envelope addressed to an organization you find abhorrent. It should be a cause you truly can’t stand.
5Give the envelope to your friend with instructions that, if you don’t do what you’ve promised (study a certain amount, get a certain grade in the class), they will mail the envelope no matter what excuse you give or how much it pains you (and them).