Improve Your Memory

Word-Image Association



Recalling a past event is not like using a digital camera, and photographic memory is a myth, but this doesn't mean that the mind doesn’t work well with images. In fact, for most of us, that's how it works best. Making associations between something you need to remember and an associated image can also be referred to as elaborative encoding -- putting that associative stamp on something to make it memorable. This works especially well if there is a lot to remember, as your mind will then be filled with sequential images that are so outlandish as to be unforgettable.



Comes In Handy: For almost any occasion at all when you need to remember something. It's that functional.



Method Acting



You've heard of method acting, that system of acting developed in the 19th century by Constantin Stanislavski and later pioneered in the U.S. by Lee Strasberg. Robert De Niro and Al Pacino are said to be method actors, and it works by uncovering the motivations of a character and then planting emotional cues within that character's lines that come from the actor's own personal, deeply felt life experiences. This same approach can be applied to memory. As Joshua Foer writes, "Method acting is a way of making words memorable."



Comes In Handy: If you're preparing for a presentation or speech.



Chunking



Chunking is nothing more than the term suggests: turning extended strings (typically of numbers) into smaller chunks, ones that are easier to remember individually than one long string. Evidence of the practicality of chunking can be found in something with which we are all familiar: credit-card maintenance. Credit cards represent 16-digit account numbers, but they are divided into smaller sets of numbers to make them easier to remember.



Comes In Handy: When you're tasked to recall a phone number, an accounting figure or your own social-security number.



Give Numbers Some Personality



This technique, as described in Moonwalking with Einstein, was used by a famous memory master in which he gave each of the 10 numbers a personality, i.e., "7" was a man with a mustache, and he could remember long strings of numbers by simply recalling their personalities.



Comes In Handy: If you get a woman's phone number and you have an especially vivid, image-driven mind.

Connect To Prior Knowledge



Sometimes the best way to absorb new information is by linking it to similar information you already know. This may seem like a lazy technique, and in some instances it is, but conceptually it's extremely sound because of the manner in which neurotransmitters in the brain signal the hippocampus (a crucial area of memory), according to the work done by Dr. Larry Cahill, a neurobiology and behavior professor. Think of it as hyperlinks on a web page that link back to your own personal website, where all of your knowledge resides.



Comes In Handy: When what you need to remember is either incredibly foreign-sounding or entirely uninteresting.



Person-Action-Object



Person-Action-Object is a technique in which you assign an image to every number between 00 and 99, an image that involves a “person” performing an “action”' on an “object” (e.g. 22 = Nixon leaving the White House). What you choose for images is up to you, but what this technique allows you to do is create a system that conjures up mental images for numbers almost reaching one million. Why? Because PAO has three places (person, action, object), so when confronted with a six-digit number, you can chunk it into three sets of two numbers and allow the person from the first set to perform the action of the second set on the object of the third set.



Comes In Handy: If you're playing blackjack, since you can apply PAO -- with some minor adjustments -- to help you remember a deck of cards.



Embellish Key Concepts



In any idea, there are bound to be both major details and minor ones, and, even if there aren't, you can make it memorable by exploding the major ones through embellishment. This technique requires you draw out key concepts or components of what you're trying to remember and elaborate or embellish them so as to become impossible to forget.



Comes In Handy: If you need to memorize the name of an important colleague as you're being introduced to more than one at a time. For instance, you can embellish a pair of blue eyes on someone named Hanna to Montana's Big Sky Country.



Mind Mapping



Mind mapping is a system that involves the creation of a visual display of a concept -- using everything from colors to images and as few words as possible to fully outline the concept you're trying to remember. It is in that sense no different than a standard outline in that you're trying to pare down sections into subsections and further into subdivided subsections, except that it taps into the human mind's brilliant response to imagery and creativity instead of relying on the its less-cultivated response to the written word.



Comes In Handy: If you're in school and taking notes on an important lecture in a class you can’t fail.



Attach Personal Relevance



Acting in ways that are self-centered is part and parcel of the human condition and can be a good way to remember things since sometimes the only way to remember something is to make it personally meaningful. This allows for the thing in question to make better sense, an enormously important key to lasting memory.



Comes In Handy: If you can, never again -- never, ever again -- forget your mother-in-law's birthday



Build A Memory Palace



The so-called memory palace represents the foundation for virtually all the memory techniques in use today. It comes from Simonides of Ceos, a poet from Ancient Greece, who briefly stepped outside a banquet hall and, as he did, the hall collapsed. Simonides recalled where each person was sitting, thereby helping grief-stricken relatives find their loved ones. Or so goes the legend, which is most likely just slightly removed from being a part of Greek mythology, but the memory palace isn't. It is a mnemonic device that uses spatial memory to corral and remember lots of information that comes at you in random order. In your mind's eye, you have a house, the floor plan of which you know well (maybe you grew up there). As information comes to you, you put that information into different rooms, applying other techniques already mentioned to remember smaller details. Later you can revisit the house and discover what you need to remember.



Comes In Handy: If you're meeting many people all at once or if lots of disparate information is coming at you all at once.

Home-Safety Checklist

Handle Appliances with Care



Provides protection against: Electrical shock

Sandwich makers, toaster ovens, and microwaves are staples of today’s kitchen. As they are also electric, these appliances aren’t meant to stay keep plugged in around the clock or at a close distance to water. Protect yourself from an electric shock by keeping them unplugged if they are not in use and ensuring they are dry and away from water at all times. When it’s time to use them, don’t direct them all to the same set of outlets. Be strategic with how you use them so that one set of outlets isn’t stuck with an unusually high amount of electricity.



Add Grab Bars and Strips to Bathrooms



Provides protection against: Falls

Falling in the bathroom might be funny in the movies, but it can be painful and dangerous when it happens in real life -- especially if you or a family member is very young or fragile. You can prevent this kind of mishap from happening in your shower by covering the floor with strips and adding grab bars close to the shower and the toilet for good measure. The use of bathroom mats with no skid potential is another bathroom safety essential, as is regular bathroom cleaning to ensure that nothing slippery is lurking to cause a disaster.



Keep Stairs Safe and Easy to Use



Provides protection against: Falls

The less that you consider the dangers of your home stairs, the more dangerous they could be, especially when someone leaves something on the stairs and forgets about it, only to stumble on it later. The pain isn’t worth it. Besides taking extra care to keep your stairwell free of unwanted objects, you can also make a point of using handrails at all times or installing them on both sides if they aren’t already present. For added protection, safety gates are useful for children while painting the bottom step a different color offers an extra layer of visibility and safety.



Safeguard Your Pool Area



Provides protection against: Drowning

Your home pool should be a place for a relaxing swim, a family gathering or a wild pool party. No matter what your primary use for it is, you should still be prepared against water accidents which can happen to even the most experienced of swimmers. Stay ahead of any potential water dangers by keeping rescue supplies nearby, instructions for first aid procedures and a waterproof phone that’s fully charged with emergency phone numbers locked in. For families, a fence is another must-have, as is a locked gate to keep prying eyes away from both access and accidents.



Practice Protective Cooking



Provides protection against: Burns

No one wants to get burned while cooking, whether you’re cooking for yourself or a date. So ignore the unflattering look and feel of oven mitts and make a habit of wearing them a lot around the kitchen. Of course the oven is a mandatory match for mitts, but so is the microwave as any extended cooking times will leave plates and bowls at burn-worthy temperatures. When you’re sticking to traditional pot-and-pan preparation, you’re better off turning handles away from the front of the stove and mainly using the back burners to reduce the likelihood of a front-burner injury.



Restrict Hot Water Temperature



Provides protection against: Scald burns

Scald burns are painful reminders that our skin will never win against very hot steam and liquids. While mitts and clothing can protect against cooking splashes, the solutions for dealing with hot water tap temperatures are refreshingly simple. Besides keeping a thermometer on hand to measure exactly what temperature you’re dealing with, you can reduce the temperature of your hot water heater to 120°F -- thus minimizing your chances for an unpleasant scald burn. In the shower, the installation of a heat-sensing shower head adds further safety by swiftly shutting off water if it reaches a threatening temperature.



Watch Your Cooking Distance



Provides protection against: Burns, Fire

When it comes to protecting your kitchen or grill area from fire dangers, one of the most important factors is your proximity to the cooking area. Regardless of where you happen to be preparing food, you must not leave anything unattended – not just for keeping an eye on what you’re making but to ensure that no children or pets get too close. If you’re specifically cooking outside, then there should be a minimum of at least ten feet between the grill and any objects -- including your home -- to ensure that your grilling experience will be about food and not fire.



Organize Your Garage



Provides protection against: Falls, injuries

It only seems natural to associate a garage with the tools we keep inside it rather than the ways in which they are organized. In fact, organization should be the prime focus where safety is concerned. Items should be kept off the floor and not stacked too high. In other words, if something could fall and cause a serious injury, it’s too high. As for specific items, ladders should specifically be arranged in a horizontal fashion while safety tools should never be too far away from the other items that they are to be used with.



Maintain Functioning Smoke Alarms and Water Protection



Provides protection against: Fire

Fires can be quick and catastrophic to human life and your home. You can never be too prepared for one. Having an extinguisher on hand is a no-brainer but the most important fire prevention tool is a series of smoke alarms throughout your home. Ideally they should be situated on every floor and individually tested each month. Smoke alarms are vital to warning us of potential fire dangers, but to really nip a fire in the bud, the installation of a home sprinkler system will put you to the front of the line when it comes to home safety preparedness.



Light Up Your House at Night



Provides protection against: Falls

Using a nightlight doesn’t make you afraid of the dark. Instead, it makes you smart for protecting yourself against things that go bump in the night -- like someone unexpectedly taking a tumble onto the floor or, worse, down the stairs. While keeping your standard evening lights on through the night is bad energy etiquette and definitely not conducive to sleep, you can create a happy medium. Choose a series of soft nightlights to help navigate you and your family through stairs, hallways and bathrooms without any cause for nocturnal concern.