How can I remember things better ?

I also have a bad memory. I solve the problems it causes by relying on something other than my brain to remember things. Right now this is my iPod Touch, but email and to-do lists have worked in the past.

@dynamicduo What if you do write a to do list and forget to look at it, or misplace it? I’ve done that as well. . .

Have one specific notepad that you bring with you to places…if you need to remember something, write it down…makes it simple. When that notebook is full, rinse, lather, repeat…

@googlybear Hey I really like that idea thanks ! and the rinse lather and repeat isn’t that on shampoo bottles? lol

Then you never let go of the note. Crude, but effective. Start by holding onto it all the time. Then, scale back. Maybe it needs to be tied to a string on your wrist. Or maybe you will be able to gradually remember that it’s in your pocket, and as long as you put your brain faith into it, you will know to always look at that list.

Do you get enough rest and exercise?

@nikipedia I used to be a gymnast for 13 years, so I did tons of exercising, but since then, it’s been 5 years and now I am the laziest person ever and sleep all the time when I can. I’ve turned into a couch potato, and I’ve tried working out and get into it for maybe a week, and that’s usually all I give it. I’ve been very happy laying around not working out. . .

This could be me being a blonde. . . but does exercising really have something to do with your memory ?

I keep a to do list on my phone (paper lists are too easily lost)

@sammibabi6: Great question. It depends on who you ask. I believe that it does, despite some conflicts in the research about it. Here’s a summary of a recent review article:

“An emerging body of multidisciplinary literature has documented the beneficial influence of physical activity engendered through aerobic exercise on selective aspects of brain function. Human and non-human animal studies have shown that aerobic exercise can improve a number of aspects of cognition and performance. Lack of physical activity, particularly among children in the developed world, is one of the major causes of obesity. Exercise might not only help to improve their physical health, but might also improve their academic performance. This article examines the positive effects of aerobic physical activity on cognition and brain function, at the molecular, cellular, systems and behavioural levels. A growing number of studies support the idea that physical exercise is a lifestyle factor that might lead to increased physical and mental health throughout life.”
http://www.nature.com/nrn/journal/v9/n1/full/nrn2298.html?message=remove

I can send you the full text of the article if you’re interested and can’t access it.

@nikipedia Thank you for the site and taking the time out to help me out ! I appreciate it !!

The word that will help you is “mnemonics.”
While I could be spelling the word wrong, the fact is a “mnemonic” is a creative or natural way to remember. For instance, songs, rhymes, and icons are related to this subject. Classic example A: McDonald’s and its commercials.

If you have trouble remembering where you left things, create a place for everything and always put it in that place no matter what.

Cogmed Working Memory Training is a computer-based program that helps people increase their working memory capacity. Cogmed is designed to improve working memory, now known to be a key deficit in individuals with reading comprehension & math difficulties, ADHD, learning disorders, and cognitive decline caused by aging or stroke.

Working memory is a process that allows the brain to temporarily store and manage information for a short time. It is essential to carry out complex tasks such as learning, reasoning, and understanding. Working memory allows you to focus on a task and remember what to do next. In daily life you use working memory to solve problems remember plans or instructions of what to do next.

* Socially, you use it in the moment you are meeting someone and hearing their name for the first time.

* Academically, you use it when you’re reading and find it hard to comprehend what you’ve just read and have to reread material.

* Professionally, working memory is what drives your ability to concentrate and not lose your train of thought. A strong working memory empowers a professional to perform well under pressure, remain organized, meet deadlines, and prioritize activities.

Working memory has several functions. An important one is to hold one bit of information active while working with another. Working memory is like a very active computational unit that not only holds information, but also actively processes this current information in connection with the vast files of longer-term memory.

Research now tells us that there is a strong link between working memory capacity and the ability to resist distractions and irrelevant information. One study used the so called “cocktail party effect”, i.e. our ability to focus on one voice despite noisy surroundings, and showed that this ability is related to working memory capacity. Recent studies have also shown that low working memory is related to being “offtask” and daydreaming.

Working memory has been suggested to be the single most important factor in determining general intellectual ability. There is a decline in intellectual capacity (the ability to learn, reason, plan, comprehend ideas, make inference, generalize, solve problems and think abstractly) that begins around age 25 and declines about 5% to 10% each decade? Improving your brain’s working memory capacity is a good method for increasing your IQ.

There’s Good News! New studies indicate that the neural systems underlying working memory are plastic, i.e. they can change.

In using Cogmed Working Memory Training, you are literally building new neural connections – connections that will remain and will help you continue to experience better memory and focus in the future. The effects are clinically strong, lasting, in children, young, middle-aged and older adults.

After training, subjects show:

− Improved ability to sustain attention

− Better complex reasoning skills

− Improved ability to complete tasks without being distracted

− Improved ability to concentrate

− Increased organizational skills

− Increased ability to filter irrelevant information and focus on what’s important

− Greater efficiency

− Knowing why you entered a room and finding your keys

Some Signs of Working Memory Deficits are:

− Difficulty starting and finishing tasks

− Difficulty prioritizing tasks

− Resisting tasks requiring sustained mental effort

− Forgetting instructions & detailed information

− Disorganization

− Poor sense of time

− Procrastination

− Distractability

− Difficulty planning next steps

− Problems breaking a project down into manageable tasks rather than panicking

Cogmed Training takes place at home five days a week for five weeks and takes about 30 to 45 minutes. An office visit is NOT necessary. Included are 100 mini-sessions for one year after training ends.

− The software automatically increases in difficulty gradually improving an individual’s abilities.

− Every participant has a Personal Coach who leads the training, analyzes results and provides information during weekly phone calls.

and another thing…..

Physical exercise is NOT the same thing as brain exercise.

I use the calendar on my phone, and set ‘reminders’. Thus, the week before someone’s birthday, an alarm goes off on my phone, and again at noon on the actual birthday. Or the night before an appointment, and again 2 hours before the appt. I don’t know how I ever survived before I figured this out!