Creating impressions for longer term memory takes a myriad of skills working together to:
a. Decode the information in a way that makes sense.
b. File the information for easy retrieval.
Making an impression requires multiple stems:
Listening (focus)
Hearing what the incoming data sounds like
Visualizing
Paying Attention
Associating
Retelling
Revisiting
There are so many good stories about how the memory champs use these tactics from poker experts, Memory Palace competitors to Mozart, Chopin and Beethoven all of whom used these tactics to enhance memory from numbers, words to music and math. Straight memorization (one modality only) will eventually fall down, you need a constellation of memory devices for the indelible, especially if you have a learning difference or aging brain. Remember just because you may be brilliant memorizing things under the S.T.E.M. or factoid umbrella, doesn’t mean it’s gonna help you with other kinds of data.
When I was commuting from SF to Silicon Valley in the 90s, I would think of so many things I had to do both for personal and when I got to work. I learned the Virtual Task List and used it every morning for years. Now I use it when I wake up in the middle of the night.
Virtual Task List
Let’s try it. Take your “To Do List” today. Let’s say it has: go to the dry cleaners, pick up wine, don’t forget olive oil, oh and pick my kid up for early dismissal.
For the Listening: Say it out loud 3 times.
For the Visualizing: How can you tie the four things together? Making it more absurd the better however make sure the things make sense as you group them. I envisioned standing on my head at the dry cleaners with white clothing and wine stains, my kid on the sidelines with olive oil on his shirt. I added emotion with us both looking at each other (a nonverbal cue too) with an expression of “whoopsie!!!” It was a frame in a cartoon.
If you had two images you most likely would forget one such as standing on my head in dry cleaners with wine stains on my clothes and then another picture of my kiddo with olive oil smeared all over his The latter is ‘at risk’ for forgetting.
For associating: you put things together either in a natural way or an absurd way. If you don’t use association, you will be ‘at risk’ for forgetting
For Retelling: Say the story 3 times to yourself. If you are in the car or alone somewhere, you can say it out loud–which is optimal.
For Revisiting: wait 30 minutes and rehearse again. Even better wait another hour (set alarm on phone?) and repeat, depending upon your commute time.
Let’s try another one for you tennis players out there of remembering the score in a tennis game. There is often confusion about what the score is in any ongoing tennis game especially if it’s a more social game:
It’s 30/30 in doubles game. First say it out loud. Then remember what the score was just before this. Visualize who was serving. Attach a color to the person who was serving.
There’s also a rule at play here: whenever the score is even number of points played (not accumulation), you always have to be on the deuce side (server side, which is also has several ‘even’ associations: in cards ‘deuce’ is 2, in tennis if you are at a deuce it means the same score both sides (like 30/30.) You could also tie it into the TV show “Deuce” and make it absurd by visualizing all 4 the players in their tennis garb on 30th Ave in NYC the year Billy Jean won the US Open. Say it out loud. Then the score of 30/30 will be indelible. The more context, the deeper the impression. When you are learning something new don’t you want it to stick around as long as a fossil impression?
Memory Exercise: Virtual To Do List: take 4-6 things on your and tie them together using the tactics above.
Remember me ’til next time,
jenn bulka, Memory Specialist
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