How to Memorize Anything (27 page)

1. Do something different everyday
   —To develop flexibility and adaptability to change in your life, you must do something different everyday like:
   
   • Shop at a different store.
     
   • Take a different route home.
     
   • Read a book on an unfamiliar subject.
     
   • Try out new recipes.
     
   • Try thinking 10 innovate uses of a pen or any other object.
     
   • Close your eyes and sense your way slowly around a room.
     
   • Involve yourself in a new game or sport, like bowling, karate, roller-skating etc.
     

   The sameness of everyday routine is a death knell for your brain. For complete usage of your brain, diverse stimulation is the key. It also gets you unstuck from habits and ruts that are brining you unfavourable results.
   

2. Use your body in new ways—
   Switch your handedness and comb your hair, brush your teeth, stir your coffee, or do other simple tasks with your
   non-dominant hand
   .
   
3. Spell words backwards
   —This is great for kids as well and has the added bonus of helping them to spell.
   
4. Count common words in a paragraph.
   Count words like ‘it’ or ‘and’ without using a finger to point to it.
   
5. Doing simple mathematical calculations
   in your head is a very good exercise to improve concentration.
   
6. Recalling the objects
   —Look in your refrigerator briefly, but thoroughly. Then close the door and enumerate the items contained therein. Do the same with the room of your house, a display window in a shop, or a detailed picture on a wall.
   
7. Review your thoughts
   —At the end of every hour, review what happened to you during the previous 60 minutes. This is a good practice for being mindful throughout the day, and should only take a few seconds. At the day’s end, mentally review all the events that happened to you throughout the day up to your present point. Memory gaps about your day’s events reveal unconscious moments.
   
8. Do crosswords and puzzles
   —Practice doing crosswords and word jumbles daily.
   
9. Play board games
   —Playing board games like Scrabble, Chinese Checkers, and especially Chess are very good for exercising the brain. Any game that requires you to use Math and language skills are tapping into those areas of your brain that may need some stirring.
   
10. Read riddle books
    and try to solve them. These also make good party icebreakers.
    

Some brainteasers and puzzles for practice:

1. M
ATCHSTICK PUZZLES:

(i) Change 3 matches to create 3 squares:

(ii) Change 2 matches to create 4 squares

2. L
OOK AT THE FOLLOWING IMAGES AND TRY TO WORK OUT THEIR FULL MEANING...

a.
Niagara Falls

b.

c.

d.

e.

f.

g.

h.

See the answers at the end of the chapter.

OBSERVATION SKILLS

One of the secrets to good memory is
observation.
To be able to observe better, you need to be attentive and focused. If you are not attentive, you can’t be observant and if you are not observant, you can’t have a good memory.

All of us wear watches. Without looking at your watch, recall whether at the 12 o’ clock position, your watch has digits, roman numbers, or simply dots. Can you recall what it is? Now quickly look at your watch. Were you correct? No? You look at your watch so many times a day but still can’t say for sure. The reason is that although we see the watch many a times, we don’t observe it.

We cannot remember anything if do not observe it carefully. It is the eyes that see. But it is the brain that interprets. Observation is really a matter of habit. Observing people and situations is an incredibly valuable tool to improve your concentration. It gives you the ability to notice subtle cues during conversations, job interviews, presentations, and anywhere else so you can react to situations more tactfully.

Many people must have witnessed an apple falling to the ground just as Newton did. However, Newton observed the instance keenly and thought about it, unlike others, who saw but did not observe. It was only due to Newton’s observation skills that he arrived at the laws of gravity.