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How to remember phone numbers

How to remember phone numbers

If you are like many people, you probably don’t remember many phone numbers.

I mean, why do we need to anymore? In a convenient world with smartphones and the internet it can feel like there is no need to memorise anything.

However, there are good reasons. One is memory health (see this blog). Another is when our convenience fails us, like a flat battery, or a lost or broken device.

In moments like these, where you’re caught without your phone in a sticky situation, a Telstra payphone could be your much-needed lifeline. In Australia, Telstra, is our largest telecommunications provider and operates a network of over 14,000 payphones across the country. The best part, these community payphones are completely free for all national calls to both mobiles and standard landlines (plus over 3,300 of them also offer free Wi-Fi access!), so you don’t need any change or phone cards to use them.

But to use them without your mobile phone’s stored contacts…

You need to be able to remember a phone number!

This is where memory techniques can help.

I’ve teamed up with Telstra to create a simple hack to help get Aussies remembering phone numbers again. Our aim is to encourage the nation to rediscover the value of remembering important phone numbers.

You can learn the Chop, Swap and Don’t Stop memory hack on the Telstra Blog and how to video.

Want to get good at memorising quickly? Take a look at my step by step Master Your Memory course. If you need a bit more guidance Master Your Memory Plus includes one on one memory coaching.

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For exam success, use a memory palace

For exam success, use a memory palace

Ace your exams

When it comes to preparing for exams, a memory palace can be your best friend. They serve as mental filing systems, aiding in information retention and help your brain organise your learning.

This blog is aimed at an intermediate level, so if you yet haven’t heard of memory palaces, check out this quick blog and video first.

Why memory palaces are an essential tool for your exams

In its basic form a memory palace is a mental construct where you “store” information in sequential locations in an imaginary place.

It is a particularly useful technique when you need to remember a sequence of items, but here are a heap of reasons to use them as well.

1.Memorise information in order

When you use a memory palace you are naturally remembering the information in an order. Make sure you take advantage of this! If you are ever memorising information, question before you begin if it would help to order the information differently. It might be you can order the information from date, size, etc. Taking this time at the start will maximise your learning.

2.Memory Palaces ensure a complete answer

Memory palaces do more than sort information in order – they are excellent tools to ensure you don’t miss any crucial details, even when order isn’t important.

Example: Remembering famous scientists and their contributions

Imagine your exam question is to provide details about various famous scientists and their contributions. You rely on your memory palace to retrieve the information. Each room in your home has a different scientist and their contributions. As you write your exam you may feel you have not covered every example from class. Simply walk around (mentally) each room in your childhood home, following the path you used inside each room. If for example you notice something missing from the room of Albert Einstein, it will prompt you to review your answer and include the missing fact for full marks.

Had this information not been placed in a memory palace you may well have left the exam with a niggling feeling you had missed some details.

Remember, the quality of your exam answers are only as good as the information you have memorised. So take the time at the start to make sure what you are memorising is what you need to know. Once you really know how to use memory palaces this preparation is actually the most important step. And, while we are at it – even if the exam doesn’t need it – you could add ‘free’ information by ordering the scientists by year : )

3.Improved understanding of related topics

Memory palaces can be used to link related topics or concepts. This approach helps you visualize relationships between different pieces of information, making it easier to understand and recall how they fit together.

Think of it as like a mind map. For example, you may have a memory palace with rooms of famous scientists and their contributions. In another separate palace you have rooms full of in-depth information about the theory of relativity. While creating the Albert Einstein room in the first palace a visual image code was added to recall his development of the theory of relativity. If you use this same image ‘code’ in the second theory of relativity palace, your recall will be likely to effortlessly connect this to the roomful of information about Albert Einstein. These added associations help strengthen the understanding of connections and deepen the recall.

For a massive project (such as studying for a legal bar exam) you can have a whole memory city, not just a palace. Do some city planning before you begin. Here you have Tort Law Terrace and there is Family Law Lane 😊.

4.Reduce study time and therefore improved understanding

Like all effective mnemonic techniques, memory palaces can massively reduce the time spent on traditional rote learning and reviewing, in particular during initial memorisation. They work because people are generally good at remembering places they have been and pathways they have taken. Recall is enriched by scaffolding new information onto some location that is well known. This saves a lot of time, allow time for deeper comprehension and applying problem-solving to the material.

5.Convenient study material

This one is actually a biggie for me. Stuck somewhere boring without your study materials? (ie like in a dentist’s chair). This used to drive me nuts and feel like a waste of time. But it is easy to pull out the palace you need to review in your mind and get going. If you have any blanks, look them up when you get home.

6.Reduced anxiety and stress

This is also a biggie for me! The confidence that comes with knowing you’ve effectively memorised your study material can significantly reduce exam anxiety and stress. Memory palaces provide a systematic study approach that boosts self-assurance.

7.Long-term retention

The information stored in a memory palace can be retained for an extended period. This is especially helpful for exams covering a broad range of material, such as final exams or standardised tests. This technique aids in long-term memory retention beyond the immediate exam. You will still need spaced reviews of the palace contents to cement it as long-term learning.

8.Quickly differentiate information that’s otherwise hard to recall

Using different palaces to represent groupings can be very useful. This is best explained with a language example. Select any language with grammatical gender – masculine or feminine. Looking for which particle to use for a particular vegetable? If it is a masculine vegetable, you could place the foreign word (when first learned) in your brother’s kitchen. If it is a feminine particle, you will find it at your sister’s place in her kitchen.

9.Adaptability and use of a range of learning styles

Memory palaces are versatile and can be adapted to suit various learning styles, catering to both visual and spatial learners. Whether you’re a visual thinker or someone who benefits from tactile memory, memory palaces can be tailored to your preferences. You can store objects, actions, any of your senses, or even feelings to represent the information you are learning.

10.Active engagement with material

Creating and navigating a memory palace is an active and engaging process that requires focused attention. This hands-on approach encourages active learning, which is more effective than passive reading or highlighting. The fact that it is fun also helps to keep up the memorising mojo.

11.Improved exam strategy

Memory palaces can provide a strategic advantage by helping you to structure your exam responses. By mentally walking through your palace with its ordered information, you ensure you include all the necessary details in your answers. If you have spent time thinking and organising your information before memorisation it will lead to a more comprehensive and organised response than you could provide normally under time pressure.

Exploring Memory Palaces Further

Ok, so clearly I am a fan of the memory palace. I hope that you become one too. Read more about them here and here, and watch this video. And practice, practice.

If you are not sure how to use one for your learning situation, I’d love to hear from you!

Want to get good at memorising quickly? Take a look at my step by step Master Your Memory course. If you need a bit more guidance Master Your Memory Plus includes one on one memory coaching.

 

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Remember Ballet Terminology

Remember Ballet Terminology

Memory techniques that help teachers help students remember

Being able to remember ballet terminology and syllabus is no small feat (pardon the pun). French ballet terms need to be learnt together with the intricacies of the syllabus exercises, tempo and style.  This can be understandably overwhelming for student and teacher alike.

However, there’s a practical solution to this challenge: memory techniques. These techniques can help both students and dance teachers tackle the task of memorising ballet terminology and syllabus exercises effectively and with confidence, be it in Vaganova, RAD, Cecchetti or any other style.

The French terminology, with its poetic and precise expressions, carries a rich history that adds to the elegance of ballet. Yet it also introduces an element of complexity that can overwhelm young dancers.

But here’s the good news: simple and effective memory techniques can truly help students conquer the challenge of ballet terminology with confidence and grace.

In this blog we will explore the use of memory techniques by teachers to help students master ballet terminology and also assist them with the movements themselves. Memory techniques can also make it easier to learn the precise counts and sequences for each exercise in each grade – I intend to make this the topic of a later advanced blog.

Remembering ballet terminology

Let’s explore helping students to memorise ballet terms with an example using 5 common ballet steps.

The technique used here is similar to memory techniques used for remembering any new word. In this video covering learning new words and their definitions, we attached a visual image that represented the definition to an image representing the sound of the word.

For dance terminology, this changes slightly. We will create a story that encompasses the movement and a key correction and represents the sounds of the word – and then attach that story to the movement.

For ease of explanation, I will assume that the reader is a ballet teacher and knows the below steps but wants to help young students initially remember ballet terminology.

Note the images made here are to assist a student with learning to recognise the step when hearing them said, not read. So the images chosen ‘sound’ a bit like what they would hear. If one was learning these steps for a written exam the images chosen would need to assist in spelling the step.

In each instance you tell the student the points to note in the move and also mention that the name is in these corrections.

Plié:

Please bend your knees and to get an A grade keep your knees over your toes.

Tendu:

Really use your foot along the floor as you extend your foot out…like you are wiping off a ton of dog doo (poo)

Rond de Jambe:

Imagine you’re drawing a big round circle on the floor around a pond with your extended leg. You want to make sure you keep the circle even and not cut into the pond, otherwise a alligator may chomp your leg (said with the correct accent chomp sounds a bit like Jambe)

Arabesque:

Your supporting leg and all the way up through your spine should be as straight as an arrow, this is the best.

Glissade:

Glide across an iced-over pond, don’t land hard or the ice may crack. (Even though the word ice sounds different to the correct pronunciation the explanation and the similarity in the sound will help students learn the term.)

 

Test and engage students

In later classes when you are testing students on terminology, show the move and then ask if they remember what they should think of. Then ask them what the step is called.

You can make up your own images to match your own common corrections for a set of students. With a bit of practice, it can be quite fun to play with coming up with images that help describe what students should be thinking of, that also reminds them of the name of the movement. Student participation in idea generation is also engaging and entertaining.

This technique assists the student to remember both your physical corrections and the names of the steps.

For an example of using a similar technique to remember Taekwondo terminology see this video.

Mastering ballet terminology is a critical step for dancers, but it needn’t be too hard. Associating mental images with the terminology of movement can make learning faster and more enjoyable.

So why not give it a go – memory techniques can be the best dance partner for your students.

 

 

 

Want to get good at memorising quickly? Take a look at my step by step Master Your Memory course. If you need a bit more guidance Master Your Memory Plus includes one on one coaching.

 

 

Unlocking the power of memory: at any age

Unlocking the power of memory: at any age

Fun Ways to Keep Your Mind Sharp as You Grow Older

Aging is inevitable. As my husband says, it sure beats the alternative.  But a gradual decline in our health and faculties as we age is not entirely ‘inevitable’. We can do something about it, in fact we can do a lot about it.

Exercise and aging

As we age we need to keep moving. It is well known that putting regular exercise and good sleep into our daily routine goes a long way to keeping us young. Strength, agility and mobility are all improved by even a small dose of exercise, especially aerobic (1). Being fit also helps prevent and recover from non communicable diseases, and being physically inactive is the highest modifiable risk factor for a wide variety of chronic diseases (2). And don’t forget its been proven that physical exercise also directly helps your memory (6).

So a little regular exercise is a must. Just don’t tell my husband, who is of the firm belief that running is only for those being chased. Although to be fair he will walk (under duress).

Eating and aging

And as we age what we eat continues to matter. A lot. Research has repeatedly confirmed that eating more plants leads to increased health and a longer lifespan. Fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds should be at the front, centre and end of the menu.(3) And highly processed foods are robbed of most nutrition and have unhealthy additives, so less processed and more whole is the secret sauce.

Mental health and aging

Our mental health often takes a hit as we age. Over 20% of adults aged 60 and over suffer from a mental or neurological disorder. The older we are, the more susceptible we are to dementia and depression (4). But there’s plenty of simple areas that can help here. Eating well and getting regular exercise does a lot to support mental health, as does new learning, socialisation, play, mindfulness and getting some sun on your face.  And its not all bad – studies show that older people have experience which gives a ‘wiser’, more measured understanding and perspective.

What about our memory? Does that inevitably fade, with recall becoming less sharp and new information harder to learn?

Memory decline with age is common. This occurs in declarative memory, which is learned facts and information, as well as our working memory, which is the ability to hold a piece of information in mind. It is true that our brain changes with age and its volume drops. This especially effects the hippocampus, an area deeply involved in learning and memory. But neuroscientists are learning our brains remain relatively “neuroplastic” even as we age – we continue to be able to reroute neural connections and can still adapt and learn (5). So we can improve our memory at any age.

Why Memory Matters

First things first, why should you care about your memory and try to improve it? Because memory is the superhero of the mind. Memory informs our thoughts and words, guards all of our experience and understanding and allows us to continue lifelong learning and growth. Without memory, life would be like reading a book and forgetting the plot every few pages. So lets get cracking on building the strongest memory we can : )

Memory Training: A Workout for Your Brain

Memory training is analogous to a fitness regimen for your brain. It encompasses exercises and techniques that enhance memory retention and recall. However, the benefits extend far beyond mere memory improvement; they encompass broader cognitive health and emotional well-being. It’s a win-win-win.

Let’s explore some potent memory training techniques I use with memory coaching students.

The Memory Palace

Visualize a familiar place, such as your home. In your mind walk a pathway through your home while placing objects along the way – these images represent what you need to remember. This mental map works brilliantly, as long as you really visualise the image of object you are using and know your pathway well. Create imaginative movement or a story for each image to really cement it in your memory.   Then you can simply take a walk in your mind though your palace and the items will spring to mind – viola!

Memory palaces are the core of many memory techniques, and well worth getting familiar with. The power of our spatial and visual recall is astonishing and this technique directly taps into that strength.

Learn more and try a shopping list example in my detailed Memory Palace blog here.

Training program for beginners:

  • 3 times a week write down a list of 15 to 20 words and use this technique to remember them in order. Can you re use a palace? Read this blog.
  • Start with lists of easy to visualise items, such as your shopping list.
  • Once you are able to remember the entire list move to more complex words, like ‘cuddle’ or ‘stormy’. Its all the same technique, just more imagination is needed to create the image.
  • As you get better increase the length of the lists.
  • Test your recall in front of friends – it adds weight to the practice, and can be seriously impressive!

Names and Faces

Names have forever been hard to remember. I used to be atrocious at recalling them, and shied away from using new names at social events as a result. Once I learnt this technique, I’ve become quite the social butterfly, much to the chagrin of my name-challenged Hubbie : )

There are a few steps:
1.         When you meet a new person, first pause and listen for their name when they tell you, while concentrating on it. Doing this is surprisingly hard.
2.         Convert that name into an image and really visualise it. Whatever makes a connection to you. Bella would be a bell (of course), and James may be a train made of Jam, and so on. It needs to match the name somehow, anyway that makes a connection to you.
If you already know someone with that name it is even easier. Say Harry reminds you of a friend, who has a beard. You could use Harry’s beard as the image.
3.         Find a feature on their face or head that is distinctive to you – the thing about them you first notice. Maybe they have big ears or beautiful full lips.
4.         Then imagine your name image stuck on or coming out of that face feature! So a Jam train might be choo-chooing into the tunnel of their ear, or a bell is attached to their lip and tingles daintily when they speak. The more silly it is the more memorable it will be.

Then the next time you see them, simply look for their stand-out feature and your name image will likely pop into your mind. (Or come chuffing out of their ear puffing out clouds of jam.)

You can find more detail and examples in my names and faces blog here.

Training program for beginners:

  • Every day remember the names of 2 new people, for instance someone you see on the news or in the paper.
  • You don’t need to know their real name to practice – when you see a new face you can invent a name for them and practice this technique to pin that name to that face.
  • Once you have practiced and can do this fairly quickly, step up the number of faces you label each day.
  • Find a list of names, for instance on the internet or social media, and try to think of a memorable image that represents each name. This is great preparation for when you meet someone carrying that name.

Learn a new thing

Try to learn a new thing each week. Anything new presents a mental challenge and a learning opportunity. This can be a simple task – it doesn’t need to be attending college.
For example:

  • Take a different path on your regular walk or travels
  • Go to a different shopping centre
  • Read a book or article of a type you wouldn’t normally
  • Try to brush your teeth with the wrong hand!
  • Challenge yourself to learn a new word in a different language every day.
    Use memory techniques to help you do this. Create an image (or combined images) that sounds like the word, and combine that with the meaning of the word. Eg Libro is Spanish for book, so you might see a pair of Levi jeans saying ‘Bro, check out this book’ while offering you… a book.
  • Learn a new game and teach it to someone and play it. Eg a new card game. Teaching is one of the strongest paths to learning, and play is important 😊

Empower others with your newfound memory mastery. Teach your friends and family the memory techniques you’ve acquired, enabling them to join your memory training journey.

As we get older there is plenty we can do to strengthen our memory and mental health. It can be a lot of fun, and who doesn’t appreciate a challenge? Even my husband agrees.

Want to get good at memorising quickly? Take a look at my step by step Master Your Memory course. If you need a bit more guidance Master Your Memory Plus includes one on one memory coaching.

 

REFERENCES

(1)        Bai, X. et al. (2022). Aerobic exercise combination intervention to improve physical performance among the elderly: A systematic review, Frontiers in physiology, 12. Available at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2021.798068/full

(2)        Warburton, D.E.R., Nicol, C.W. and Bredin, S.S.D. (2006). Health Benefits of Physical activity: the Evidence. Canadian Medical Association Journal, [online] 174(6), pp.801–809. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.051351

(3)        Forbes Health. (2023). These Foods Can Help You Live Longer, But Americans Aren’t Eating Enough. Here’s How To Easily Increase Your Intake, According To Experts. [online] Available at: https://www.forbes.com/health/body/plant-based-diet-longevity

(4)        World Health Organization (2017). Mental health of older adults. [online] Who.int. Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-of-older-adults

‌(5)        Wnuk, A. (2019). How the brain changes with age. [online] Brainfacts.org.
Available at: https://www.brainfacts.org/thinking-sensing-and-behaving/aging/2019/how-the-brain-changes-with-age-083019

(6)    Fairbank, R. (2022). New Study Strengthens the Link Between Exercise and Memory. The New York Times. [online] 7 Oct 2022. Available at:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/07/well/move/exercise-memory.html

 

 

 

 

Want to get good at memorising quickly? Take a look at my step by step Master Your Memory course. If you need a bit more guidance Master Your Memory Plus includes one on one coaching.

 

 

Remember numbers using memory techniques

Remember numbers using memory techniques

There’s a reason phone numbers are made as short as possible. We struggle to remember more than around 7 digits*, so a new phone number is just within our capacity to quickly remember. But we all can use simple memory techniques that make it easy to memorise phone numbers, long strings of numbers or even pages of digits. And these techniques were in use millennia before telephones were invented.

Why do we struggle to remember numbers?

Numbers on their own are abstract – they don’t exist as a natural object. Numbers are an invented human system. It is hard for our mind to capture and remember abstract concepts without any concrete association. The same problem exists with names, another abstraction created by our inventive, social minds.

Can memory techniques help to memorise numbers?

Memory techniques create an association for hard-to-remember abstract numbers with something concrete and memorable – an entertaining image and movement filled story. This simple concept taps into the strongest areas of our memory, where we naturally remember imagery and spatial details.

The techniques are scaffolding or attaching new number information onto images and movements that you already know.

What memory technique do you use and is it hard to learn?

A code that links each number to an image and a movement.

As with reading, for numbers you first need to learn an ‘alphabet’ – a number memory code. When we first learn to read it is a struggle to recognise this new but with practice you quickly become proficient and will gain a valuable life skill.

There is a bit of upfront effort here, but I have seen with my memory students that anyone can get a great memory for numbers reasonably quickly. It’s also great training for your focus and is very stimulating. It is fun.

Best of all – it really works.

Let’s learn an example number memory code

The first step to being able to remember numbers is to create and learn a number code.

How complex your code needs to be depends on a few questions. How much time can you put in during the learning phase? How long are the strings of numbers you want to regularly remember?

Below is an example of a basic number memory code of just 10 images so you can quickly understand how it works. This small system can be memorised very quickly – in even half an hour. Yet I have seen memory students be able to accurately recall hundreds of numbers in one night using it.

You can easily make your own system and swap out any of these images to one that is easier to remember for you. I will also expand in further blogs on how to create your own system that is bigger, quicker and less repetitive.

Read through the following table.

Notice as you read it that the image has been chosen in part because it ‘looks’ at least a little like the shape of the number. Each number in this code has two parts – an image and a movement.

Number Image Movement
0 Plate Spinning
1 Candle Wick bursts into flame
2 Swan Swimming in water
3 Triangle Triangle shape is drawn
4 Flamingo Flapping Wings
5 Hand Giving a high five
6 Golf club Swings through the air
7 Knife Chopping
8 Snowman Being built
9 Snake Slithering up out of a hole

 

Using the number code

Learning and using such a simple code is easy, just follow these steps:

1. Read through the list a few times and strongly visualise each image and its movement.

2. Look away from the list and test yourself by running through the numbers 0 to 9.
For 0 you should see a plate spinning mad fast, for 1 a candle with the wick bursting into flame,…for 8 a snowman being built one snowball at a time and so on.

3. Start to combine the codes. This step is important to grasp.

When you read any number break it into groups of 2 digits. Then translate the 2 digits in the following way:

– The first digit becomes the image for that digit.
– The second digit becomes the movement for that digit.

Let’s try this in action

If you read the number 80 you translate it into a snowman spinning :

– the first digit is 8 – the image for 8 is a snowman
– the second digit is 0 – the movement for 0 is spinning

A 49 is a pink flamingo (4) slithering up out of the ground (9).
A tricky thing to do – but very memorable : ) Careful, does it bite ?

And 42 is a pink flamingo (4) swimming in water (2).  (Or the meaning of life, of course)

Note that if you get two of the same digits, say 11, you simply see the original code – a candle (1) where the wick bursts into flame (1).

Try to visualise a few sets of two digits now.  Test yourself with 89, 77, 31, 90, 45 and 62.

Note, every object can be ‘alive’ and there are no set rules. Ie. a snowman can fly, and a golf club can give a high five. In fact, the more ridiculous you make these mental cartoons the easier they are to remember.

As with anything the more you practice the faster you become. And don’t feel disheartened if there are points where you struggle. Sticking with our alphabet analogy you have learnt the letters of the alphabet for the first time and are spelling out the word C…A…T.

Now follow along below and see how you go with a longer string of numbers.

Example of how to use memory techniques to remember 12 numbers

If you are like most people and I give you 12 random digits 004163579585, chances are you would not quickly remember them, as they mean nothing to you. In fact, if you are like I used to be you would have simply skimmed over them.

Let’s now read those same digits with our code filter applied to create the following tale.

Notice here to remember longer strings of numbers we ‘chunk’ the information into groups. Every 2 digits are an image (as we practiced above), but we now will group 6 numbers together in one ‘story’.  Story One is 004163 and story Two is 579585.

Really try to visualise what you are reading and add as much cognitive processing of the story and senses as you can. Make it real, question what it actually looks like and why this story may be happening and how it would feel in real life.

If you know how to use a memory palace you can place each chunked story in a new loci in the palace. Using a memory palace provides a strong path for your stories and extends your ability to remember a list of numbers to be nearly unlimited. If you don’t know how to use memory palaces, you can check them out here.
But you don’t need a memory palace for 12 digits in 2 stories – it should stick without problems.

Story One

  • 00  A dinner plate is spinning
  • 41 On the middle of this spinning plate is a pink flamingo holding a candle.
    The poor flamingo looks sick from dizziness and the flame of the candle is flickering
  • 63 A golf club bravely tries to come to the rescue of the flamingo. To  stop the plate spinning by moving around the plate and carefully touching the edge of the edge, forming a triangle shape in the air as it moves.

Just next to this story (or at the next location in your memory palace) you see a second side story:

Story Two

  • 57 A hand is busily chopping some vegetable for dinner.
  • 95 A snake approaches with its hand held up ready to give a high five (yes, I know snakes don’t normally have hands). The snake’s hand gets chopped off by the knife as it passes and blood splatters out
  • 85 A snowman standing idly by gets splattered with the snake blood, but it doesn’t mind. It holds up its hand ready to give the knife a high 5 (for stopping the snake).

To recall the numbers

1. Go back and see if you can see story one and two. Don’t worry about the number translation at this stage, just see if the images and story are there accurately. If you have issues at any point, go back and read it again, really visualise it and then try again. If your issues persist, problem solve it – for example perhaps you confuse the golf club that creates a triangle around the plate – because that’s not a good way to stop it spinning.  In that case look at the story and note the frustration on the golf club’s head because it is not able to stop the plate – it just bounces off each time. Try again with this stronger image.

2. Once you have the stories in your head try to say or write out the numbers while visualising the images. While you are new to the code this is a bit tricky but keep focussing on the rule that the first digit in every two is the image and the second digit is the movement. In time this translation will become second nature.

Voila! Suddenly, a more memorable 004163579585.

Practice your number code to become fast

After you have created your code, get to know it inside out, so that it is second nature to remember it. Practice is the secret sauce. The first ten digits should be memorised in a few sessions, followed by a quick revision daily to cement it.
You may wish to double your efficiency by learning a larger code, for example a 2 digit code of the numbers from 00 to 99. Then try to learn 10 numbers daily and practice recalling them throughout the day.

If you would like to see another example showing this same code in use, follow this video and memorise 20 digits of Pi.

Is it worth it?

Having learnt to remember numbers as an adult, I strongly feel that every child should be taught in primary school how to use and practice their own number memory code. By the time they are adults they would all be able to easily remember numbers that are hundreds of digits long, a skill they would keep for the rest of their lives.

As adults, learning and using these techniques sharpens our mind and puts a spring in our mental step.

And for those who work in finance or any field where knowing numbers would be beneficial, becoming proficient with numbers is a no brainer way to become a super brain at work.

Whatever your background, a bit of effort up front to learn and practice a number code means you will have a powerful memory tool for life. Take advantage of your brain’s ability to remember images using already known associations.

And new phone numbers will be a breeze 🙂

Want to get good at memorising quickly? Take a look at my step by step Master Your Memory course. If you need a bit more guidance Master Your Memory Plus includes one on one coaching.

 

References:
(*) Miller, George, (1956) The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on our Capacity for Processing Information, Psychological Review 63, 81-97, http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Miller/

Memory hacks to remember your next holiday

Memory hacks to remember your next holiday

Looking back on holiday snaps can be a great hook to bring back more memories. They can act a bit like a memory palace where you can retrieve lots of other information. But be careful, you want to make sure that you are not just reliving the one moment in the photo.

What about this photo?

We were on our way to a country retreat property and to break up the journey, I decided a bit of Yoga was in order. In truth I was half trying to stretch out my body to ease the trip and half trying to show off to my partner. It was good, and funny, he was taking lots of photos and I felt like a movie star. Until… I got stuck. I spent the next few days pretending I had not pulled a hamstring.

But there is more for me to unpack in this photo, I seem to recall my hair was dirty (hence the hat) because we packed and left in a hurry. And I was worried that by taking a break we would be late to the destination where we were meeting our friends. I felt harried and frumpy and was desperate for a bit of attention and praise. That will teach me 😊.

There are even more stories that I could tell you about this photo, but I won’t bore you. The lesson is, question yourself about what else was going on leading up to and away from the moment of the photo.

So, what else can you do to make your next adventure unforgettable? I’ve teamed up with KAYAK to help you make more core memories on your next holiday. Read the KAYAK blog for more tips.

Note: This campaign is a paid partnership with KAYAK.

 

 

Want to get good at memorising quickly? Take a look at my step by step Master Your Memory course. If you need a bit more guidance Master Your Memory Plus includes one on one coaching.