Thursday
Nov112010
Tip: How to remember things
Thursday, November 11, 2010 at 8:00AM
In an earlier post I spoke of the appearant collective dementia of corporations, so it's time to speak about solutions. How to remember as an individual:
Photo by Graham Crumb Flickr CC
Ian McKenzie has a good article on his blog, he lists the following:
Personally I specially like the guided tour and taking a fresh perspective. The guided tour is an old Roman trick, you would make up your favorite palace in your mind, then place objects related to your shopping list or speech throughout the property and thus making a mental ordered list.
Taking a fresh perspective is more than a tip, it is about curiosity, a crucial component of happiness and continuous improvement. To take a new route is to work, or finding an alternative place to walk the dog are fundamental for keeping you mentally alert, sharp and thus inspiring as a leader.
Another long-time favorite are the Mind Maps developed by Tony Buzan. They are simply great, many softwares, like freemind, can help you - even if they kind of defeat the purpose. While drawing by hand you create another neural pathway to the information and it is easier to remember, than by just seeing.
Nothing like the simple to-do list, but you need to capture the ideas. The objective is "Mind like Water", a zen koncept. The idea is that only when your mind is clear and calm like a pond at night reflecting the moon, only then can you react as fast as the surface when somebody throws a stone in the water.
When you try hard to remember you will forget, if you have systems you trust, your mind will calm down, be alert and prepared. Does this sound too esoteric? Or is it a possible way forward?
Photo by Graham Crumb Flickr CCPractical steps
Ian McKenzie has a good article on his blog, he lists the following:
Ditch your multi-tasking ways.
Stay organized.
Get hooked on mnemonics.
Try chunking items into smaller groups.
Take a guided tour. Another old but proven mnemonic device is the “method of loci.” This involves using a familiar route, e.g., the pathway through your home to your bedroom or the way to the corner store, as a way of remembering key details of a speech or the order of a complex task. Use each room or landmark on your journey to “signpost” different parts of the speech or each step of the process you need to remember.
Take a fresh perspective. Neurobics help exercise and strengthen underused brain pathways. Keep those brain synapses firing by taking a new route home from work, using your non-dominant hand to brush your hair, challenging yourself with a crossword puzzle or taking a class in a completely foreign field of study.
Stay active.
Eat right.
Personally I specially like the guided tour and taking a fresh perspective. The guided tour is an old Roman trick, you would make up your favorite palace in your mind, then place objects related to your shopping list or speech throughout the property and thus making a mental ordered list.
Taking a fresh perspective is more than a tip, it is about curiosity, a crucial component of happiness and continuous improvement. To take a new route is to work, or finding an alternative place to walk the dog are fundamental for keeping you mentally alert, sharp and thus inspiring as a leader.
Mind maps
Another long-time favorite are the Mind Maps developed by Tony Buzan. They are simply great, many softwares, like freemind, can help you - even if they kind of defeat the purpose. While drawing by hand you create another neural pathway to the information and it is easier to remember, than by just seeing.
Capture devices
Nothing like the simple to-do list, but you need to capture the ideas. The objective is "Mind like Water", a zen koncept. The idea is that only when your mind is clear and calm like a pond at night reflecting the moon, only then can you react as fast as the surface when somebody throws a stone in the water.
When you try hard to remember you will forget, if you have systems you trust, your mind will calm down, be alert and prepared. Does this sound too esoteric? Or is it a possible way forward?
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