Tricks for Better Memory
Increase Short Term Memory

Memories are stored, retained and retrieved through associations (which can be enhanced by brain vitamins). We remember a past event because something currently in our awareness -- something we're looking at, hearing, tasting, thinking about, whatever -- reminds us of something, which reminds us of something else, which reminds us of something else and so on back. That's why recent events are easy to remember. The environment is still loaded with cues and the chain of events and details is short. Good memory, then, is all about processing information properly as it goes into storage. Psychologist William James summarized the fundamental principle in a single phrase: "The secret is … forming diverse and multiple associations with every fact we care to retain."

The following pointers work to increase short term memory, and best set the stage for transfer from short-term to long-term memory. They can help you work with particular facts and improve your general capacity to retain what you learn.

Pay attention. Paying attention (coupled with use of concentration pills) can significantly impact your ability to memorize something. Don't be multitasking when you're trying to learn or memorize something. Focus your attention on the details and nuances that make up individual pieces of information. Once you've done that, mentally step back to see if any overall patterns emerge, either by category or visually. Example: Let's say you have to memorize the locations and capitals of all 50 states. Individually, the information breaks down into a state-capital city pair. Geographically, the states are located relative to one another, so knowing which states border each other can help jog your memory. The shape of a state can also serve to jog the retention and retrieval of information about it. Let's take Florida and its resemblance to a hoofed leg. Florida's capital Tallahassee starts with the letter t and the "leg" has a toe and toe also starts with the letter t.

Rinse, repeat and use mnemonic devices. Directly after learning something, repeat it out loud a number of times. Depending on the information, decide to either break details down or cluster and chunk them and employ mnemonic devices when possible. Example: You can finesse the natural limit of short term memory by grouping items together and thinking of each group as a unit. Later, you can unpack those units. Remembering the numbers 5, 4, 6, 1, 9, 8, 6, 5 and 8 is harder than remembering the numbers 546, 198 and 658. For mnemonic devices, hook it to something funny. Example: Stalagmites or stalactites -- which ones go up? Well, it's like ants in your pants: The 'mites go up, the 'tites come down. Consider hooking it to a melody, chant, rhyme or rhythmic motion. Remember singing A-B-C-D-E-F-G to the tune of "Baa Baa Black Sheep"? How about: "In fourteen hundred and ninety-two/Columbus sailed the ocean blue"? Or try pacing rhythmically while memorizing a table of data.

Understand and apply. You can't remember what you don't know. The more completely you understand something, the less likely you are to forget it. You'll more readily remember terminology in a context and a framework. Example: Understanding and being able to explain the process of photosynthesis will help you remember all of the elements involved such as chlorophyll, chloroplasts, xylem, waxy cuticle, mesophyll, etc. and the roles they play.

Visualize and make associations. Search the information for some element you can turn into an image. If you've just met a Bridget Brooks and want to remember her name, you might picture the Brooklyn Bridge spanning her face from ear to ear. The more striking or ridiculous the image, the more likely it is to stick in your mind.

Make meaning. Nonsense is hard to remember. To make meaning where none inherently exists, the experts recommend embedding the information in an invented narrative. Example: In trying to retain the license plate 3PLY981, the following narrative can be generated as a mnemonic device. Three carpenters cut a piece of plywood into nine pieces and ate one. We all know that no one eats plywood, but that's actually a strength of using narratives in this case.

Associate the new with the old. Greek and Roman orators had a trick for remembering a speech. They would visualize and create a striking image for each topic they meant to cover and mentally put these images in the rooms that comprised their homes. When it came time to deliver the speech, they would picture themselves strolling through the rooms. As they were already familiar with the floor plans of their dwellings, the sequence and order of movement into each room would remind them of their next topic.