Photo Credit: Suviko

Keeping our mind and memory sharp are critical not only to our everyday tasks, but also to our mental health. We all know the agony and frustration we go through when we misplace our keys or fail to recall the name of a very familiar person.

It is true that some people are born with a sharper memory, however, it does not mean that others cannot improve on their ability to remember things. Sometimes very simple and basic techniques can make a real difference in the way your memory works.

Following are some of the ways that can help enhance your memory and reduce the chances of forgetting stuff:

1. Write what you read

One of the simplest yet most effective tip, is to write stuff down. When you are writing something, you are repeating it in your mind multiple times. By the time you have finished writing a sentence, you have repeated it at least 2-3 times in your mind and there is a good chance it has moved from your short-term memory to your long-term memory. This also works really well because when we are writing something, we tend to play around with the words a little bit; this requires more attention than just hearing or reading and makes us more focused.

2. Association:

Our mind tries to remember things by sub-consciously associating it with things we already know. We can enhance this process by making conscious or active associations. A very common example of this is remembering birthdays. If a new person we just met shares his/her birthday with somebody we’ve known for a long time, we would always think of both the people when we think of either one of them.

Another example is that you met a guy name ‘Fred’; you immediately realized that your cousin who lives in Florida is also ‘Fred’. Now chances are that if you ever try to remember your new friend’s name, your mind would link it to your cousin and Florida and allow you to get to ‘Fred’.

I have a close friend with the phone number (xxx) – 2164572 and even though I always remember that his phone number has a 2,1,6,7,4 and a 5, I am never able to remember the order of these digits. One day I finally figured that each set of digits in his phone number sums up to 9 and now all i have to remember is the number 9 when i think of calling him. As soon as I do that, the correct order comes to my mind.

3. MNEMONICS / Acronyms:

Suppose you are back in your high-school trig class again and you have to remember this set of formulae:

Sine = Opposite ÷ Hypotenuse

Cosine = Adjacent ÷ Hypotenuse

Tangent = Opposite ÷ Adjacent

It will take you a few minutes to memorize these. But if I tell you to just remember the sentence “Silly Old Hitler Couldn’t Advance His Troops Over Africa”, it would become much easier to remember.

These MNEMONICS are commonly used in Mathematics for memorization, however, they can be used in our daily life just as easily. Suppose you have to get 4 items from the grocery store, Milk, Apples, Rice and Soda; you can easily increase your chances of remembering these by repeating RAMS or MARS to yourself a few times. Then even if you forget the individual items, you would still remember the number of items and their starting alphabet.

4. Reverse Thinking:

Every night just before I go to sleep, I try to think about the major events of the day. But instead of starting with the morning, I start with the last thing I did and go back in time till I get to the beginning of the day. I have felt this to be a really good exercise because it is somewhat different than our regular mode of thinking and it allows us to use our mind in a slightly different and more challenging manner.

It comes in very handy if you have misplaced something few minutes ago and you are trying to think where you put it.

5. Foods that help:

There are certain foods which are known to make your brain sharper and healthier:

Blueberries: Blueberries are known to reduce the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s. The anti-oxidants in them help your brain function correctly and according to some people also increase your learning ability and motor skills.

Almonds: A handful of almonds daily have a lot of nutrients like B-Vitamin, Magnesium and certain protiens that power many brain processes. These are my personal favorite as I always used them during the exam weeks. One of the suggested methods is to put them in a bowl of water overnight, and eat them the next morning after peeling their skins off.

Green Tea: Besides reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, green tea is known to boost dopamine levels and lower the chances of cognitive impairment.

Other foods like salmon, sardines, oats and walnuts also help a lot in reducing brain inflammation and protecting it from harmful radicals. The stronger your mind would be, the easier it would be to remember things.

Conclusion:

These are just some of the things we can do to improve our memory. None of them requires a lot of time or effort to implement. If we gradually embed them in our daily routines, we will see a significant difference in our memory.

Photo Credit: MarcelGermain

In my effort to simplify my lifestyle, I needed to understand the concept of Simplicity in detail and that is how I came across these beautiful thoughts. Even though, I don’t agree with some of them, they are still a great source of inspiration and knowledge as they offer diversified and conflicting perspectives.

You will find that some of these people are actually not big fans of simplicity(#3, #28) while others have a varying opinion on what simplicity is. Still, I believe that each one of them gives us something to think about and helps us build our perspective about the concept.

1. John V. Cheney

The happiest heart that ever beat Was in some quiet breast That found the common daylight sweet, And left to Heaven the rest.

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2. John Morley

Simplicity of character is no hindrance to the subtlety of intellect.

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3. Eugene Delacroix

A taste for simplicity cannot last for long.

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4. Charles Mingus

Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity.

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5. Henry David Thoreau

Our life is frittered away by detail… Simplify, simplify, simplify! … Simplicity of life and elevation of purpose.

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6. Richard Halloway

Simplicity, clarity, singleness: these are the attributes that give our lives power and vividness and joy.

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7. Anonymous

Simplicity is making the journey of this life with just baggage enough.

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8. Eleanor Roosevelt

A little simplification would be the first step toward rational living, I think.

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9. Hans Hofmann

The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.

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10. Confucius

Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.

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11. Socrates

The fewer our wants, the nearer we resemble the gods.

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12. William Hazlitt

Simplicity of character is the natural result of profound thought.

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13. Anatole France

Simple style is like white light. It is complex, but its complexity is not obvious.

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14. Jon Franklin

Simplicity, carried to an extreme, becomes elegance.

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15. Sir Joshua Reynolds

Simplicity is an exact medium between too little and too much.

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16. Jessie Sampter

Simplicity is the peak of civilization.

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17. Larry Eisenberg

For peace of mind, we need to resign as general manager of the universe.

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18. Willard Gibbs

The whole is simpler than the sum of its parts.

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19. Steven Wright

You can’t have everything; where would you put it?

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20. Leonardo da Vinci

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

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21. Wu-Men

If you mind isn’t clouded by unnecessary things, This is the best season of your life.

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22. Lin Yutang

Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone.  The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials.

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23. Albert Einstein

Things should be as simple as possible, but not simpler.

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24. Gandhi

Live simply, so others may simply live.

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25. Vernon Howard

You have succeeded in life when all you really want is only what you really need.

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26. Norman Vincent Peale

We struggle with the complexities and avoid the simplicities.

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27. George Meredith

Perfect simplicity is unconsciously audacious.

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28. Norman Hartnell

I despise simplicity. It is the negation of all that is beautiful.

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29. Lao Tzu

Manifest plainness, embrace simplicity, reduce selfishness, have few desires.

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30. Alan Perlis

Simplicity does not precede complexity, but follows it.

My personal favorites are #24 and #29. I understand that since simplicity is a concept, it is a very subjective thing, but I do believe that no matter how you define simplicity, it only brings you more strength and greatness.

Being productive has a lot to do with your state of mind and your surroundings. Both of these factors are heavily influenced if you have a lot of clutter around you. We can definitely cleanup our room and shelve our books to de-clutter our surroundings, but we often overlook the importance of de-cluttering our technology.

I hope these tips would help you as they have helped me:

1. Clean Your Desktop:

Your desktop is the first thing you look at when you start your computer. If you have a clean , pleasant looking desktop, you will want to sit on your computer more and be more focused. Here are some tips to do that:

• Delete unused Icons (that includes all those shortcuts that you use rarely).
• Create Folders (I try to avoid putting any file on my desktop. If it’s not relevant to any existing folder, I put it in the ‘other’ folder).
• Use a soothing background theme or wallpaper (something that relaxes you).

Your browser is probably the first application you use. It might look clean to you, but you will be amazed on how some small things can make your browser add to your focus:

• Create folders for your bookmarks. I know Chrome and Firefox have this feature built-in.
• Delete bookmarks that you rarely use. Instead email them to yourself and put them in a special folder.
• Make sure you like the font you are using. Many people don’t know that you can chose the font and font size for your browser.
• Use a theme. There are hundreds of themes for firefox and a number of skins available for Internet explorer. Use one that will make you relax.

3. Clean Your Inbox:

If you are like me, you spend a lot of time checking your email. Cleaning up your inbox is probably one of the most important things you can do to put your mind at ease:

• Take action on every new mail. Read it, delete it or put it in a folder. Leaving unread emails in your inbox always keep the “oh i still have to take care of those emails” in the back of your mind and adds to your unrest.
• Minimize widgets. I have a long list of labels and google docs on my gmail, but I always keep these widgets minimized to de-clutter.
• Group similar labels by using colors. It will make finding information super easy.

I know these aren’t huge things but you will see and feel a significant difference in your productivity if you implement these changes.