Have difficulties remembering something

Any information needs some time of your focused attention to be remembered. So just don't hurry and be concentrated on things and actions that you need to remember. It works for everything: for names and faces of people, for new words, for where you put your keys when you come home, for remembering that you turned off the gas before leaving, etc.

Choose supplements that contain vitamins B, C, E, beta carotene and omega-3 fatty acids. They are the best for improving your memory.

If your memory gives you really hard times, start a daily journal where you will write everything you did today and all things that you need to remember. Reread it often. After some time of using such technique you will train your memory enough and won't need the journal for remembering things.

Categorize big information in smaller parts and then learn each part. For example, if you need to learn 50 words, you can devide them in 5 groups that have similar specification (clothes, technologies, animals, etc.). It is much easier to learn 5 normal sized lists that the big one. You can do the same for phone numbers. For example, if the number is 483974680 it's easier to remember it in 4 parts 48 397 46 80. 

It's an advanced method. Assign a letter for each number from 0 to 9 (O=0, A=1, B=2, etc.), so if your girlfriend's birthday is 06/03 it will look like OFOC. Make a sentence from these letters like "Ocean Full Of Cakes", it will work better if your girlfriend loves cakes a lot, so you could remember "My girlfriend would love to visit an ocean full of cakes on her Birthday" and it will remind you of her birthdate.

The reason people become forgettable is because they carry too much chaotic information in their heads, meditation really helps to transform this chaos in your head into a logically assorted archive. Regularly practice meditation and it will help your brain to work better and it will improve your memory as well. 

Some foods can really help you with your memory as they have a lot of elements that your brain needs, add them to your diet. Here is the list of the best ones: wholegrains, walnuts, oily fish, broccoli, pumpkin seeds, blueberries, blackberries, cherries, tomatoes.

There are not so many books about human's memory and ways of improving it. But here are three really good ones: Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer, The Memory Book by Harry Korayne and Jerry Lucas, Unlimited Memory by Kevin Horsley. Choose the best one for you and read it, or even read them all, you can find a lot of helpful tricks and advices in each of them.

Being active and doing some sport exercises really help your brain to work it's best. So exercise regularly and it will help you to remember things.

Pair something you need to remember with a really odd picture in your head. For example, if you need to take your dog for a walk and to call your boss, imagine your boss carrying a huge retro phone in his hand and let your dog be on his head. Or if you need to buy in a store fish, milk and bread, imagine that fish is eating your bread while swimming in a milk river. The odder images are, the better you will remember them.

Get to know as much as possible about the person you've just met. Ask different (but appropriate) questions. If you know where they work or some other information that is quite interesting for you, there is a big chance that you will remember their name and face when you meet again.

You can make acronyms or funny sentences using the first letters of things you need to remember. For example, you have a list of groceries you need to buy which includes yoghurt, bread, water, potatoes and chocolate. You can make a sentence like "Your brother plays with chicken". The odder it is, the better you will remember it. Or if you need to buy bread, beer and some oranges, you can use just BOB for remembering it.

Make photos of things you don't want to forget with your mobile phone or another device that you always have with yourself. You can make a picture of your child's school timetable or of the closed door after leaving home, or where you put your purse, etc. It's easier to remember things if you combine them with some actions and even if you forget them you can always find pictures on your device.

It is hard to remember anything if you are stressed and don't sleep well. So have enough of rest, don't go to bed too late and try to avoid stress.

Where do you spend most of your time or what places you occupy regularly (your car, your kitchen table, your armchair, etc.)? Think of such place and mentally put what you need to remember to some kind of spot there. So, for example, once you see your favourite armchair you will remember that you need to call your friend.

It is easier to remember just one password than a lot of them. But there is a dark side as well, if someone gets to know the password from one of your acconts, they can use all of your other accounts as well.

Use the same rule for making different passwords. For example, you can use names of your family members and pets and add to them a year when they would be 20 years old. If your daugter's name is Angela and she will be 20 in 2021, the password will be Angela2021. Make the same with your partner's name, your pets' names, etc., so you will have several different passwords, but you won't need to remember them all, just remember how you made them up.

This way you will use 3 perception channels at once: you will write it, you will read it and you will say it. Don't forget to be concentrated as well, it will give you more chances to remember the information.

If you need to remember something, relate it with something you already know. For example, you've just met a girl named Kate, even if you don't have any other friends with the same name, you may know the actress named Kate Winslet, relate them mentally and the next time you see her Kate Winslet's face will apear in your mind and you will remember the name. Or if you have to remember a phone number, look at the numbers closely, maybe some of them remind you of something. For example the number is 1251587, 12 is your shoe size and 87 is the year when your brother was born, it will help you to remember the whole number.

If you need to remember someone's name try to make an easy and remindful rhyme for it. For example, when you've met Lisa for the first time, you were eating pizza. Lisa rhymes with pizza, so think to yourself "Lisa eating pizza" and the next time you see her it will appear in your mind.

Make an habit to put things on the same places all the time. So you will always know where to find them.

Explain something you need to remember to other people. It works better if you understand the information good.

They make learning words more fun and effective. You can write them yourself or just use this free service with a lot of mnemonics in different languages. 

Be attentive to the details of someone's face if you want to recognize it next time. Just scan the face of a person while communicating and find interesting details, maybe you've never seen such eyes colour before or there is a birthmark on a cheek, etc. The more you will notice, the better you will remember the face.

Memory is like a muscle that you need to train, so it will be strong. You can train it by learning poems and songs, choose the ones that you like, so it won't be boring. After some time of such practice you will be surprised how rarely you forget things you need to remember.

If you enjoy playing games on your computer or mobile phone, use it for training your memory. Choose the ones that are really helpful and fun, for example this one.

It's totally okay to forget some things, no one can remember everything. But if you are afraid that it can be something serious, read this article and see if there are real reasons for you to be worried. If there are some, better go to a doctor.

While the conversation with a new person use their name as often as possible. Repeating outloud always works wonderful for remembering.

Make notes to yourself and put them to places that catch your eye often. Those can be walls in your room, fridge, etc. You will see the information from your notes often, so you won't forget it.

Think of something you have to remember and combine it with some physical movement, like finger snap, for example. It is easier to remember information if it's associated with something else. 

If you can't leave your home because you are checking devices again and again and after leaving you need to go back and check that the door is closed and even then you are still worried that maybe you left the gas on, there is a big chance that your problem is not forgetfullness, but the obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Repeat the name inwardly while looking at the person you've just got to know, there is a big chance, that you won't forget it.

It's the oldest known mnemonic strategy which makes a visual filing system in your mind. With it you can memorize and recall a lot of things in an exact order. Read more about it here.

There are something like 60 popular female and male first names. So make a list of these names and for each of them make a picture association. There must be some reason for the association and it's totally okay if it will be odd. For example, Steve = long sleeve because they rhyme or Jack = sparrow because of Captain Jack Sparrow from the Pirates of the Caribbean. When you meet Jack for the first time, you picture him with a sparrow on his shoulder, or when you meet Steve, you picture him wearing a shirt with one really long sleeve. The next time you see them it will appear in your mind.

If someone says to you something important repeat it outloud, this way there will be more chances that you won't forget it.