You know the feeling: You walk into a room and forget why you went there. You can’t, for the life of you, remember where you put your phone. (Check your pocket or . . . in your hand.) And what the heck is the name of that new guy in accounting?
What makes us able to quote most of The Big Bang Theory’s third season, but more important facts and details seem to not stick? Neuroscientist Charan Ranganath, director of the Memory and Plasticity Program and a professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of California at Davis. Ranganath, also the author of Why We Remember: Unlocking Memory’s Power to Hold on to What Matters, says it’s a combination of factors that allow us to retain some information and filter out the rest.
“Forgetting is the universal human condition,” Ranganath says. There’s a trade-off between the vast quantity of information to which we are exposed and the quality of that information and its relevance to us. Improving memory is not about trying to hang on to every little experience, he says. “It’s more focused on grabbing what’s important and what really matters.” In that context, there are a number of things we can do to improve our memories and better retain what we need.
Here are four that might work for you:
Use your expertise as a filter
Humans can only hold about three or four pieces of information in our minds at once, researchers have found. One of the ways we hack that limitation is to “chunk” information to make it easier to remember. So, for example, we may “chunk” a phone number into a three-three-four sequence instead of trying to remember seven numbers, or use an acronym to prompt us to remember separate pieces of information. (For example: SMART goals: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound.)
In his book, Ranganath explains that when we are expert in an area, we have committed a great deal to memory and that allows us to quickly filter new information and identify manageable segments of information to “chunk” and remember more easily, rather than trying to recall everything that was covered. “Expertise allows you to quickly and efficiently find the best chunks,” he says.
Stay focused
To be aware of those new bits of information, however, requires focus. The downfalls of multitasking are well-documented. Humans are not good at it, in general. And every time you shift your focus from one thing to another, there’s a “switching cost,” Ranganath says. “That cost means that, attention-ally, we’re behind every time we switch from one thing to another. It’s like our brain is catching up,” he says.
He points out the difference between attention and intention. Attention is how our brain prioritizes what we are seeing, hearing, and thinking about. Intention can be used to guide our attention to focus on something in particular. A distraction—email messages, interruptions, etc.—may grab your attention away from what you’re intending to retain, which can undermine your memory by not staying focused on what is important in the moment. “We’re constantly switching the dial on what’s supposed to be important, [so] we’re getting these fragmented blurry memories of things that are going to be lost,” he says. Instead, focus on one thing at a time for the best retention.
Set up your environment for success
Your environment includes everything from your physical surroundings to how you’re notified about messaging and tasks. Taking time to eliminate “memory blockers” as much as possible can help you better remember what’s important. That may include finding ways to limit distractions in your workspace, choosing technology notifications carefully, and arranging your workspace and reminders to support what you need to remember, he says.
Use your senses
Sensory information also helps with memory, Ranganath says. Focusing on the sights, smells, sounds, and other sensory information in the moment can help create lasting memories. This approach can be especially helpful in locating misplaced items. So, if you’re trying to create a lasting memory, stop and take in all the sensory information you can, even momentarily. “Later on, when you need to find your keys, you’ll call to mind that sensory information that puts you back to that moment where you set them down,” he says.
Yes, that may seem impossible when you’re doing common, everyday things, but that’s also the point—if you’re chronically forgetting something, taking that extra time can provide a solution. And then when you’re trying to remember something, try to bring forth all the sensory information in that moment.
“The way to remember what’s important is for that memory to be distinctive and standout, just like if you had a desk and there’s just yellow Post-it notes everywhere,” he says. “But if you have a bright pink posted note . . . it’s going to be easy to find the pink one because it stands out.” The sensory information can be your pink Post-it note, he adds.
Pause and rest
Getting enough good sleep is also important for memory. In addition, taking breaks and pausing to reflect on the information you’ve taken in can also help memory. “These pauses are exceptionally important,” he says. Depending on the context, pauses let you strengthen a memory or prioritize the information you’re taking in, Ranganath says.
