How to Improve Your Working Memory

Our working memory is what we can recall from moments ago. Say you are at a party and there are a bunch of new faces you do not recognize. You introduce yourself to a few individuals and them to you and a few minutes later someone asks you if you know one particular individuals name and you draw a total blank. You knew you just heard it moments ago, yet you cannot recall it for the life of you. This is what is referred to as short-term memory loss, your working memory.

One can improve their short-term memory or working memory by use of mnemonics. Take the same scenario stated above regarding the short-term memory loss of a new name. If the same person upon introducing their self to the new face would have repeated the name of the individual back to them at introduction and then placed an association with that name mentally, their memory recall would have improved drastically. If the new persons name was April, the person with recall problems could have said “nice to meet you April” while mentally associating the name with April rain, April showers or another association that could be easy to recall.

Association makes recall easier but not only that; the desire to use a memory technique immediately starts to aid in memory improvement. Just the mere thought of consciously trying to associate the new name to another thing is registering in the brain as something of high importance; thus making recall simple.

Another great way to keep working memory sharp is by sharing the information just stored. Taking the same scenario as stated before, had the person learning the new name immediately introduced a spouse or friend to April using April’s name in the introduction would increase the working memory recall improving ones memory overall. Writing down new information can also be beneficial for some; however, it is not 100% effective for all. If you are one of those people who jots down notes everywhere yet fails to recall where you jot them down at, this technique would not be beneficial to you.