People's names
Step1
Repeat the name when you first hear it: "Nice to meet you, Harold."
Step2
Think of a relative or friend who has the same name: "This fellow has the same name as Uncle Harry."
Step3
Make a mental joke about this person's name: "This fellow is quite bald to be named Harry." Keep the joke to yourself, though.
Step4
Find a melody or rhyme in the name, as both aid memory: "Anne Maureen plays the tambourine."
Step5
Ask the person to spell the name, if it is unique, to etch it into your memory.
Phone numbers
Step1
Look for a connection between the numbers and your life (ages, birth dates, number of siblings) to anchor it to your memory. Also see if the numbers resemble a historical date, such as 1492.
Step2
Find a formula that fits the number. For example, 347-8643 could be "3 plus 4 equals 7, and 1/2 of 8 and 6 are 4 and 3."
Step3
If you have a phone nearby, examine the keys to see if the phone number spells anything memorable.
Step4
Sing the number to a familiar tune until you've memorized it.
Birthdays and anniversaries
Step1
Fill in all important dates on a calendar at the beginning of every year. Hang the calendar in a prominent position and check it on a weekly basis.
Step2
Set up the reminders available on many e-mail systems so you receive an e-mail message to prompt you on an especially important day.
Step3
To remember the general time frame of a birthday, imagine the person in a costume appropriate to the birthday month. For example, imagine him or her in a pilgrim outfit if the birthday is in November or in leprechaun attire for a March baby.
Step4
Use your sense of smell to remember your wedding anniversary. If you got married in May, perhaps the scent of lilacs will remind you of that special day.
Comments
Anonymous said
on 11/22/2005 It is said that the best way to remember an anniversary or the birthday of a loved one is to forget it once.
Anonymous said
on 11/22/2005 I've found that if you use the new persons name in a sentence when you first meet them, it will set it in quite well. If you only see these people once in a while after that, it helps to use their name in a sentence once in a while. For instance instead of just saying "Hello" Say "Hello Joe Schmo". If you don't use the name though, you will forget it. It may seem a bit weird, but it works. While working at a Cub Scout camp, I was able to learn and use 50 kids names a week.
Anonymous said
on 11/22/2005 To help remember a phone number, use a web site like phonespell.com to see possible letter combinations - it's much easier than coming up with them yourself.
Anonymous said
on 11/22/2005 Once you have written it down, read it out loud. Now that you've seen it and heard it you somehow, remember it. This really works.
Anonymous said
on 11/22/2005 Purchase a perpetual calendar (one that does not link a particular date to the day of the week in any given month), preferably one with blank lines next to each day of the month for plenty of space to write in. Enter all the birthdays of your friends and family. Hang the calendar somewhere in your bathroom, along with a pen on a string. The benefits of this last step are twofold: First, you will always have plenty of chances to scan the calendar and see whose birthday is coming up. Second, when you have visitors, they will have the opportunity (should they use your bathroom) to fill in their birthday date, in case you have forgotten to mark it. I learned this idea in the Netherlands, where apparently it is a common practice, and many types of very pretty birthday calendars are available (expressly for this purpose) and sold in shops all over.