Why do we Forget Things? Helpful Tips to Solve and Improve your Memory

From Pixabay

My first post about this one is the original one, but while on submission, I was having Transaction Broadcast Error. Now, the article are in three. I am so sorry for this one.

On my previous, I posted about me having problems with my memory. Even before I already have this. I laughed at it before because I was just at home all the time and memory lost for a minute is not something I like to deal with. People at home will always understand that I have memory problems that is why they are the ones that adjust, however, it is not the case at work.

It really bothers me now. The type of people that work especially here in the #Philippines should includes having assertiveness and alertness. They need proactive people because of the fast pace environment. Me, I am focus on my work. I know my work task, I can able to finish it, yet my number one problem is to remember what I did. I do remember what I did. I remember I emailed someone. I remember I had shipped some items to client. I remember reminding someone about something. I even remember that I talk to someone at work.

However, I don’t remember what I encoded. I don’t remember what I told to someone. I don’t remember what I emailed (but it differs when I only email short messages, of course, I will remember that). I don’t remember what I transacted when I had shipped lots of item. I even can complete the names of the clients I had transacted for a day.

It seems like a very shallow one but at work, it is something serious. Now, I consider my memory lost as a serious one. I am reading things that will able to help me solve it one by one. I really need to find a solution to this one as it affects my performance at work. It affects my reputation too. I am sure that there are people getting angry at me and soon they will treat me badly. Not all people at work could understand my problem. For sure they will say, if you have that problem, find a way to solve it, immediately!

I am doing everything to solve this one that is why I am here, I am posting this one, for everyone to be aware that I have this problem and if you are having the same problem, then you can leave a comment and help me.

On the process of helping myself to solve my issue, I watch YouTube and find some foods that will enhance my brain. I want something that I can eat regularly while working and it will help me to remember things.

But first, I want to know why I am experiencing this?

I learn that it is normal to forget things. Sometimes when you are not focus on something and when you are asked about it, normally you cannot answer the question exactly. You will mumble some words but inside you, you don’t know what you are talking about. I don’t remember where I put my pen too. My officemate will just tell me that I put it somewhere and when I check on it, it is there. I don’t remember everything I did in detail, like exactly what I did for today. My job requires knowing what you did every day and my memory is not helping me to be productive at all.

I got the answer from a YouTube video about Decay Theories. Let me explain it to you.

From Pixabay

Our brain is one of the beautiful organ we have, however, like everything else, nothing is perfect. It can fail us sometimes. Our memory could fail us. If we are not taking care of our body and of course, our brain, this could one of the worst problem can could lead to Alzheimer’s disease.

We have short term memory and long-term ones. Short term memories are the ones that we did just now. Those are not older than a day could be consider as the short-term ones. Long terms are those what happened in the past. We can only remember those memories, it some of it involves emotions like happiness or sadness. For example, if something traumatic happened to you last two years ago, what we can only remember are some details that involves emotion. We will tend to forget some details like who are the people we talked with after the incident or what we did after.

For a person like me, when it comes to short term memories, I can only remember those that I put on my focus on. For example, there is a problem that I need to solve. I did everything to solve it. I investigate on it and solved it. At the end of the day, or even on the next day, I can tell exactly what I did. What I don’t remember are some things like, what I type on certain report that includes lots of items with specific data like part numbers, expiry dates and even the quantity of it. My weakness are details in every set of details. I cannot one by one remember.

On the long-term ones, my biggest problem is that, I can recall the names. I can try to recall the face. I know I seen him or her somewhere, but when it comes to names, I can’t remember that now. I can remember we are classmates before, schoolmates, or we met in some parties before, but I will just scratch my head to remember that person but sadly, I will not remember.

I learned that there are things that could help you slowly enhance yourself in remembering things. Let me share it to you.

You need to have an Interest

Whenever I am sharing my memory problems to friends, they will always tell me “maybe you are not interested that is why you don’t remember?”. When I am trying to recollect what I did for today before I go to bed, I can’t. Then the word interest will start to swim in my brain once I shut my eyes. Interest is one of the reason why we remember that things that we do.

When we can recall every detail, it means we are interested. We need to be interested first in order to store lots of memories about it. For example, if you are interested to know more about blogging, you will read lots of articles and watch tutorial videos. Even by just reading or watching, even without taking down notes, you can recall everything you learn because you are interested on it.

It is the same as when you have interest on someone. If you like someone, you start to know them. Every piece of information you gather about them will store in your brain and you can recall it anytime you want to remember it.
So now, does it mean I am not interested with my job? To be honest, it is not the job that I dream of, yet I am trying my best to do the job and be one of the person that could help in problem solving. Maybe my interest is not that high, so I need to push myself to be interested working on my task to remember everything.

You Need to Like It

The same with interest, you need to like what you do to remember fast. If you don’t like what you do, you are less focus on it. Sometimes you just need to do it to do it. You are doing it because you get paid from it and you just need to finish everything. If you like what you do, you will be creative. Your brain will start working when you are creative. Our brains are enhanced when we like what we do. If we enjoy it, the better. If we are happy while working, the more productive our brain will be.

So, it means, I don’t like what I am doing? Hmm, maybe. I don’t like some details of work. I don’t like the toxicity it brings me, but all in all, it could be likable if I will just push myself.

Liking is like wanting to learn how to dance that when you have dance instructor, you can be teachable. You learn the steps not perfectly how it is, but you can manage to get your groove is a shortest possible time. If you like to dance, you will learn the step as fast as you can. You can even dance alone when your instructor is not around because you can recall the step.

Focus Is Important

When someone is explaining basic steps on how to do things, you need to listen and focus on it unless you will start to ask question again and again. Focus will help you to learn new things, be aware and assertive. If you are focus, you don’t need to doubt on things and start questioning. Every details will be store and you will remember that every details.

Repetition and Practice

Do you remember when you are memorizing your reviewer in college? If you are reading it repetitively you tend to remember it after a day. Some of us are reviewing the night before the exam because it will be difficult to recall what we review if will do it a week before. Some memories that we tend to store when we are in cramming mode might be or might not be stored. It depends on our consistency and determination to remember those things. Our determination and consistency will push us to do techniques like, remember a bulb in our brain when we are recalling about Einstein theory. We take down notes, assign different colors of our ball pens to remember it as fast as we could. Sometimes the color of highlighter will able to help us to remember what we highlighted.

Practicing also can help us remember things and even to improve our performance. Just like practicing a song or a dance. If we regularly practice a song, we will not have a problem with remembering the lyrics. When we are into dancing, we will remember the steps and might improve our grove if we practice regularly.

Make Everything Important

Most of us remember the things we need to do when we already plan about it. When we have plans it means it is important. Like for example at work, I am writing on my planner and I put my priority for the next day before I leave my desk. I remember what I write even when I went home. However, in the morning, I forget about writing my plans and what are my priorities. However, one time, I even failed to write everything on my planner before I left work. I failed to manage my work. On the next day, I remember what I need to as soon as I arrive. That is because, I tag those things as “Important” in my brain. To help with memory recalling, tag everything is important. Of course, it differs on people on how they do it as we have different levels of memory lost and problems.

Now I know what are the things that could help me, but still I want to know more about how can I improve myself. How can I improve it?

Of course, I do not stop from there. I search on things I need to do regularly to enhance my brain. I am very serious of solving this issue because it could affect my performance as one of the problem solver at work. Here it goes below.

How to Improve your Memory?

Stress

Nope, you don’t need to improve your stress, but you need to deal with stress in a positive way. Stress is one of the top reason why you have memory problem. When you are exhausted, tired and facing some challenges, stress will occur. You will feel bad, it will be a hard breathing after and the next, you will be palpitating. If you will react to stress positively then it will affect you.

How to react positively is to use it to focus on the solving the problem and not mingling with the drama of the problem. This is not the time to blame someone but to act on it and solve it right away.

Drink 8 to 10 Glasses of Water a Day

Who can drink 10 glasses of water, raise your hand? Of course, no one can say they can drink it consistently everyday but drinking water is a big help to supply oxygen for our brain. People with memory problems should do this and it is a must. Drink water, it can save your life.

Have at least 6 hours of complete sleep at Night

Most of our organs are working when we are sleeping at night, for example, liver. Liver releases chemical toxins during the night and I don’t know why it can be done in the morning. Maybe one needs to have a lesser movement when liver is working, huh? Also, when we are sleeping, it is the time for our brain to transfer short term memory to long term memory. It is a way to find a place for another short-term memory to be stored for the next day. If we are not sleeping completely, then the work will not be done completely too. It is not too late to do it, sleep now.

Exercise and Stretching

If you cannot regularly exercise for an hour every day, it is a must that you need to stretch every time you wake up. This will help your blood flowing. Drinking two glasses of water as soon as you wake up will also help in providing the right amount of oxygen you need to start a day. Exercise will keep you actively working in a day. It will lessen the pain because it keeps the blood flowing and makes you strong.

From Pixabay

Workout with Your Brain

Nope, you don’t need to put out your brain in your skull and put it on a treadmill. You just need to find something that makes you busy and interested. If you think watching movies will be interesting, then do it. If you think learning new language is a key, then do it. If you think brain quizzes will surely help you out, then try it. Don’t do things that are boring. You need to make your brain working, all the time.

Brain Boosting Food, Eat it Regularly

If you eat these foods, then it will enhance your memory. Eat Wild Salmons, Blueberries, Avocados, nuts and seeds, whole grains, dark chocolate, beans and drink pomegranate juice and freshly brewed tea.

Wew! That is a long reading, but I know you learn something. I realized lots of things that I did wrong, so this is me parting for the mean time, on the road to improving my memory. See you next time.