How to get a better memory

If you routinely forget your computer password or where you left the car keys, boost your brain power with these expert tips

Your capacity to remember doesn’t have to diminish with age. In fact, by using a little imagination, you can train yourself to recall the most obscure details, from long phone numbers to whole chapters of books.
That’s the belief of three-time Australian Memory Champion Tansel Ali, who says improving memory starts with visualisation and association. Rather than trying to remember a random number or the names of a group of people you’ve just met at a party, he recommends letting your creativity run wild.

“Create an engaging story,” Ali says. “If an engaging story is built in your head, that’s the core foundation. It’s very difficult to forget.”
In his new book, The Yellow Elephant (Hardie Grant), Ali explains there are two ways to remember something: the stressful method through repetition or the fun approach through imagination.
Having learnt the contents of two Yellow Pages phone books in 24 days – 2000 businesses and more than 20,000 digits –  Ali says the key is using both sides of the brain. The left side traditionally focuses on words and numbers while the right is the artistic, creative side. Here are some of his best memory-boosting techniques.

Tricks to help you remember

Named after Ali’s remarkable Yellow Pages feat, his “Yellow Elephant” memory model consists of four steps. The first is decoding the abstract: names, numbers, instructions. The second involves converting the abstract into an image.
“Say I meet you and you tell me your name is Sharon. I might picture a celebrity, maybe Sharon Stone, or I might picture a “Shazza”, to help me remember your name,” Ali says.
“Or take my name – it would be much easier to remember “Tansel” if you picture “tinsel” in your mind.”
Next comes association, the linking of one thing to another using your imagination to create a story that you’re more likely to remember instead of isolated facts or images. This will help trigger your memory.
Finally, there’s communicating your story to others. Ali recommends making strong connections when it comes to concocting your tale, for example, picturing a pen near a computer isn’t as memorable as picturing a pen writing on a computer or, even better, breaking through the computer.
Another tip is to use negativity – it’s easier to recall drama because it stands out more. However, Ali warns, this may not work for people who’ve suffered trauma in their lives.

Group information together

Think of when you recite a phone number. You might say it in groups or “chunks” of three or four because it’s easier to remember. The same technique can be applied to words.
“People think speed reading is skim reading or skipping words, but it’s actually seeing words as images in groups,” Ali says. “Rather than reading every word of ‘the cat sat on the mat’ and not knowing what the next word is going to be, if you start ‘chunking’ and see the words in a group, you get the picture straightaway.”

Use locations

Thousands of years ago, the ancient Greeks used the Method of Loci (locations) to memorise information. They’d walk along a familiar path and mentally attach things they wanted to remember to landmarks along the way.
Ali says the best place to start with this technique is around your home because you know it well and can navigate it easily. Pick 20 places, such as the toilet, the bookshelf, your bed and so on, and mentally attach something you need to remember to each one. This method can be used to remember sporting stats and poetry, but when it comes to your weekly shopping list, it’s best to just scribble it down.

Visualising and using your imagination

You can improve your recall of numbers by using rhyme and shapes. Two might become a shoe and three a tree. Or two a swan and three a bird flying overhead. “Once you have those images in your head, you create the story,” Ali says.
But what happens if you’ve trained your brain to create a story only to later forget it? “It’s possible to forget the story but then go back and revisit it and make it even more elaborate,” Ali says.
“People think of memory as stressful repetition but it’s the opposite. The traditional way we’re taught at school is to repeat over and over again. While it’s a proven process, it can take 20 times to get it. The fun way is using visualisation and imagination techniques and you only need to go through it maybe twice.”

Sleep on it

Medical experts say memory isn’t all about creativity and storytelling. Dr Matthew Mundy, a memory expert at the School of Psychology and Psychiatry at Monash University, says sleep is the most important factor for good memory.
“When we sleep, that’s the time our brain consolidates our memory, so anything you’ve learnt during the day is consolidated into stronger traces in the brain when you sleep,” he says.
“Exercise is also extremely important and keeping your mind active – reading, crosswords, socialising, anything that keeps your mind active on a task.”