When it comes to making steps forward in your career, it is important to establish if there is anything holding you back. One thing you may not have considered is your memory. People’s natural ability to memorise information varies, but we can all take steps to exercise the brain for improvement. One area you should be focused on is working memory. This allows you to complete tasks more quickly, by temporarily holding information while you carry out another cognitive activity. By being able to effectively multitask in this way, you will perform better in your exams now, so you can stay motivated when you enter the world of business. Here are some memory exercises to help you unlock your potential.
Meditation
Your working memory can be reduced down to your ability to concentrate. If you are really focused on instructions as they are given, they will remain in your consciousness long enough for you to use them. One way of improving concentration is through meditation.
You don’t need any experience to begin meditating. Simply find a quiet place where you can sit comfortably, then slowly breathe in and out, focusing all of your attention on your breaths. You can count each one to keep your mind focused. Doing this regularly will improve your ability to concentrate when you are being set tasks, thereby improving your working memory.
Play Memory Games
The surest way to exercise your brain’s memory is to test it. Think of your mind like a muscle: the more you exercise it, the stronger it gets. When given lists of random words, most people can only recite seven of them even immediately after hearing them. Try and beat this score.
Ask a friend to list random words and try and score 10 or more. This will immediately put you above average in your working memory, giving you an advantage in your career. There are many online brain training games as well as smartphone apps that will make testing your memory a fun free time activity.
Write Things Down
When receiving instructions orally from your teacher, be sure to write things down. While listening to a talk, only the auditory section of the brain is engaged. The brain is unable to discriminate between important information and irrelevant information in terms of what to commit to memory.
However, writing allows you to just pick out the important information. So, a different part of the brain is engaged, and is only processing, and memorising relevant content. This is how writing helps with memory.
It is useful to use as many parts of the brain as possible. For example, use pictures as well as words to create a visual connection. While these notes can be revisited later, it is unlikely you will need to because you have already helped yourself to memorise them.
Memory is unfortunately an important part of studying for exams, but it has much wider implications. When you enter a business setting, you will be expected to remember copious amounts of information within a fast-paced environment. By using these techniques to improve working memory, you can help give yourself an edge and advance in your chosen career.