Have you ever relied on a mental grocery list, only to forget one or two items after you’ve left the supermarket? Or what about an idea or thought that came to mind while you were making your way to work, and you tell yourself you’ll write it down once you reach the office, only to forget about it soon after?
Our memory, no matter our age, will fail us every now and then. Whether it’s trying to recall something quickly, or remember something long term, we will encounter memory blanks or slips.
Sometimes, when we have too much information to absorb, we go through what is called memory overload, and that also causes our minds to go into a blank, or we’re simply not able to grasp more information. That’s why your teachers will advise against cramming for exams at the last minute!
So how to increase brain power, improve your memory and become smarter? I’ll reveal the secret to this in a minute.
The Harsh Truth About the Human Brain
If you’re looking for ways on how to train your brain to boost memory, this is something you should know:
The reality is, our human mind was never made to memorize, store or recall a ton of information.
Back in the Stone Age, our brain was designed to process the environment around us and to anticipate danger around us. It was all about survival then: hunting for food, finding for shelter and safety away from harm and danger.
Over time, with developments and discoveries, our brains had to develop and get accustomed to what is around us. The amount of information we now have access to has grown exponentially over the Ages.
Now, in the Age of Information, the cost of getting new info is so low that it happens right at your fingertips–resulting in information explosion!
Since we have the capability of info at our fingertips, the amount of information we have to process is ever-increasing. As technology has advanced, we now have to perform more complicated tasks, which require us to quickly retrieve information from our memory (writing, operating a relatively complicated tool, delayed information such as trading goods, signing contracts, etc.).
These days, our brains are less like survival organs and more like pattern recognition machines. They are now required to process enormous amounts of information, to make decisions, and to make connections amongst a myriad of information.
The Brain’s New Challenge
With this change comes new limitations to our brains. Because we have limited brain capacity, the amount of information grows so much that everything just passes through our mind without solid retention (Information overload), and we can’t tell what is useful or not.
We’re facing an unprecedented number of tasks to handle on a daily basis–resulting in mental energy that has to be distributed among many different things at once.
When it comes to memorizing, decision making or learning a new skill, which is more valuable to you? Which skills would you rather improve and build on?
How to Upgrade Your Brain
Here is where I’m going to help you to upgrade your brain. Yes, that’s right.
Like a personal assistant or secretary, I’m going to show you how you can boost brain power and give your brain an aid that will help you to effortlessly sort through all the information that comes to you on a daily basis.
This brilliant aid is called the Digital Brain.
In contrast to a human brain, computers are great at storing information. It’s reliable (thanks to cloud computing), accurate, and extremely detailed.
From a computing perspective, memory involves three key elements:
- Recording — storing the information
- Organization — archiving it in a logical manner
- Recall — retrieving it again when you need it
Like a computer, having a Digital Brain will work in the same way as this memory framework to manage how information flows into and out of your brain.
Here’s an example:
When setting up a new account on a website, due to strict security settings, many sites require you to come up with complicated passwords with special characters that you don’t usually use.
As a result, you now have to memorize this new password (Record), associate it with the other passwords that’s stored in your brain (Organize), and enter that password the next time you log in (Recall).
Even in this simple example, there are several parts in the process which will make it all too easy to forget. Because this new password is unique, we have a hard time recognizing it with our regular patterns. And if we don’t use the password everyday, it’s easy to forget it after a few days. One day you’ll try to recall the password but enter the incorrect one over and over again.
Sound familiar? It’s one of the most common things that happen.
Is it because the information is complicated? Nope. A password is just a bunch of characters, numbers, and symbols.
It happens because our brains are not made to memorize. With a Digital Brain, you can delegate it to do the heavy lifting.
Making Room for Learning and Creativity
Many people get confused with storing versus learning in this Digital Age.
Learning requires spaced repetition, applying different learning models and then applying those skills. Whereas storing means having information in a ‘library’.
When you go to a library, you borrow a book to find a specific piece of information. When you’re done with it, you put it back. With a Digital Brain, this becomes your personal library of knowledge.
With your brain now freed up from having to store information, it can focus on more crucial aspects like learning, decision making, problem solving and making meaning out of all the incoming information.
Wouldn’t this be much easier for you to get things done on a daily basis? Whether it be something as trivial as getting your groceries, or something more complex like planning out what’s needed for a project you’re working on. Your Digital Brain will help you effortlessly organize it.
Here at Lifehack, we’ll teach you how to set up a system to record, organize and recall information effortlessly. You’ll also learn how to build a habit to rely on your Digital Brain like second nature, all in a step by step manner.
A Digital Brain for Everyone (No Matter How Old You Are)
I’m sure some of you might be wondering if this is really for you. You may be well into your 50’s or 60’s, and going digital isn’t something you’re keen to keep up with.
Well, the good news is that having a Digital Brain isn’t reserved for Millennials or the younger generation. There are many layers to the Digital Brain, and the interesting thing is that it’s constantly upgrading according to new advances in technology.
So, you get to pick how much of a Digital Brain you want to adopt into your existing lifestyle. Age need not be a barrier when it comes to adopting a Digital Brain!
