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MEMORY-ENHANCING TECHNIQUES: REMEMBERING THE LOCATIONS OF ITEMS
The way to remember where to find objects like your purse, glasses, or keys entails not so much a memory-enhancing exercise as a way of restructuring your life. When we regularly misplace items, the problem is not memory but organization. If we had a definite place for each thing, we would be unlikely ever to forget where it is.
The solution is to select a place for each item and make it a habit always to take the few extra seconds to return objects to their proper places. Having a defined location for items like dishes or socks is something most of us have been trained to do. But not many of us have a firm location for those unique, essential items that are in even more constant use - reading glasses, purses, and such. If, as is true for me, frantic room-to-room searches for a missing purse have already robbed you of weeks of productive life, it\'s time to establish definite places for these items too.
Unless you live in a small apartment where one location will suffice, designate two places in your house \"priority-object sites.\" Your locations should be widely separated, chosen so it is never too much bother to reach one or the other from any place you tend to put down those important, easily misplaced items (for instance, a table by the door and your night table). Get into the habit of always putting items such as your glasses or purse or keys in one of these places.
Use the same strategy when you are away from home. For instance, decide that \"by the door\" will be your priority-object place when visiting a friend or staying in a hotel. At a restaurant or a meeting, use the area underneath or beside your chair. If you are right-handed, use the area to the right of you. If you are left-handed, use the area to your left.
The next strategies, because they involve actively exercising your mind, do require sustained effort. But if you master them you will have a great advantage in life - the tools for excellent recall in a wide variety of situations.
*33/159/5*
GENERAL HEALTH
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