Two Minute Car Key Solution
How much time do you waste looking for your car key?
Or your wallet?
Or your mobile phone?
On average, people spend 16 minutes a day looking for lost possessions! That adds up to a year of our lives … (Ortberg 2007 & Gleick 1999)
Put that time-waster behind you NOW.
Is it normal to forget things?
If you’re approaching your 50’s and 60’s, yes, it’s normal.
Normal, but NOT acceptable!
There is nothing more ageing than forgetfulness.
And the loss of confidence that goes with it.
When your memory lets you down on ‘little’ things that actually matter a lot,
that’s a sign that your brain is getting out of shape.
Your brain needs exercise, in just the same way the rest of your body does.
A lazy brain will let you down again and again.
So what can you do? Start learning techniques like this one:
The Two-Minute Car-Key Solution:
1. Hold the car key in the hand you wouldn’t usually use. This is your non-dominant hand.
2. Pay attention to this action – look at the key in your hand and mentally ‘note’ that the key is in your non-dominant hand. (This creates a memory trace.)
3. As you place the key on a hook, in your briefcase or on your desk, look carefully at where you have placed it. (Take a ‘mental snapshot’ of where you have placed it. This is your second memory trace.)
4. To create an even stronger memory trace, say out loud (or to yourself!) ‘I have placed the key on the ….”. (Your third memory trace).
5. ALWAYS put your keys in the same place. A special hook, a special pocket in your briefcase, a special table in the house. Getting organized is another important key to success.
6. In a spare moment, before you need them, recall where you have placed the keys. Either by mentally ‘seeing’ them in their place or recall the process you went through to place them in a particular spot.
How does it work?
It works because when you go to recall where you car keys are, you have four strong links to the information you need. Any one of them will bring the others flooding back.
Your #1 Enemy is Distraction. If you are thinking or doing something else at the same time as you put down your car keys, your brain discards that briefest of memory traces within a second or so – unless you have deliberately gone through steps 1 to 5. And so you forget!
Step 6 of the Car-Key Solution is the bonus step for your brain.
Recall and repetition are the friends of a good memory.
Practice! Practice! Practice!
Remember: Always be conscious of creating memory traces
You will remember where you put your car keys.
You will exercise, rebuild and strengthen an important part of your brain.
And your alert and youthful brain will impress your friends!
Look out for Day Three
We will cover the important Recall Names strategy.
Happy remembering!
Gillian Eadie
MEd, BA, Dip.Tchg, LTCL, Churchill Fellow, HFITPNZ (L)
Dr Allison Lamont
PhD, MA (1st Hons), NZAC, NZPsS, APS, ASSBI (R)