Many of my clients want to improve short-term memory but have trouble practicing on their own. I made this step-by-step worksheet to help them practice when I’m not there. The download includes a 3-word exercise, a 4-word exercise, and three blank versions so you can pick your own words.
Free DIRECT download: Improve memory step-by-step (patient handout). (Email subscribers get free access to all the resources in the Free Subscription Library.)
Outline:
- What is the purpose of this exercise?
- Learn about the short-term memory strategies.
- How to do the short-term memory exercise.
- How to make the exercise easier or harder.
- Related Eat, Speak, & Think posts.
What is the purpose of this exercise?
The goal is to help you learn how to store information in your brain and then find it again.
The exercise should be at least a little challenging, but not too much. If it’s too easy, you won’t need to use any effort to remember. If it’s too hard, you’ll struggle and get frustrated.
First I’ll talk about the memory strategies I’m using, then I’ll discuss how to do the exercise, and finally I’ll share how to make it easier or harder.
Learn about the short-term memory strategies
There are many strategies to improve memory, but here I’m talking about four. The W.R.A.P. strategies:
- Writing.
- Repetition.
- Association.
- Picturing it.
Writing things down is great, because you can always look back to remind yourself. (Assuming you remember where you wrote it down!) But the act of writing also helps information enter your memory. You can even grab a scratch piece of paper and write the information over and over.
Repetition is very helpful for getting something into our memory. Say the information aloud and pay attention to how it sounds and how it feels to say it. This concentration can help reinforce the information you’re trying to store in your memory.
Association is a great memory strategy. Try to make some sort of connection with what you want to remember. You can connect it to something familiar, or you can link new bits of information together. For an added boost, try to make it funny or outrageous in some way.
Picturing is very powerful. By “picturing” I mean visualization, but WRAV isn’t as good an acronym as WRAP. You don’t have to really see it in your head. Focus on the association you came up with and try to imagine it as clearly or with as much detail as you can.
Using these strategies can make the memory stronger and give you many ways to search your memory if you get stuck.
How to do the short-term memory exercise
First things first. Set the stage for being successful:
- Do this exercise when you feel calm and rested.
- Sit in quiet location free from distractions.
- Turn on the light.
I always like to start with success. For a “warm-up”, start with 3 familiar words, ideally words naming objects you or your patient can see around you. Take a blank worksheet and write the words at the top. Then follow the worksheet, step-by-step.
First, write the words, paying attention to how they’re spelled.
Then say the words aloud, deliberately. Notice how your mouth moves. Notice how the words sound.
Next, make an association. What do the words make you think of? Can you link the words together in a story? Try to make it as funny or outrageous as possible.
Then picture the words in your head. You don’t have to really see them (many people don’t actually “see” things in their mind). Just try to imagine them as clear or with as much detail as you can.
Finally, test yourself. Cover the top part of the worksheet, then write the words down. If the words come to you easily, do something else for a couple of minutes first.
How to make the exercise easier or harder
Cognitive exercise should be in the “Goldilocks Zone”. Not too easy, and not too hard.
If it’s too easy, you should make it harder in some way. Here are some ideas:
- Pick unrelated words.
- Choose longer, less-common words.
- Try to remember more than four words.
- Do a working memory exercise after you study and before you test yourself.
- Wait a day, then try to remember the words.
If it’s too hard, you should make it easier in some way. Here are some ideas:
- Try to remember only one or two words.
- Pick the name of an object you can see around you.
- Spend a little more time on each step.
- Repeat the study and test phases over and over.
Looking for word lists to find interesting words? You can find many online, such as Enchanted Learning’s word lists organized by theme.
Related Eat, Speak, & Think posts
- Improve auditory memory with this easy exercise.
- Improve your working memory with 60 quick exercises.
- How to improve short term memory.
- 5 easy steps to remember names.
Free DIRECT download: Improve memory step-by-step (patient handout). (Email subscribers get free access to all the resources in the Free Subscription Library.)
Featured image by PublicDomainPictures from pixabay.
Lisa earned her M.A. in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Maryland, College Park and her M.A. in Linguistics from the University of California, San Diego.
She participated in research studies with the National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) and the University of Maryland in the areas of aphasia, Parkinson’s Disease, epilepsy, and fluency disorders.
Lisa has been working as a medical speech-language pathologist since 2008. She has a strong passion for evidence-based assessment and therapy, having earned five ASHA Awards for Professional Participation in Continuing Education.
She launched EatSpeakThink.com in June 2018 to help other clinicians be more successful working in home health, as well as to provide strategies and resources to people living with problems eating, speaking, or thinking.
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