3 Memory Games You Can Play With Your Childhood

The thought of memory improvement excites you, doesn't it? But then you start reading all the books and watching the videos and within seconds ... Improving your memory suddenly starts to feel like a lot of hard work! It's understandable. Using a Memory Palace, associative-imagery and practicing Recall Rehearsal can be tough. It involves a lot of moving parts. But if you've gotten hold of my free Memory Improvement Kit, then you know that in reality, it's actually pretty simple. But if you're not interested in beelining directly towards total memory mastery, no sweat. Here are three games and exercises you can play starting today. They will exercise your memory, move the muscles of your imagination and renew access to parts of yourself you've probably long forgotten.   Warning!   Before we get started, you'll need something to write with. And what you're about to experience could well change your life forever. (In a good way, of course.) And when I say write, I mean "write." Sure, you can play these memory games by writing in Evernote or whatever. But don't. You'll get more from them by using old-fashioned pencil and paper. You can also use your mind on its own too. These exercises can be completed while daydreaming on a park bench or wherever you find yourself. But with writing, the pages you fill will prove to you that your mind is a vast place with many recesses. And you'll enjoy the exercise more when you see what emerges from the depths of your imagination. Plus, you'll be able to feel the weight of your memory in the paper on your hands. And that is a sensation you can't get from any app in the world. (Though a device that gets heavier the more information  it contains could be a fun option for those who want to go on a data diet!)   Do These Things Now If You Want To Improve Your Memory Without Sweat, Blood Or Tears   1. Make a list of all the places you can remember visiting.   Start local and go back as far as you can remember. For example, here are some of the first places that I remember visiting: Where my dad used to train his duck hunting dogs The farm at Tranquille where my mom used to work A chocolate factory we visited on a field trip in Kindergarten Immerse yourself in these memories. Think about colors, smells, textures. Recall the people you were with and call up as many people as you can. Then you can start listing other towns and cities. Again, go as deep into the past as you can. I remember flying to Prince Rupert with my dad where he bought me cowboy boots.   Get All The Memory Guidance You Need From Someone Close To Home   Next, take these early memories and ask someone in your family to give them your version. When I press my memory for sensory detail, I remember nothing of the flight. But I do have glimpses of how the city looked, and I can smell beer on my dad's breath. For bonus points in your own memory play, move from the deep past up until the present. And do your best to establish a linear time line so you have a feeling for the chronology. But at this point ...   Don't Worry About Exact Dates ...   ... except for seasons if your sensory memory provides them. For example, in my first memory of watching my dad train one of the dogs, he's wearing the white sweater my mom knit for him. Although there was no snow on the ground on those mountain plains, white clouds were shooshing from the dog's noise as it ran after the dummy (it feels like a flashbulb memory, to be honest). And I remember my dad letting me the starter pistol and how cold it felt in my hand. These details make it safe to assume it was Fall. Once you've gotten your sensory details gathered, come back and add dates if you wish for an extra memory massage. For that you should learn the Major Method for memorizing numbers. Or you can proceed the next of our memory games:   2. Recall the names of every classmate you can remember.