I was 3 sentences into a conversation before I realized I'd already forgotten her name.

she'd said it maybe 10 seconds earlier. I nodded, smiled, and my brain quietly deleted it. now it got awkward.

you know this feeling. everyone does. and we all treat it as a personal flaw instead of what it actually is. a skill nobody trained.

Everything you do in life has little meaning…

if you keep forgetting it.

I started thinking about it this week.

So it will become skill 27!

To improve our memory. To keep a huge treasure of beautiful memories.

Do YOU have a good memory?

Here are 3 hacks I’m learning and sharing today with you

to improve useful memories, like names, technical knowledge and context on relationships.

the truth about our memory

your brain didn't evolve to hold lists of words or names.

it evolved to remember places. paths. where the water was, where the danger was.

so the trick is to turn the thing you want to remember into a place.

here's the smallest version you can test today:

Hack 1: turn the name into a picture

picture your front door. you need milk, keys, a birthday card.

see a cow kicking your door. see keys hanging from its horns. see it holding a giant card in its mouth.

ridiculous on purpose because something bizarre like this sticks.

normal people trained this 30 minutes a day for 40 days and more than doubled their recall, 26 words to 62 out of 72, holding four months later.

back in week 20 I read seven books in seven days. felt impressive.

but reading fast and remembering nothing is just moving your eyes.

Hack 2: names!

Names vanish because they're just sounds. Your brain holds onto images, not sounds.

So when someone says their name, turn it into something you can see.

Mark becomes a marker. Rosa becomes a rose. Then stick that image onto the most obvious thing about their face. The rose goes behind Rosa's ear.

also say the name out loud once when you hear it.

Back in week 26 I learned the best compliments are about someone's choices, not their looks.

But you can't compliment anyone if their name left your head ten seconds after they said it.

Names come first.

Hack 3: test yourself instead of rereading

Rereading notes feels like studying. It barely works. It just makes familiar material feel more familiar.

What actually moves knowledge into your head is forcing yourself to recall it cold.

Close the page. Write down what you remember. The struggle is the part that sticks.

Then space it out.

Review it tomorrow, then in 3 days, then a week later, right before you'd forget.

I use Anki for this.

Let me know your questions or tips about memory. I think it’s a top 10 life skill.

Short video update:

If you missed the previous weeks and lessons, check them out HERE:

Learn all the other unusual life lessons at 53skills.com

Share with friends who want to make their lives more beautiful.

- Alex

do you remember