Most of us think that having a
good memory is a trait that’s outside of our control. But good
memory is a skill and learning how to improve it can help you
become a more creative, innovative business leader.

The first step is changing the way
you think about your memory. Your memory isn’t designed to remember
names, find missing keys, or store every password you’ve ever
created. Your memory is designed to work in context. For example,
if you try to make a list of every vegetable you can remember, you
will make a much longer list if you imagine walking through a
grocery store.

云之：懂得在情境中记忆，我上学时受益匪浅。但缺陷是似乎很少有我能背得滚瓜烂熟的东西，我总是要靠情境或思维帮助记忆。

Related: 3 Easy Exercises to Boost Your
Creativity

“What your memory is really for is
giving you information about what to expect in the world and how to
solve problems in those situations,” says Art Markman, a cognitive
psychologist and author of Smart Thinking (Perigee
Trade, 2012). Ideally, you want your memory to be filled with
useful information that helps you solve tough business
problems.

To store substantive memories that
will make you a more creative thinker, try these three tips:

1. Engage both your body
and mind. If you want to remember new ideas, you need to
listen and focus. First, stop multitasking. “The human mind doesn’t
multitask really, it timeshares,” Markman says. “You end up
flipping back and forth between tasks, which makes all of your
learning less effective.”

To enhance your memory even more,
engage your body as you listen. Sit up straight, take notes, stand
up if you feel tired, gesture or move around a bit. “Engage your
whole self,” Markman says. “We’re not just brains in a
box.”

云之：昏昏欲睡，恐怕什么也记不住。

Related: How to Recognize and Act on Your Best Business
Ideas

2. Review three points you
want to remember. When you learn new information (by
reading a book or attending a meeting, for example), you tend to
remember only about three things. To control what you remember,
Markman recommends reviewing the three takeaways that matter most
to you. “Otherwise, you leave the three points up to chance,” he
says.

When the information is fresh in
your mind, take a few minutes to review the most useful points. Try
saying them into a tape recorder, writing them in a journal, or
recounting them to a friend. “That helps solidify those three
points in your memory,” Markman says.

云之：看来做笔记十分必要，否则读多少忘多少

3. Explain new concepts to
yourself. For an entrepreneur, a rich memory helps you
combine disparate ideas to find a novel solution. “To do that, you
need to understand how the world works,” Markman says. You gain
that knowledge — and remember it — by explaining new concepts to
yourself or to someone else.

When you hear a new idea, look for
gaps in your understanding and fill them in. Ask yourself, why does
this work? How? Look for words that you may not understand even if
(or especially if) they are familiar business buzzwords. Clarify
what the word means in that specific context or to that particular
speaker. The clearer the concepts, the easier they will be to
remember.  

云之：仔细思考与既有认识的差异，必须搞清每个字的含义，否则很容易发生误解，而且记不住

Read more:
http://www.entrepreneur.com/blog/224558#ixzz2Uaw5cMEs