At some point, forgetting things becomes upsetting. Therefore, it is best to not only exercise your memory but also to learn effective strategies to give it real support.
The 3 R’s are an excellent strategy procedure to help you retain what you want to remember. Use this procedure over and over until it becomes a habit. Your memory will be getting real support.
Recall, Review, Repeat:
In order to remember something, you need to RECALL it first, within moments of hearing it, seeing it for the first time. You need to bring it back up to the front of your memory.
REVIEW: go over it in your head, REVIEW the various aspects of it, the sensory ones, the emotional ones, whatever you can remember about it, REVIEW it all.
REPEAT: REPEAT the process of RECALL and REVIEW a number of times, the more times you do this, the chances of remembering it will increase in your favour.
The RECALL, REVIEW, REPEAT process needs to be used repeatedly to reinforce the memory of what you are trying to remember. The sequence of the procedures is not crucial, but one must do them all, over and over to ensure the greater likelihood of the memory being consolidated.
For example, you meet someone for the first time and promise yourself to remember their name. REPEAT the name a couple of times mentally, and REPEAT it to them as you speak to them. When you have left that conversation, REVIEW the episode and RECALL the person’s name. REPEAT the name again. There are additional strategies for remembering names, but the 3R’s process really works well in helping you remember.
