Prepare for total recall

Forgetful much? Here is every little hack to keep track of the little things in the age of big data

- Tanya Siqueira

Names, places, birthdates, annual payments, usernames, passwords, core memories, that new restaurant someone was talking about the other day. Everyone's struggling to hold on to it all. In 2017, 18-year-old Munkhshur Narmandakh (@315sh9) from Mongolia proved that memory is just practice and strategy. That year, she became the youngest ever World Memory Champion, recalling the order of 1,924 playing cards. No one gives a Jack about Spades. But here are some of our favourite hacks to get the important stuff to stick.

• Use your words.

Chill. Everyone forgets names. Use the corny but useful SUAVE technique to remember. S, for Say it. Open the conversation using their name before your own. "Hi Jasmine, I'm Dev". U for Use it. Work the name a couple of times into the conversation. A for Ask about it. "How do you spell it?" "What does it mean?". V for Visualise it. Pics stick in the brain better than sounds. Visualise clearly, a jasmine blooming over Jasmine's head, and it will become a handy shortcut. E for End with it. Say goodbye using their name. If you sign off to a room full of strangers, each by name, guess who they'll never forget? You!