Page 132 - Mind Games The Aging Brain and How to Keep it Healthy

116 • Chapter 4

• Imaging: Look for the list in your memory. Visualize the
place where you wrote the items on the list. You may be
able to see the paper in your mind. If so, read it!

• Coding: If you encode the list of the items before you
leave the house, you might be able to recall the list.
How about using your body as the code? Start at the
top with your head. Your hair is on top—get your sister
at the beauty shop. Next your mouth: You need to get a
prescription as well as the groceries. Then your clothes,
watch, and shoes are on your body. You need your
hands to buy birthday cards. In your purse or pockets,
you carry money, so go to the bank. Keep scanning over
your body until you have accomplished all the tasks.

• Mnemonics: Try to find a phrase to remind you of the
stops: cleaners, shoe repair, druggist, watch repair, gro-
cery, beauty shop, bank. You might want to rearrange
the list to find a good mnemonic. We found this one:
SGDBBCW—Some Great Danes bark, but collies wag.
• Hierarchy: You will need a device for the list of items at
the grocery store. Use the food pyramid to organize the
foods you need: sweets at the top (ice cream), then meat
and dairy (soup), next fruits and vegetables (bananas),
and bottom grains (breads and rice).
• Associations: There will be some help in the car with you.
You will have the shirts and suit with you. That should
remind you of the cleaners trip. Associate picking up with
dropping off—that is, the shoes with the clothing.

• Auditory learning-style preference: Read the items
aloud before leaving the house.

• Visual learning-style preference: Look over the list be-
fore you leave the house.

• Kinesthetic learning-style preference: See yourself at
each of the stops before leaving the house.

• Spatial: Plan your route before you leave the house.
Plan to take the shortest route to all of the stops. Num-