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Remembering                                                    129

                                   These examples point to another feature of memory, the way it can
                                   engage  all  of  your  senses.  I  can  still,  for  example,  remember  the
                                   strong smell of the polish on the floor of my first school; with the
                                   remembered smell, a flood of childhood memories comes back to
                                   me. Memory is multilayered and often works like this.

                                Do you have memories that are triggered for you by sensory input?




                              MUTTERING

                                   Many people find it helpful to fix processes in their mind by mut-
                                   tering—speaking about their constituent elements out loud as they
                                   go through them. While this may seem a strange thing to do at work,
                                   don’t worry! It’s not as crazy as it seems at first and it gets results.
                                         A good example of how this can operate is when you need to
                                   learn a new computer skill. Think for a moment of how often you
                                   ask someone to help you do something new. You do it once while
                                   they are there, anxious to get on with the task in hand and only half
                                   listening to what they are saying. Then they go back to their work
                                   and you are left on your own, It is a sure bet that, as soon as they
                                   have gone, you find that you can’t remember how to do the new
                                   task. Next time this happens, say that you would like to talk the
                                   task  through  as  you  do  it  to  help  fix  it  in  your  memory:  “I’ve
                                   opened my email. Now I am looking for x under the y menu. Now
                                   I am going to check on z, etc.” By muttering as you do something,
                                   you are continually reflecting on what you are doing, analyzing it,
                                   applying it, asking questions about it. This undoubtedly helps you
                                   develop a vocabulary to describe and then fix your learning in your
                                   mind.
                                         There are two logical extensions of muttering: creative visu-
                                   alization and teaching.
                                         Creative visualization enables you to anticipate new experi-
                                   ences  by  rehearsing  them.  This  is  widely  used  by  athletes  and
                                   theatrical  performers.  You  close  your  eyes  and  imagine  yourself
                                   going  through  the  experience,  mentally  talking  yourself  through
                                   each stage. I find this especially helpful before:
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