7 mind exercises to shape up your 'memory' muscles
June 2012

You’ve got your phone numbers on speed dial, your old classmates on Facebook and your directions on GPS. Any other information that gets stuck to the tip of your tongue you just quickly Google on your smart phone. Technology can help you operate more efficiently, but it can become a crutch when it affects your ability to memorise essential information.

How the internet changes what we remember
Research has shown that access to a reliable host of digital memory space changes the way humans store information. Instead of remembering details, you memorise where to find it online. The internet acts as transactive memory in the same way that you associate skills sets with friends. However, with unlimited data capacity, it is now possible to keep need-to-know memory stored online. Some argue that this reliance on the internet makes for superficial thinking. For instance, you can easily switch between twitter and text messages without ever having to follow an extended train of concentrated thought. Others say having access to excess memory space liberates the mind and enables you to focus on the implications beyond the details.

Some life situations depend on human memory
Either way it may be wise not to hand over too much of your own brain power to modern technology. There are some situations that really depend on your own memory library.

Phone battery issues: Let’s say you get stuck at a client meeting and your phone dies, but you need to revert back to your boss with important information. If you know his/her number by heart you can simply call from a landline or another mobile phone.

No internet access: Referring back to emails for important information is fairly common. However, if you need to double check your booking reference for a hotel address but have problems with internet access, well, you’ll be stuck unless you actually know where to go.

Emergency situations: Perhaps a friend needs medical care and you have to drive her car to the hospital but there’s no GPS. Know some simple directions around your neighbourhood should be able to get you there quickly, without the use of technology.

Foreign language skills: It is one thing to check your dictionary here and there but you cannot have a real conversation if you have to look up each sentence on your digital translator. Study your grammar and the rewards will soon outweigh the effort.

Make a conscious effort to train your memory

Ultimately it’s up to you to decide what kind of information is important to memorise and what can be stored elsewhere to help you operate more efficiently.

Here’s how to keep exercising those increasingly lazy memory muscles.

1. Learn skills from your friends
Whether your friends are mathematicians or make-up artists, everyone around you can teach you a few life skills. Ask your friends for some professional tips or assistance in their area of expertise and pay attention to how things are done when you ask for help. Taking control in this way broadens your skills set and your memory capacity.

2. Memorise important phone numbers
Speed dial is great, but there are certain situations when you may be out of touch with technology and need to get hold of important business contacts or loved ones. It only takes a small effort to memorise a number but once you know it, chances are that the information will be available to you instantly when you need it most.

3. Don’t use GPS repetitively
Keep using GPS to drive to work every day or to visit close friends and you will never learn the directions from your own memory. Pay attention to street names and visual references along the way and not only are you storing information but you are also keeping your brain well trained. At the same time knowing where you’re going makes for safer driving.

4. Write things down
Writing something down stimulates a part of your brain that helps you to focus and clarify your thoughts. It indicates that you give importance to the words you’re putting down on the page and so your brain works overtime to prioritise the information. Keep a notebook at hand and keep checking back to ensure you remember those important details.

5. Learn to use language properly
Don’t just rely on a spell checker and allow a machine to think on your behalf. Automatic spell checkers are not intuitive and don’t always know what you intend to say. Make sure you know the rules of the language you’re using and take control of what you’re saying. Spell check should really only assist as a guideline and to help you double check yourself.

6. Use your calendar as a backup
For very important appointments it is best to use your digital calendar as a back-up, but don’t rely on it to keep you on schedule last minute. Meetings are a lot more efficient if you prepare for it and in general it helps to plan for events, even if it’s a social meeting with a friend. Your calendar should only be a helpful reminder of your daily schedule.

7. Get enough exercise
Modern society provides many devices for keeping us from doing exercise. Not only are our memory muscles becoming lazier but our bodies too. Exercise improves your memory capacity, metabolism and brain function in general. Making sure you get lots of exercise will help you focus better and so increase your memory capacity for the better.

It is important to keep thinking for ourselves and to remember key information for those critical situations when technology may not be around. Keep consciously improving your memory and next time you forget to charge your mobile phone or your computer crashes unexpectedly you will be able to recall important information instantly.

http://h30458.www3.hp.com/ww/en/smb/1208119.html?jumpid=em_taw_CZ_jun12_xbu_1773554_hpgl_gb_1208119_0&DIMID=1085846132&DICID=null&mrm=1-4BVUP


**********************************************************************************************
8 simple ways to accomplish more in your day
June 2012

Do you sometimes feel as though you’ve spent the whole day being incredibly busy without actually achieving anything? That instead of shrinking, your to-do list has actually grown – despite your attempts to multitask?

How can this be? The answer lies in learning to manage your time better and to ensure that you’re not just busy, but effective.

1. Know yourself
When are you at your best? Mornings or afternoons? Everyone has times during the day when they are sleepy and slow (for most people it’s after lunch), so the best thing to do is to try to plan top-priority tasks for times when you’re feeling more alert, and tackle more routine jobs, like answering emails, when you’re less creative. Another thing to bear in mind is that the heavier the lunch you eat, the sleepier you’re going to be while your body concentrates on digesting the food.

2. Keep a to-do list
Whatever tasks you have to do, write them down: having them there in black and white will give you a better overview. Put an asterisk next to the most important tasks, or highlight them in another way. Differentiate between “urgent” and “important” tasks, and those which you can complete over a longer time period. As you complete tasks, cross them off the list: this is extremely motivating and will give you a real sense of achievement.

3. Fill the time you have
Choose the task which suits the time slot you have available. For example, a spare half hour in the morning, and another in the afternoon, is perfect to check your emails, whereas it wouldn’t be enough to start a long report. You don’t have to answer all your emails: delete the spam and the ones that just say, “Thanks!”, answer the easy ones, and keep the more challenging messages for when you have more time to answer properly.

4. Learn to say no
Effective work practice means knowing when to say no. If you take on too much, you won’t be able to do anything properly. The trick is: “Say yes to the person, no to the task.” In other words, be open and friendly to your colleagues, but if someone is asking you to do something you don’t have time for, say no, you’re sorry, but you won’t be able to do it by the deadline they require. Keep things positive by suggesting a new deadline which you really feel able to meet.

5. One thing at a time
Focusing properly means saying no to multitasking. It’s a fact that it can take up to 40% longer to finish jobs if you do several things at once. Not only will the quality suffer, but you will only do bits of all of them, and therefore never have the satisfaction of being able to cross anything off your to-do list – which is why it won’t get any shorter. Assign yourself a task on your list, according to how much time you have, and then work on it until it’s finished. Cross it off your to-do list and move on to the next. You’ll find you’re much less stressed.

6. Beat procrastination
Some people fail to get larger tasks done because they only start them at the last moment and then miss the deadline every time. If you’re one of these people, ask yourself why it happens. Could it be that the more important the task is, the less able you are to start it? Maybe you’re worried that your work won’t be of a high-enough standard; maybe the job involves a lot of research and preparation, and you just can’t face the hours of hard work. Whatever the reason, one great way to overcome your “procrastination” is to break the task down into smaller chunks, and then to tackle these, one at a time. Alternatively, you could spend half an hour on writing a rough draft or creating an outline for the job; this way, you’ll do a lot of the essential preparatory thinking, so that when you come back to it, the work will be a lot easier.

7. Manage distractions
Distraction is probably the main cause of most employees’ poor time management. And there can be several reasons for this – from messaging chats, emails and private phone calls, to colleagues talking loudly in your room or constantly interrupting the flow of your work with comments and questions. But you can tackle this problem! First of all, make the app you’re working on full screen, so you can’t see any other windows. Then, turn off all notification noises – messaging, email, mobile phone and anything else that may disturb you. Put on a pair of noise-cancelling headphones to let colleagues know you’re busy. Check the time and decide how long you want to work for before your next break. Now start working. Allow yourself to check email and phone messages only when you’ve finished what you planned to do.

8. Take a break
Finally, it’s important that you take regular breaks in the day, particularly if you’re tackling a demanding task. Your work will definitely be better and you’ll reduce your stress levels. Don’t start chatting with a colleague or checking your emails during this short break – it will only distract you. Just go to get a cup of coffee or something similar, and then get back to work.

Take these simple steps to start managing your time better and you won’t just be busy at work, but really effective. Your email inbox and your desk will be tidier, your to-do list shorter, your stress levels down and your family happier. Not only that, but as you learn to work with more focus and discipline, meeting deadlines and arriving at meetings on time, the quality of your work will noticeably improve – which can only improve your long-term career prospects. Start this afternoon: take a short break, write a to-do list, think about how much time you have – and get to work.

http://h30458.www3.hp.com/ww/en/smb/1208118.html?jumpid=em_taw_CZ_jun12_xbu_1773554_hpgl_gb_1208118_0&DIMID=1085846132&DICID=null&mrm=1-4BVUP