Have you ever been in the shower washing your hair and suddenly, you're not sure anymore if it's your first wash or second wash? Well, this has happened to me and I don't like that feeling so I have devised a method to reduce the possibility of this happening again. Here is how it works: 1) As pictured above, you approach the bath from the outside with your shampoo bottle and you put it on the corner near the tap. You are then ready for the second step:
You have entered the bath, soaked up and you are now ready to pick up your shampoo bottle.
Okay, so now the critical part after pouring some shampoo in your hand is to take the shampoo bottle on a pre-made journey around the corners of the bathtub. These locations are called "loci" in the jargon of mnemonics.
I prefer to deposit the shampoo bottle at the back of the shower. Then I wash and rinse and as I finish doing this, I see the shampoo bottle at the back and it reminds me that I have had only one wash so far. So I pick it up again and pours some more shampoo in my hand and this time, I deposit my shampoo bottle right there:
It's now returning to the front of the shower but in the opposite corner. And then I know for sure I'm on my second wash. As I finish washing my hair, I see the bottle up front and I know (well, maybe I still don't really remember it or know it because my short term memory is quite weak but since I trust that I followed my plan and the plan reveals that when the bottle is up front, it means I have done 2 washes , so I can perhaps believe that I know or remember.)
So when I finish my second wash, I see the bottle up front and I know it's all done and can get out of there without wasting any time or shampoo.
The loci method isn't really demonstrated here but this is certainly a good exercise to prepare you to learn it. And when you learn that, you can unleash the full potential of your memory. Follow me for more memory tips or any other reason.
Chair of the Canadian Memory Championships