While watching TV—a rare occurrence because I’m so busy—I was informed that at any age juggling helps develop your brain’s capacity. I should preface this by telling you: I can’t catch a ball worth a hoot. In most arenas, I have decent hand-eye coordination, but not when it comes to throwing or catching balls. But I thought I’d give juggling a try. As I struggled to snag just one little ball, I heard the moderator say: Juggle fifteen minutes a day, every day. Huh? Who has a daily spare fifteen minutes? Yet to improve my memory, wouldn’t I make time?

You’d think that all the research, reading and writing I do would ignite my memory; my brain should be functioning perfectly. But I’ve heard that once a skill is mastered our gray matter does not work as hard. It’s that learning period, the taxing and often aggravating mental strain, that prods our brains into actually improving. I’ve read that brain scans were done on children learning a new videogame. During the first few hours, their brains were highly dynamic, but later, once the game was mastered, the scans showed little brain activity. I’ve also read that writing or brushing your teeth using the non-dominant hand is a terrific way to keep your mind active. When I injured my thumb/wrist a few years ago, I was forced to brush and floss with my “wrong” hand. What a pain (literally) but I kept telling myself I was improving my memory and brain function. Then why do I continue to forget people’s names—a mental malady since age twenty-four? And lately, I’ve misplaced a few items that have yet to resurface. As for reading, a friend gave me some sage advice: write down the title and author of every book you read so you don’t buy it again. But sometimes I forget to do it!

How’s your memory? Do you have tricks for recalling people’s names and other data you’d care to share with me? Don’t you hate it when you get home from the grocery store and you’ve forgotten the most important item on your list?

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