Memory Hacks for Menopausal Moments

In between perimenopause and pain medication, I've spent the last decade or more with the memory capacity of a dipsomaniac goldfish. I've tried to flex with it and make it work the best that it can. Here are some of the things that I've found have helped.

1. Reduce your memory load. The less things you have to remember the easier. So if there's some things you can write down or take care of with an app, you've more chance of remembering the other stuff.
2. Let other people do some of the remembering. Whether it's pupils or family members, give them responsibilities. Let them deal with it if they forget.
3. Be intentional. We do a lot of things on autopilot and that's when our memory is really going to struggle. Be aware of where you are, what you are doing and what you need to remember.
4. Slow down. If you forget things when you're rushing around, it's all going to take longer in the end. Allow enough time to do the things you need to do and a bit of buffer time. And if you end up doing things quicker than you expect you can use that time for something else.
5. Be aware how your own memory works. Are you more likely to remember things if you think about a visual image, the sound of the words, or the feel of doing things?
6. Create mnemonics. If I know there are three things I need to do before I leave the house - switch off the heating, feed the cats and water the plants I might make the sound CHiP (and who can forget chips!)
7. Create a visual image. I could imaging a cat sitting on a plant (not an entirely unusual event) in front of a radiator. The dafter the image the easier it is to remember.
8. Take pictures of things. I frequently take pictures of the car in a car park, or when I've walked down the road from an unfamiliar station, I look back and take the picture of how it looks heading to the station.
9. For remembering long strings of numbers split them into pairs and say them in words. So 123456 would be twelve, thirty-four, fifty six. That's my mums trick. She used to be a music teacher so she frequently remembers numbers by singing them as if they were notes on a scale!
10. Keep calm. The more you worry about forgetting the longer it takes to come back. Take a moment. Breathe deeply. Smile. It will be ok.

Good luck.