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| source : pinterest |
Ever walked into a room and instantly forgotten why you came in? Or spent 15 minutes retracing your steps just to find where you put your keys?
Yeah. Same here.
As frustrating as it feels, this kind of forgetfulness is totally normal, and according to science, it’s exactly how the brain is designed to function.
I recently dug deep into this topic after realizing that I’d been blaming myself too much for being “forgetful.” Turns out, we're bombarded with so much information every day, over 34 gigabytes, according to a study from UC San Diego, that remembering everything isn’t just unrealistic, it's biologically impossible.
Why We’re Built to Forget
I came across the work of Dr. Charan Ranganath, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at UC Davis, who put it plainly in his book Why We Remember: “Don’t try to remember more, remember better.”
I love that.
Our brains are wired for efficiency, not storage. They're not hard drives, they’re filters. They keep what matters and quietly trash the rest. And thank goodness they do, otherwise, we’d never survive the tsunami of TikToks, emails, notifications, and dinner plans.
5 Memory Tricks That Actually Work (Just Call a MEDIC)
Dr. Ranganath shared a clever memory tool called “MEDIC” that I’ve been using. It's helped me remember names at networking events, where I put my coffee, and even why I walked into that room.
Here’s how it works:
M is for Meaning
If something’s important to you, it’s easier to remember.
Say you meet someone named Charan. If you’re into Greek mythology, link it to Charon, the underworld’s ferryman. Now imagine that person rowing a boat across the river Styx. It’s weird. It’s vivid. And that makes it stick.
Personal meaning makes info unforgettable.
E is for Error
Trial and error is your brain’s secret sauce.
If you're learning a new word, guess it wrong first. The brain will correct itself and make the right version more durable next time. This is why quizzes and flashcards work better than passive reading.
Don’t fear mistakes, they’re memory boosters.
D is for Distinctiveness
Make it weird. Make it stand out.
Ever remembered where your keys were because they were sitting next to a giant pineapple? (Okay maybe that’s just me.) But the point is: unique cues stick.
If you're putting something down, notice what’s around it. A smell, a sound, a color. That “hot pink Post-it note” effect works on memories too.
I is for Importance
Our brains love emotions, especially strong ones.
Moments that feel embarrassing, exciting, or terrifying? Hardwired into memory thanks to chemicals like dopamine and adrenaline. If you want to lock in a memory, add emotional weight or curiosity to it.
Curious brains are spongier brains. Seriously.
C is for Context
Where you are matters more than you think.
Ever smelled your grandma’s cooking and instantly remembered being in her kitchen as a kid? That’s context memory. If you’re trying to recall something, close your eyes and mentally revisit the moment, what you saw, heard, felt. The scene brings back the details.
Final Thoughts: Memory Isn’t About Perfection, It’s About Priority
Honestly, this shift in mindset has been huge for me.
We're not supposed to remember everything, just the things that matter. The key isn’t cramming more into your brain. It’s learning to filter, frame, and feel the things worth keeping.
So next time you forget where you left your phone, cut yourself some slack. Then maybe apply a little "MEDIC" magic to the things that actually matter, your relationships, your goals, your daily life.
Because remembering better beats remembering more. Every time.