In celebration of OT Week 2022 we asked our Occupational Therapists to share their favourite life hacks.
Here Kate Shepherd shares her simple life hack for anyone struggling with short-term memory.
“One of the things that I’ve got into the habit of doing, is saying out loud when I’ve put something down temporarily e.g. “I’ve put my phone on charge upstairs” or “I’ve put my car keys in my top draw in my bedroom”. The number of times I’ve done things without thought or without paying full attention and become stressed, because I think that I have misplaced or lost something is huge, and this is an even bigger problem for those that may have attention or short-term memory problems. Saying what you’re doing out loud engages many more areas of your brain (including your language centres), and this rehearsal or repetition of information helps to create a richer and more solid memory of the event, making it less likely that you’ll forget where you put something.
This can also work well for remembering essential tasks that need to be completed for safety reasons e.g. saying out loud when you’ve switched the gas hob or oven on and off.
For more OT Life Hacks visit: https://www.rcot.co.uk/lift-your-everyday-ot-life-hacks