Where Did I Leave My Car Keys? How to Organize Your Mind and Home

The brain, one of humanity's greatest wonders. How does the brain function? How can we utilize it to our advantage? And what is the connection between the brain and design and organization? It turns out there are professional secrets that can help us improve brain function and significantly enhance our memory. As we all tidy up our homes these days, it's worth discovering better methods for organizing information in the brain and organizing our surroundings.

Moria Cohen, owner of the studio MORE for branding and website creation, manager of EYE COME.PAUSE, the digital media design campus, graphic design coordinator in seminars, and a lecturer in design, branding, and advertising, speaks about the link between order and organization and the mysteries of the human brain.

"If we understand how the brain works," Moria begins to say, "we can take these natural characteristics, which Hashem created in an astonishing and marvelous way, and utilize them to our advantage. I teach these techniques to my students during the design and advertising courses I conduct. The key is to grasp and understand the human brain, how people perceive messages, and what makes a design communicate and stay in their minds. When you grasp the idea and understand it, you know how to communicate visually in the right way and nail the messages.

To comprehend how everything operates in the brain and what exactly we can 'use' to our advantage, it is worthwhile to peek at what goes on inside the brain: the brain is composed of countless neurons resembling tubes. At the end of the neurons are synapses. The brain resembles a multi-branched star.

The information in the brain flows through the neurons, which are neural conductors, and at the end of the rapid journey, it reaches the synapse's station. And what happens then? The synapse doesn’t remain alone. Each synapse is connected to another synapse that reaches it from a different direction from another neuron, forming complex and intricate networks of connections in the brain."

Memorization and Strengthening Associations

How does all this information help us improve memory, organization, and recall of information accordingly?

Moria elaborates on a few methods: "The first method is repeated practice and strengthening connections. This way is based on the fact that the brain transfers information in the form of connections and associations. In other words, our brain is a collection of connections and associations. The associations we mentioned are in varying degrees of strength. The more we increase the times we make the connection, the stronger and more stable the connection will be.

"Take, for example, a child learning the shapes of letters. The first time the teacher taught her the connection between the shape of the aleph and the sound it produces is still not sufficient to create a significant connection, and the information might be forgotten. But the more the child practices again and again and again, the connection becomes stronger and will be retrieved more quickly the next time. This conclusion, regarding the importance of practice to memory quality, was reached by brain researchers after long studies. In our Gemara, it appears long before: 'One who repeats his lesson a hundred times is not comparable to one who repeats it a hundred and one times'.

"It is important to note," Moria comments, "that 'associative connections' are also powerful tools for developing creativity. With their help, we 'train' the brain to think and get used to creating new connections. Exercises in 'connections and associations' and even 'the connection of the connection', form excellent training for the brain, and train it to be in a state of looking for connections. The more it is accustomed to creating connections, the easier it will be next time, bringing new and surprising connections. The connection can be on a visual, verbal, or conceptual basis."

Moria offers a brain exercise for all ages: "According to this principle, ask the children and yourself: what does an apple remind you of? And what does a microphone remind you of? And what does a magic wand remind you of? And what does the word 'high' remind you of?" The children's creative answers will surprise you and open their minds to creativity, organization, memory, and rapid retrieval.

Imparting Meaning

Moria adds another method for strengthening memory and storing information in the brain: "By defining the meaning and context of each piece of information, we can strengthen its storage capacity in the brain. What does this mean? When new information comes to the brain, it seeks context and meaning. Our brain does not like to be in states of doubt; it wants to receive defined things. You know the feeling when you see someone unfamiliar, and you try over and over to remember 'where do I know him from?' Between us, what good will it do to discover the groundbreaking discovery: 'Ahh... he was once a cashier in the neighborhood supermarket...?'

The truth is, it doesn’t matter what the answer is, even if it's disappointing - the brain will prefer it. Uncertainty is not desired in the brain, and it will always seek a known association for the new information. Again, this natural aspect of the brain is familiar to us from our sources as 'there is no joy like the resolution of doubts'.

This insight can significantly aid educational memory. If we help ourselves with meaningful associations, it will help the brain store this information in a stable and calm place, and most importantly - allow us to retrieve it quickly from there.

Moria offers an example and asks: "Can you remember the following number 11092001107?, or the next number 127141510? Close your eyes for a moment and try to recall the sequence of numbers. Did you succeed?

(Photo: shutterstock)

"And what do you think if I say I can repeat both numbers again and again without a problem? No, I didn't practice or memorize," Moria adds and reveals the secret that enables her to remember the sequence of numbers: meaning.

"The first number is the historical date 11/09/2001, the day the Twin Towers fell, all 107 floors of them. The second number is: Ahasuerus ruled over 127 provinces, we celebrate Purim on the 14th in unwalled cities and on the 15th in walled ones, and yes, also all ten sons of Haman were hanged.

"Now is everything clear?" Moria asks with a smile. "You don’t need to be a genius. Hashem created us with a brain that is already a genius; just work in its 'mind'. So too, for example, to memorize a list of 'exceptional words' in grammar, we can help ourselves by inventing a cute story containing all the words. In the same way, when we want to memorize a shopping list or urgent tasks, in case there is no pen and paper at hand, just incorporate a logical meaning within the list of items, and the brain will remember them more easily."

Moria offers a tip for order and organization at home: "Even with external order at home, it's worthwhile to consider the brain's ways of operation and assign a meaningful place to each object," she explains. "For example, place the pens next to the memo pads, and the reading glasses next to the newspaper basket. Don't leave the pacifier resting on the bathroom shelf, and the car keys on the windowsill."

(Photo: shutterstock)

Now Moria moves on to an efficient tip for better memory: "Here’s a tip for memory that relies on the brain's nature of disliking unclear things: as a reminder, sometimes it helps to place an unusual object in an unusual place. If you want to remind yourself of an important task and you're in the middle of the street, find an object to put in an unusual place. For example, wear the watch on your right hand instead of the left until completing the task. Each time you encounter the watch, the brain will signal that something here seems off. The brain will search for the related information and help you remember and retrieve the necessary information."

Information Pieces in Moderation

"The third method for strengthening storage in the brain is dividing information into small pieces. Since the brain has a limit to the amount of memory it can accumulate in the short term, it should be eased by dividing the information into chapters and parts. This way, it will be easier for us to navigate, and naturally, to remember.

"When it comes to long texts we need to read, it is important to pay attention to the typography design, including the font and letters and orderly layout. It’s crucial to remember to divide the text into paragraphs, properly punctuate the sentences, categorize them appropriately, and emphasize headlines and text groups from time to time to create information groups, so as not to pour all the information in a tedious, unmemorable stream. All these external design details will help during reading to store the information in our minds better.

"Similarly in design and advertising, it is very important to maintain a hierarchy between the information details and not 'pour' all the objects in a jumble. There are orderly rules on exactly how to design correctly, to make ‘light to the eyes’ and ease information absorption in the reader’s brain."

"Moria explains that this nature of the brain also helps in learning. By dividing into topics and categories, it is possible to significantly ease information storage in the brain and create 'order in the mind'. For example, a phone number will be remembered better when divided into components. It’s no wonder companies present their phone numbers this way: 1-800-550-650. With the division and hyphens, it will be easier to remember the number than in its raw form: 1800550650.

(Photo: shutterstock)

"One can understand the power of the group and its impact on memory," Moria notes, "if we recall what happens when the group is 'disassembled'. You probably know the phenomenon when someone dictates a familiar phone number, but divides the digits differently, and suddenly it's difficult for you to recognize the number... It happens? This just shows how division affects the memory of information in the brain and how worthwhile it is to utilize it when needed."

And like in previous tips, Moria notes that our Sages already brought all this wisdom to us long ago, much before renowned brain researchers, saying: 'Grasp too much, you will not grasp'.

Moria concludes the interview with a tip relevant these days, as most of us are engaged in organizing and tidying our homes: "If you empty the entire content of clothing and accessories into one shelf, the mess in the drawer will quickly become disorganized again. And if you manage all the cabinets this way, the organization at home will be deficient, and it will be difficult for you to remember and locate each item in the chaos. However, if you divide the large compartment into baskets or boxes, and categorize the items into small groups, each box with its designated content, you will achieve a pleasant, clear, and organized arrangement - and manage to navigate the closet successfully."