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Staying in This Palace Can Boost Your Memory

And an uncommon way to save on Amazon

Hello there, Idle Impact is back! Just give us 5 minutes of your time to help you improve your life!

Today, we're diving into an ancient technique that can supercharge your memory, and sharing a tool that ensures you never overpay on Amazon again.

Let’s get right to it then, shall we?

MEMORY | BRAIN TIPS | LEARNING

Boost your memory like a champ

If you’re like me and most people, you probably forget things all the time. It’s alright, it’s normal. But there are ways to improve your memory.

A useful method I’ve used for remembering (lists of) things is the Memory Palace technique - also known as the ‘method of loci’ since it dates back to ancient Greece.

In simple terms, it involves visualizing a well-known setting (such as your home) and placing memorable cues along a path that you can use to easily recall a list of items later.

The technique has been scientifically proven to be more effective for memorizing lists than brute force memorization.1

Additionally, many ‘memory athletes’ like Boris Konrad, who won a 2009 competition by memorizing 195 names and faces in 15 minutes, credit this technique as critical to his training.

Here’s a useful walk-through to building your first memory palace:

  1. Decide what you want to memorize - it could be a recipe or to-do list, for example

  2. Choose and visualize a setting - you should choose a place you are familiar with, such as home or work, and also has distinct rooms or locations.

  3. Assign items to specific locations - place each item in your list in a specific location and make it as vivid and memorable as possible. Using multiple senses such as sound, smell, taste, and touch also helps.

  4. Recall the items - replay this ‘mental journey’ in your mind in order to retrieve the list of items.

Here’s an example of memorizing a grocery store shopping list including lemons, eggs, and bread:

As you approach your house, the front door is a vibrant lemon-yellow with a juicy lemon handle. Inside, clucking chickens roost on your couch, laying eggs amidst the cushions. In the kitchen, the floor is replaced with soft, aromatic slices of bread.

Here’s a fantastical scene you might envision in order to remind yourself to buy eggs at the supermarket

From the shopping list description above, you might have had several of the scenes pop up in your head - maybe you can start to see the power of this technique?

One of the reasons the memory palace trick is so effective is because humans have a strong ability to remember physical spaces. After all, we evolved as a species to navigate and remember important places - e.g. where there are resources or danger.

So, the next time you need to remember a list, try constructing a memory palace. You might be surprised by how long you can remember this list afterwards!

Try the CamelCamelCamel tool for shopping on Amazon.com

SHOPPING | FINANCES | ONLINE TOOLS | SAVING MONEY

Never Overpay on Amazon Again!

Shopping online has never been more convenient, especially with Amazon and their famously huge sales such as Prime Day.

These look like great opportunities to save, BUT by the time you hit checkout, you might find yourself with a scrawny discount or a higher-than-normal price?! WTF!!! 😡😡😡 

I’ve always found the constant price fluctuations on Amazon products to be quite frustrating UNTIL I started using price tracking tools. Now, I know I’m always getting the best value on the products I want.

I highly recommend CamelCamelCamel for this purpose and it’s completely free (note: this is not a paid promo, I just really like this tool and want to share).

To make sure you always get the best prices on Amazon, just do the following:

  1. Go to www.camelcamelcamel.com

  2. Search for the name or enter the Amazon URL for the product(s) you want.

  3. Look through the price history. You’ll be able to see what the lowest price has been.

  4. Buy when prices are near or at their lowest!

  5. You can also sign up for price drop notifications and/or use their handy Chrome extension (The Camelizer) - super helpful!

The top right shows that this is in fact the best price for this product! Pricing history is also shown in the chart and information below.

We hope this tool will save you a lot on Amazon. By the way, another similar tool you can also try is Keepa.

The next time a sale rolls around - including Amazon Prime Day - use CamelCamelCamel to make sure you’re actually getting the best deal. Your wallet will thank you for it. 🤑🤑🤑

Thank you for joining us on this journey today. We hope you found the Memory Palace technique intriguing and the CamelCamelCamel tool useful.

Remember, every small step towards improving your memory and being a savvy shopper counts. We're here to support you along the way!

What other mindful living tips would you like to see in future editions? Let us know at [email protected].

- Kevin and the Idle Impact Team

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