Ever got to where you’re going, only to wonder what you’re doing there?

It happens to all of us! And is it any wonder we can become a little forgetful, given the amount of information we have to cope with every day?

I must admit, I do try to lessen my own stress by having systems and processes, that I do automatically, without having to think about them. For example, my keys and my ‘phone can only be in one of 3 places – by the door, in my handbag or in my hand!

That’s, of course, where the classic knotted handkerchief comes in. Finding a knot in your hanky is meant to jog your memory about whatever you were using it to remind you of. That is as long as you can remember the thing it’s was meant to remind you of!

But who uses handkerchiefs these days? Not all of us…

So if I’ve got to remember to take something to a meeting the next day, I’ll put it by the front door where I’ll see it. Maybe you do the same?

I don’t know about you, but I can’t be done with all that frantic searching for stuff, getting more and more worked up as I go… Of course I’m not immune to the odd panic, but on the whole, it works well for me.

That leaves my brain a bit more space to focus on more interesting or important matters – such as taking care of the garden.

Yep! It’s that time of the year, when we’ve got to start putting the garden to bed for the approaching winter. Sweeping up, tying up, trimming up, tidying up…

Why do I mention this? Because a similar clearing up is going on in our brains too! It’s called synaptic pruning.

Old connections, unused connections, useless connections…

It starts from the moment of birth and never stops. We actually have fewer brain cells as time goes on. OK so the ones we have are meant to work more efficiently, and the good news is that we now know that we keep making new brain cells, at least in the hyppocampus – if we give our brains reason to.

Recent studies have suggested the best way to keep your brain in neuron-creating mode is to learn a new language, though learning any new skill is nearly as good.

As you know, there are loads of things we can do to keep our brains working beautifully – exercise, breathing properly, eating well, drinking enough water, even singing for 10 minutes a day…

Hey! Enough talking about it, I’m off for a brisk walk…

As soon as I’ve found my door keys…

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