Today’s post comes to us from Paul Nowak, the founder of Iris Reading, the largest provider of speed-reading courses in North America. Some great insights here to improve our memories – which we rely on quite a bit as pastors! You may be surprised at some of the tips Paul recommends:

1. Get plenty of sleep. Lack of rest will have a negative effect on your memory.
2. Keep yourself hydrated. Studies have shown that a 2% decrease in hydration can lead to a 20% loss in energy. Since your body and your brain are inter-related, you need to keep your system hydrated to improve your brain’s efficiency.
3. Try to eliminate or reduce any stress you are currently feeling.
4. Make your learning experiences social. Learning things with other people will help you retain the information and experiences better.
5. Try to teach someone else about something you just learned.
6. Read before going to bed.
7. Try to make as many connections to previously learned information as possible.
8. Review information learned while walking and discussing the information with another person.
9. Talk with mentally stimulating people. This can be mentors, family or friends.
10. Keep body in tune with proper nutrition. Consume memory-boosting vitamins. Also consume salmon, folic acid, natural sugars and vitamin B12.
11. Make it a habit to study in your most comfortable environment.
12. Use associations to help you remember specific information.
13. Avoid memorizing information if you are in pain, on medication or under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
14. Avoid multitasking. Our brain is not that great at performing two similar tasks. Try doing one thing at a time unless one of those tasks can be done without conscious mental processing.
15. Play instrumental music (no lyrics) ideally performed at 60 beats per minute.
16. “Download” information that you gather through note-taking (try mind mapping), oral-repetition, audio recording.
17. Pay attention to the most important information or it will be discarded from your working memory within 18-30 seconds.
18. Relax. It’s difficult to retain information when you are tense, nervous or stressed.

Click here to read the full article.

Your partner in ministry,

Nelson

P.S. It may be hard to relax or eliminate stress if you feel overworked and are not sharing the load with others! Delegation is the key to getting more done with less stress – and I’d like to share my 7 Secrets to Effective Delegation with you.

Today is the last day to save 82% on my new resource with over $259.70 in bonuses! Click here to start getting home on time for dinner and still fulfill your calling!

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About Nelson Searcy

Nelson Searcy is an experienced church growth strategist, pastor, church planter and coach, consulting with churches around the world. As founder of Church Leader Insights and the Renegade Pastors Network, he has personally trained more than 3,500 church leaders in over 45 denominations through live events, seminars and monthly coaching. Nelson is also the Founding and Lead Pastor of The Journey Church, with locations across New York City and in Boca Raton, FL. Nelson and his church routinely appear on lists such as “The 50 Most Influential Churches” and “The 25 Most Innovative Leaders.” He is the author of over 100 church growth resources and 18+ books, including The Renegade Pastor: Abandoning Average in Your Life, Ministry and The Difference Maker: Using Your Everyday Life for Eternal Impact, and At the Cross with the People Who Were There. He and his wife, Kelley, have one son, Alexander.