Create a Name Book

Quick Win

Jotting down the names of people you meet using good old-fashioned pen and paper could help your brain recall them later, research suggests.

Try This Today

• Pick a notebook. Designate one small book for this activity and put it in a familiar place so that you can find it easily.
• Write down names you want to remember. Let’s say you’re introduced to neighbors while walking your dog. When you return home, jot down their names and any key details you talked about in your notebook, while the info is still fresh in your mind. (For instance, if your neighbor told you he grew up in Florida, you might write “Matthew from Miami.”) If you’re at an event such as a conference or a party where you’re meeting lots of people, you may want to discreetly take notes on your phone or a scrap of paper to help keep track of information. Then, when you return home, grab a pen and add the names to your notebook.
• Scan your entries. Review new names for a few minutes when you’re done writing them down. Read through them again at bedtime. The brain processes and stores information during slumber, so scanning new names beforehand may help the info stick. Continue to look at the names at least once per week until you can remember them on your own.

Why

Taking notes by hand can help you learn more effectively, so recording names in a notebook could help you remember that your new friend’s name is Rick (not Mick or Vic). In a study of 48 adults aged 18–29 published in Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience in 2021, participants were asked to write down appointment details in either a paper notebook, digital tablet or smartphone. Those who wrote in a notebook were able to recall the most information, and on fMRI imaging they showed greater activation in brain regions associated with verbal memory retrieval.