Given that we are exposed to greater amounts of information than our grandparents (and even parents), it’s no wonder we make use of our phone and apps to remember things. But precisely because we outsource the recalling of information to digital devices these days, we hardly have practice retrieving information from our mental data banks. When I was young, I used to remember my best friends’ phone numbers by heart. These days, I can only recall two people’s numbers - my wife and best friend from high school. I don’t even bother to remember my dad’s phone number; I trust that I can always retrieve it from my phone. Rote memorisation may not be emphasised as much in schools these days. But I think a certain degree of memory prowess is still needed if you want to work with your knowledge to analyse and synthesise and create. Thinking skills that will serve us well in the workforce. So do you consciously work on boosting your memory skills? I tried out the memory palace technique with my class this year. I helped them identify five prime spots at the school hall and explained that they should anchor one thing onto each of the location. This worked better than I had expected. They remember their timetable (as in the subjects they learn for the day) pretty well. I recently found this to remind them to stay hydrated. Apparently drinking water helps us improve our memory.