Having a strong memory impacts everything in your life. Better memory makes you more productive at work, improves your relationships and social life, and helps you learn new skills faster. That’s why building an unstoppable memory should be a top priority. 

According to memory training legend Jim Kwik, memory is not innate. Rather, it’s a set of habits you can intentionally cultivate. By adopting the right daily routines, you can unlock your brain’s limitless potential and massively upgrade your ability to remember.

In this post, we’ll dive deep into Kwik’s suggested morning rituals that can supercharge your memory and focus when done consistently. 

The Power of Daily Routines

Your daily habits and routines determine who you become. As Jim Kwik says, “First you create your habits, then your habits create you.” Small habits performed each day stack up to create transformational change over time.

Making a few positive changes to your morning routine can set the tone for a productive, focused and memorable day. Likewise, falling into a poor morning routine hampers your cognitive performance no matter how smart you are. 

Optimizing your mornings essentially allows you to win or lose the day before it even starts. As motivational speaker Robin Sharma says, “Whoever wins the morning, wins the day.”

Now let’s explore the specific habits memory master Jim Kwik uses each morning to walk into every day with unlimited memorization power.

Evening Memory Review

Most memory advice focuses on daytime habits. But Kwik stresses the importance of closing your day the right way too. As you wind down before bed, spend 2-3 minutes mentally re walking through your full day from start to finish. 

Review what happened when you first woke up. What did you have for breakfast? Who did you talk to? What tasks did you work on? What did you learn? Visualize yourself going through your day in chronological order.

This evening memory review strengthens your episodic memory. Episodic memory is your autobiographical memory of life events and experiences. Reviewing your day engraves it more strongly in your mind so it’s not lost and forgotten. As Kwik says, “If your life is worth living, it’s worth remembering.”

Feel Grateful 

After your memory review, take a minute to feel grateful. Identify 1-3 things from your day that you appreciate or are thankful for. They can be small like a good cup of coffee, or large like an important milestone. 

Focusing on gratitude rewires your brain in several ways. First, it activates the parasympathetic “rest and digest” nervous system, which calms your mind and prepares you for sleep. Second, it reminds you to appreciate the positive things already present rather than constantly chasing more. Third, it strengthens the memory of your heart. Regular practice makes gratitude a habitual response.

Prioritize Sleep 

Sleep is when your brain consolidates memories. During deep sleep stages, your hippocampus replays memories and transfers them from short term to long term storage. Missing sleep means missing out on this memory consolidation. 

Sleep also initiates the brain’s cleaning system. Cerebral spinal fluid flushes toxins like beta amyloid from your brain as you sleep. Buildup of beta amyloid contributes to Alzheimer’s. Quality sleep may help reduce your Alzheimer’s risk later in life.

Finally, REM sleep unlocks creativity. Dreams make novel connections and surface creative insights you can apply when you’re awake. Have a notebook beside your bed to capture anything memorable from your dreams immediately upon waking. Sleep is the foundation of a supercharged memory. Prioritize getting 7-9 hours of quality sleep per night.

Make Your Bed

Making your bed first thing in the morning sets the tone for your day. This small routine demonstrates that how you do anything is how you do everything. It forces you to pay close attention to perfecting a simple task. Carry that mindset into other important tasks.

Your brain also functions best in an organized environment. A cleanly made bed creates a sense of order that permeates the rest of your day.

Hydrate 

After breathing and perspiring all night, you wake up dehydrated. Drink a full glass of water immediately after getting out of bed to rehydrate your brain. Your brain tissue is 75% water. Even mild dehydration causes headaches, fatigue and cognitive impairment. 

For an extra brain boost, add probiotics like lactobacillus to your morning water. Your gut houses bacteria that communicate directly with your brain via the vagus nerve. Probiotics improve this “gut-brain axis” for better focus and emotional balance.

Exercise

Exercise is fertilizer for your brain. It stimulates the release of BDNF, a growth hormone that fuels neuron growth in your brain. Even light exercise for just 10 minutes bumps up levels of neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin.

To maximize these cognitive benefits, exercise early. A morning workout – even just 5 minutes of burpees or jumping jacks – leaves you more focused and productive all day. It also helps you fall asleep 75% faster at night.

Brush With Non-Dominant Hand

Brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand is a simple way to challenge your brain. The unfamiliar motion strengthens neural connections and forges new ones. Doing basic tasks “backwards” keeps your brain nimble.

More importantly, this trick boosts your attentiveness. The awkward motion forces you to focus completely on the present moment. You can’t allow your mind to wander. Regular practice builds your focusing stamina – the core skill for an incredible memory.

Take a Cold Shower

Cold showers aren’t just uncomfortable. They provide legitimate cognitive benefits by reducing inflammation and boosting norepinephrine. 

Inflammation hampers communication between brain cells. Cold water constricts blood vessels to flush out inflammatory cytokines. This anti-inflammatory effect clears your mind.

Cold water also triggers release of norepinephrine in your brain. Norepinephrine is like a natural stimulant that makes you alert and focused without the caffeine crash later. Start your shower warm then turn the last 30-60 seconds cold.

Journal and Visualize

While sipping your morning coffee or tea, take a few minutes to journal. Reflect on what would make today a great day if accomplished. Identify your most important tasks and visualize yourself completing them. 

This mental rehearsal primes your brain for success later when working on those tasks for real. Visualizing the positive emotions you’ll feel after accomplishing them also motivates you to stay focused.

Audit Your Habits

Finally, audit your current daily habits and routines against this list. Identify new habits to adopt and old habits to abandon. Ask yourself whether each habit serves your brain or slows your brain. 

The morning is when you win or lose your day. By optimizing your daily routines, you set yourself up to remember more and achieve more all day long. Great days build a great life. What morning routine will you start tomorrow?