Working Memory
📋 What it is
Working memory is your mind’s small "workspace" — it holds a few things at once while you use them to think.
🗣️ Coach says
Working memory is like holding numbers in your head while you add them. Everyone’s workspace is small — only a few items at a time — so smart people OFFLOAD: write the step down, say it aloud, or picture it. When you feel "I forgot what I was doing", that is a full workspace, not a flaw. Free it by parking ideas on paper.
🧠 Memory hook
Small workspace, holds a FEW things. Feeling full? OFFLOAD it — write it, say it, picture it.
😂 Giggle
I tried to organize my thoughts, but they refused to get in line — they said they preferred "free-range thinking."
😲 Whoa!
Most people can only juggle about 3–5 chunks in working memory at once — which is why phone numbers are split into small groups.
✅ Quick check: You keep forgetting the second step of a task while doing the first. What is a good fix?
Say your answer out loud first — then reveal.
Write the steps down (offload them) so your workspace is free to focus on one step.
Working memory is limited; putting steps on paper frees space for the current step.
🪄 Trick question: Does a bigger effort make your working memory hold way more items?
Careful — think it through, then reveal.
No — its size is roughly fixed for everyone; the trick is offloading, not "trying harder".
Working-memory capacity is limited by design; strategies beat straining.
🧪 Try it! (2 minutes)
Next time you have a 3-step task, write the 3 steps first, then do them one at a time, crossing each off.