My memory is definitely not as good as it used to be. I think part of it is some normal aging, but I think a tremendous amount of it has to do with both stress and lack of focus.
I don’t do any specific exercises for memory, except to say when I know it’s important to remember something that I’m not go to write down, I slow down, say to myself what the thing is, even sometimes out loud, so it is more likely to stick. If I have to remember multiple things I say how many, if I can’t write them down. Knowing the number helps me know if I am missing one.
I do write more down now. I use my phone calendar a lot to remind me of things.
More about focus, I really have to stop, stop thinking about whatever I was obsessing about, stop listening to the TV, and put my phone down, and really listen to what a person is trying to tell me so I can remember it. Studies show the brain can only really do one thing at a time. I think as we get older we have more stuff crowding our brains. Maybe we get more apathetic too anoytva lot of things.
One other thing I realize as I get older is just how much almost everyone has imperfect memories. I think part of the reason I don’t trust my memory as much as when I was younger is because now I accept that memory is fallible.