I'm not sure if I'm lazy, efficient or brilliant, but I'm always looking for faster and easier ways of doing things. This is true for remembering things, too.

I encourage my clients and students to work smarter, not harder. When it comes to remembering, there are ways to remember smarter, not harder.

Here are five ways to do that:

1. Use of mnemonics such as acronyms (words formed by using the first letters of other words). In “;Managing Your Memory,”; Harold Taylor gives the acronym “;HOMES”; to help remember the names of the five great lakes bordering Canada and the U.S.: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior.

You can use the first letters of things to make up a sentence. In grade school I learned the names and order of the planets with this simple sentence: “;My very English mother just sat upon Nancy's plate.”; That's Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. (Since then, Pluto has been downgraded, but those were the known planets at the time.) I remember that sentence to this day!

2. Associations. Recall involves a process of association whereby one memory evokes another. To remember people, author Taylor recommends learning everything you can about them when you meet them. The more you know about a person, the more associations you can make, and the more clues you will have in your mind to remind you of his or her name later.

3. Music. According to British psychologist Cariona Morrison, music is a powerful cue for storing and retrieving data. You can use music to process new information more deeply. “;It's as if music gives you extra glue to cement data into your brain.”;

She goes on to state that you can train yourself to associate whatever you want to remember, i.e., a new bank PIN number, with a particular piece of music. Repeat the number while listening to a musical selection.

4. Movement. In the movie “;Akeelah and the Bee,”; Akeelah memorized spellings of words while jumping rope. During the spelling bee championship, she patted her hand on her thigh in jump rope rhythm. Doing that aided her recall, and that's not just a Hollywood device.

5. Rhythm, Rhyme and Rap. In the KIPP Academy, college prep schools founded by Ivy League graduates Dave Levin and Mike Feinberg to serve low-income children, the three Rs are repetition, rhythm and rap. Their style of teaching sets facts and figures to music.

This was adopted after Levin met elementary teacher Harriet Ball while teaching. Recalls Levin, “;She came into my room and in one day, and in 45 minutes, taught what I had failed to teach in three months!”;

As you can see, remembering is an active, not passive, process and takes effort. If something is worth remembering, it's worth the effort!

In my next column, I'll share more ways to aid memory. See you in two weeks!

Ruth Wong owns Organization Plus. Her column runs the second and fourth Mondays of each month. Contact her by e-mail at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).