Everyone gets sidetracked sometimes, and it's tempting to try to do too much at once. When this happens, we forget important information, take longer to do simple tasks - or even put our own safety at risk.

Learning new information is a big part of success. But are you aware of the best ways to remember information? Most of us believe that we remember things we've seen or re-read many times over, but there are other factors that make a huge difference in memory - and some of these relate back to attention.

Try the "Remembering Everyday Objects" activity below to see how attention relates to memory.

Remembering Everyday Objects

Test your memory for something so familiar, you probably never even think about it.

To do this activity, you will need a blank piece of paper and something to write with. Optionally, if you have a cell phone camera, you can use that to upload a picture of your work in the discussion forum after you're done.

On your paper, draw the front and back sides of a penny. Try to include as many details as you can, and be as accurate as possible (without cheating and looking at an example).

Only spend a couple of minutes on your drawing, then click to the next page.

When you're finished, continue on to the next page (Remembering Everyday Objects Discussion).

Attention Matters! developed by Michelle Miller, Ph.D. & John J Doherty, Ed.D. Northern Arizona University  Technical Support by Rick McDonald, Rhizome Learn LLC