My working memory improved with a simple idea: get other things to remember for me. :-) Paper and machines do a great job. Tabs in particular are a way to expan

My working memory improved with a simple idea: get other things to remember for me. :-) Paper and machines do a great job. Tabs in particular are a way to expand one's working memory; the browser can keep track of what you meant to check out or do, leaving you to think about other things. This takes discipline, though. Also, I find I can store some things in muscle memory; if I've copied some text for example, I feel like I'm holding something. With deliberate practice and the right techniques, people can learn to expand certain areas of short term memory by associating it with other, more solid knowledge. This used to be called 'chunking', but the process seems entirely different. There was a paper (referenced by Ericsson et. al. on expertise) on a group that increased their digit span memory from 7 to 80 in just a few sessions. Some people (e.g. Ericsson) think that with deliberate practice and effort, experts route around the standard short term memory entirely: in a blink they can remember information just presented to them, in a field that they know about, in the long term. For fields outside their expertise this ability doesn't kick in, however.