Working Memory - The Brain's Mental Workspace

Working memory is one of the invisible skills we use all day, every day — often without realizing it. It helps us hold information in mind while using it, whether we are following directions, writing, solving a problem, staying organized, participating in a conversation, taking notes, cooking dinner, or simply trying to remember what comes next. In this episode, Vinita leads a practical and relatable conversation about what working memory is, how it differs from short-term and long-term memory, and why it plays such an important role within the larger executive functioning system.

Through real-life examples, school-based scenarios, and a brief working memory activity with Kay and Ruth, we explore how working memory overload can make students and adults look forgetful, scattered, distracted, or unmotivated — even when they are trying. 

Research reminds us that working memory has limited capacity and develops over time, which is why supports such as writing things down, breaking tasks into smaller steps, using routines, reducing distractions, and making information visible can be so powerful. Key takeaway: short-term memory is holding it, working memory is using it, and long-term memory is storing it.

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Transcript

Vinita 0:00

We use our working memory all day, every day. We are in a period of overload. Someone with a with a limited working memory would have a very hard time keeping all of those pieces together.

Kay 0:16

Welcome to Net Collective, where we navigate everything together. From classroom to college to careers and beyond. I'm Kay McBrudy, career coach and founder of Waterville Partners.

Vinita 0:26

I'm Vanita Patel, school psychologist in private practice.

Ruth 0:29

I'm Ruth Hayes, education professional and founder of Fultio Prep.

Kay 0:34

Net Collective. Navigating everything together, one conversation at a time. Welcome to Neck Collective. This is Kay, and today we are going to talk about working memory. Benita, this is something that most of us have heard about, but we may not fully understand it. Can you break it down for us in plain language so we can understand it better?

Vinita 0:56

I will try. I will I'll use my working memory skills and try to do that. So let me start with a with a question. Have you ever walked into a room with the intention to do something or get something and completely forgotten why you went in there?

Ruth 1:14

Are you asking how often per day? I can give you an estimate, but so the answer is yes.

Vinita 1:22

Yes. The answer is. Okay. Or, you know, and I do this is I'll open up my phone to either pay a bill or text someone something important. Um, and I'll forget why I went into my phone to begin with, because there were three notifications. Or, you know, I just get over overloaded with and kind of lose, I displace the original intention. Okay. Yes. Or for, you know, the parents with young youngsters out there, you know, um, you you give your child, you know, say a school age child, a three or four-step direction, like go brush your teeth, pack your homework, grab your water bottle, and get your shoes on. I mean, I know that's a lot, but that child maybe ends up just doing two of the steps and the rest just disappear.

Speaker 2 2:09

Okay.

Vinita 2:10

So all of these examples are our working memory kind of being overtakt tasked. So our working memory is the brain's mental workspace. It's the place where we hold information long enough to use it. It's not just about remembering something for a few seconds, it's remembering it while we're using it. We rely on our working memory all day, every day to follow directions, to have a reciprocal conversation, to solve a problem, to write, to plan, organize, et cetera. It's part of our executive functioning system and all of these skills, as we know, work together. And so the reason that it's really important to talk about working memory is that when it breaks down, we can appear as if we're disinterested or we're not listening or we don't care, um, or do we're just constantly forgetful. Okay. So I'm curious, both of you, do you see working memory breakdown with your clients in the work setting when you're when you're working?

Ruth 3:14

Oh, 100%.

Vinita 3:16

Yeah. Can you give me an example?

Ruth 3:17

Oh, yeah. Those skills are really important to um any kind of test taking, right? So keeping a text in your mind while you answer questions about it, or remembering, you know, the complicated conditions to a word problem as you're setting up the algebra. Um, and also, you know, in things like writing, like we've talked about, just keeping an eye on what you're looking for, what you're reading for, what you're trying to accomplish as you look at the word, there can be a lot of moving parts.

Vinita 3:39

Right. It's not just about storing the words, it's about using those words to answer the question.

Kay 3:45

Right. Yeah, that that's a great example. What about you? Trevor Burrus, Jr. For my clients, for example, we've talked about networking. So if you're meeting new people or you're having conversations, you've got to be able to take in the information that they have given you and process that real time. It might just be as simple as remembering their name or their company or something else that they've shared with you that you want to come back and ask a question about.

Vinita 4:07

That's right. Yeah, reciprocal conversation. And I see that that is the older I'm getting, it happens to me where I'm, whether it's in a social setting or a networking setting where I'm having a very nice conversation, but I want to contribute a comment so that they know I'm listening. Right. And I'm I'm truly am and I'm truly interested. But I I worry that that comment I have is gonna escape my brain. And I don't want to be rude and interrupt them so that it escapes. So you're you're kind of doing this dance in your head, like this mental gymnastics where I could continue listening and not be rude and show that I'm attentive, but I really want to contribute my comment and I don't know if I'm going to be able to because it'll leave me. You know, and so that's working memory, trying to find its balance.

Kay 4:56

Well, it's funny, even as you're explaining that, I'm like, do I have a comment in my head now for this conversation, right? Exactly. And we're pretty respectful about not interrupting each other, but that that dance I can totally relate to.

Vinita 5:09

It is. And and and so to our listeners right now, if I'm if I'm not boring you, I mean, this is what I mean when I say we use our working memory all day, every day. Even if you're the like you're nodding right now, right? You're nodding is because you're you're taking in what I'm saying and using that information real time to relate it to something else or come up with a follow-up question or comment. So that is working memory. Okay. Okay. So today we're gonna make this invisible skill visible, practical, and hopefully easy to support.

Ruth 5:44

Very cool. So before we get any deeper into it, um, I've heard of working memory, I've heard of short-term memory. What's the distinction there? Because they seem pretty similar.

Vinita 5:52

They did they do. And, you know, certainly it's it's it's common to conflate both both terms. Um, so let's see if I can make this a little clear. Short-term memory, let's start with that, because it's it's it's simpler. So short term short-term memory is holding the information, it's holding it for a few seconds. Working memory is using that information that you've held on to in your short-term memory and doing something with it. Okay. And we'll we'll do some examples. And long-term memory, of course, that's that's that's storing the information kind of like a filing cabinet. Okay. So, so that's the that's that's the definitive extinction. And let's let's break that down a little further. So, an example for short-term memory would be remembering a phone number for a few seconds. Okay, the task really there is to mainly just holding it. You're putting it in your holding cell. Imagine putting something in your hand and it's just temporary. Okay. Working memory, it's taking that phone number, dialing it, making sure you put in the right numbers, ignoring any notifications that pop up, and thinking about what it is you want to say when that person on the other end answers the phone. Okay. So it's taking it to that next level. Okay. It's taking the information that you're storing and doing something with it. Okay. And of course, long examples of long-term memory, which we won't talk about in this session really, but since we're talking about the continuum of memory, it is worth noting that an example of long-term memory would be um, like you remember your childhood address, or you remember lyrics to a song, or even, you know, muscle memory is part of like long-term memory because it's, you know, like riding a bike. You just always remember it. Okay. So because you've asked that astute question, Ruth, how about we play a little game to show our our our listeners um real time the difference between short-term and working memory? Okay. Who's up for it? Okay. Okay. Who wants to go first?

unknown 7:59

I will.

Vinita 8:00

Okay. All right. So, Ruth, I'm going to say four words, and I want you to just repeat the four words back to me in the same order. Okay. Backpack, fork, tomato, candle.

Ruth 8:14

Backpack, fork, tomato, candle.

Vinita 8:16

Excellent. Good short-term memory. Okay, now I'm going to say the same four words, and this time I want you to say them in alphabetical order. Okay? Backpack, fork, tomato, candle.

Ruth 8:31

Backpack, candle, fork, tomato.

Vinita 8:34

Working memory at its best, right? So you you held on to the four words, but you manipulated the words in an order based on my request. Okay? Would you like to try something, okay? Sure, but I think I should have taken the first one. So the telling this was good. You can do it. Let's go. Okay. All right. Okay. Short-term memory task first, okay? Okay. So I'm going to say four numbers, and I want you to just repeat the numbers back to me. Okay. Okay. Six, three, four, seven. Six, three, four, seven. Excellent. Okay, now I'm going to say the same four numbers, and I want you to say them backwards. Okay.

Speaker 2 9:20

Six, three, four, seven. Seven, four, three, six. Woo!

Vinita 9:29

Good job. Okay, so so what did you what did you notice between the two different short-term memory and working memory?

Kay 9:38

I thought the working memory, I mean, it took more effort. Yeah.

Ruth 9:41

Yeah.

Kay 9:42

I mean, because I knew if I hadn't known that there was a working memory piece coming, I would have flushed those first four numbers, right? When you said them to me, thinking, oh, there's going to be different numbers coming. Does that make sense?

Ruth 9:56

Because I like the word flush because I was thinking about that during mine. I was when you said alphabetical, I I kind of thought of like pinning backpack to the top. I'm like, okay, I know that one's going to be first. Where does everything cut it in?

Vinita 10:06

Right. But you didn't know I was going to say alphabetical. You said alphabetical. Okay. Okay. Got it. Got it. Right. So that extra step of manipulating the numbers and the words is really working memory. What you had to do is you had to hold on to the first four pieces of information I gave you while manipulating or solving that simple task. Okay. Okay. So curious, Ruth, how does working memory do you see it happening when you're doing some writing tasks with your clients?

Ruth 10:41

With writing tasks, I think it usually comes down to balancing different tasks. So we've talked about when we discussed editing, when we've discussed some of our pre-writing tasks, how you're doing lots of things when you write a piece. So you're trying to convey information, you're trying to be persuasive almost always, you're trying to use a tone and style that fits for the situation, and you're trying to do it in the most logical and concise and beautiful way possible. And keeping all of those moving at the same time can be difficult, right? So if we're just reading, you can be too focused on the information there to realize when you're making a grammar mistake, for example, or you can be too focused on those grammar mistakes to realize that you need to do something with the overall argument. It can be different, difficult to kind of shift focus.

Vinita 11:27

I mean, think of all the skills within writing that you just mentioned, right? The the organization piece of it, the the making sure that everything makes sense, the grammar piece, the going back and editing, you know. Um that it someone with a with a limited working memory would have a very hard time keeping all of those pieces together. That's why we're going to talk about some of the strategies and how to make that make that um less less taxing on our working memory.

Kay 12:00

So, okay, you've talked about the working memory. How does this fit into our overall executive functioning skills? Because that's really the overarching piece that you initially laid out for us.

Vinita 12:11

That's right, right. Okay. Um that's a great question. So we've talked so this is part of our executive functioning series, this this episode, right? And we do know that um our executive functions are our brain's management system. And I say system because there are multiple skills involved within the system. And working memory is certainly one that weaves in each one of those other skills. Okay. So for example, organization. Working memory helps us remember what belongs where, what needs to be filed, what materials are needed, and what steps come next. Okay. So if you you have to be able to hold on to that, all of those things in mind in order to be an organized individual, right? And then planning. We've talked about planning. We did an episode on planning, right? So working memory helps us hold the goal in mind while sequencing these steps because that's what planning is really about, right? It's it's looking at the multiple steps and putting them in the right order. While your working memory helps you maintain all of those steps in your mind and decide what steps should come first, second, third, fourth, and why. And the why piece is really the self-monitoring piece that we that we will certainly have a very um uh good episode on later, later. Um, and then think about emotional regulation. Oftentimes people forget that emotional regulation is part of our executive functioning system. But think about when we are upset or rushed or feeling anxious. That emotional intensity is competing for that mental space, okay? And without a strong functioning working memory, it makes it harder to hold the bigger picture in mind. Okay. So that's a good question about how it all fits into our executive functioning system because again, these skills do work together. And because working memory is what we use all day, every day, you know, it it just weaves in in each one of those skills. Okay. Does that make sense?

Ruth 14:22

It does. And just a quick question Is working memory only what happens inside of your brain? Or can you consider, you know, jotting things down, taking notes a part of that?

Vinita 14:31

Absolutely that. So we will be talking about the supports and what you're uh talking about there, Ruth, is is one of it's a great support to s to help our working memory. Okay, and we we'll get to that. Um, but let's talk about a couple of student examples of how working memory can show itself up in the classroom and even outside of the classroom. One one area that I see you know kids who struggle with working memory is note-taking. You know, and I don't know if you see that, Ruth, but imagine this scenario. A student is in class and the teacher is, you know, giving a lecture. Now I know our systems are changing now where it's not just a teacher up there giving a lecture and kids are just sitting there listening, and they're rows and rows. It's very discussion nature, which is great. Um, but let let's let's, for the sake of this argument, imagine a teacher is giving a lecture on, let's say, um, World War II, okay, or the Civil War, whatever it is. And there's names and dates and generals and battles and and how it's all connected. And the the task, the the task, the classroom task that day is to take notes so that you can go home and review the notes and get ready for tomorrow's quiz. Okay. A student sitting there with working memory issues may have their bullet points, but may miss pieces of information because what they're doing is they're listening to what the teacher is saying, decide what's important to jot down. That's the working memory. That's the work piece in working memory. You're you're taking that information and you're doing something with it. But while you're doing that, you may be missing the other pieces of information. Because sometimes we can't keep up with our note-taking as fast as the information that's coming to us. So there's a there's an overload. So what do you do with that overload? It's like imagine a cup, okay? A short cup there. And you pour the water, pour water, but eventually, if you keep pouring water, it's just going to overflow. And that's what happens to that information. It there's just an overflow of information, right? And so that's one way that working memory can show up in the classroom. And I see that it shows up in my kitchen, working memory, like when I'm cooking dinner or cook or or you know, planning a party, you know, um, and you know, and I have to cook multiple things. Well, I have to remember that there are multiple ingredients that have to go into a recipe. And, you know, oh boy, the oven is on, and I have to make sure that the timing for whatever's in the oven has to be appropriate so that it doesn't get burned or too dry or whatever, you know, and so it it it it's not just a school task, it is a everyday, all-day task. Right.

Kay 17:20

It's funny, my mom used to, when she would have parties, she would lay all the dishes out that she was gonna fill, and she put sticky notes in each one of them with what goes in it. And I still do that, and people tease me, but then I don't forget what goes where.

Vinita 17:35

That is an awesome example for how you're supporting not only your executive functioning skills, but specifically your working memory. You are offloading, you are offloading everything that would otherwise be in your head to the sticky note. And by the way, another analogy for working memory is the mind's sticky note. Okay. You know, I'm calling it the mind's mental workspace. So if you if you actually visualize your workspace, that's what working memory is. I mean, not everything is gonna stay in your workspace forever, because if it did, that would be long-term memory. Right. And your workspace is your workspace because you're going to do something with it. So that's why it's not short-term memory, you know? Got it. So so I I love that I love that example. Okay. Um, anything else? Any other examples you guys want to share before we go into some supports for working memory?

Ruth 18:28

Um, to keep it on the kitchen example. One thing I've done if I'm making a big holiday meal is I'll literally just go through and create a schedule of everything I need to do. Like the oven needs to be this temperature at this time, this needs to go in, this needs to get taken out, this needs to be chopped up. And so I can just be going through the list. Or if you if you watch Bake Off, that's what people a lot of times will do. So they don't need to think about in the moment what it is they're doing. They just need to execute the list of tasks.

Vinita 18:52

That's right. Right. And so that's there's some planning in that. That's yeah. But do you see back to the point we talked about how your question about, okay, about how does working memory fit into the other skills within executing file, that's that's a perfect example right there. Yeah. Organization, and you both gave great examples of that. And then the other thing I do want to mention, because I think it's a big one, as our students grow and they have to read more complex texts and you know, larger texts, like for reading comprehension. Imagine a student who has working memory issues. Imagine them reading the first part of a paragraph and then kind of forgetting or not being able to connect the pieces of what's happening with the rest of the paragraph. Now, this is barring that there aren't any learning disabilities. You know, I'm talking, I'm strictly talking about working memory here. So we want to check if that's happening in a pattern. Um, but that's another way where working memory shows itself up in an academic setting is with reading comprehension. You have to be able to hold on to what's happening in all parts of the the text to really fully grasp what the plot's all about and the character development, et cetera.

Ruth 20:07

Exactly. And that's a difficult leap for a lot of students to make from just paying attention to the plot, paying attention to the information to looking at all of those in between the lines things like, you know, um characterization and tropes and you know, all those kinds of things. Yeah, absolutely.

Vinita 20:21

Right. Okay. So shall we now move on to some supports that we can do? Were there were did you guys have any questions or anything unclear, any any comments about making things?

Ruth 20:34

No, this has been great. This is completely informative.

Vinita 20:37

Okay. So let's talk about the um one of the things is is is stuff that we've that we've all shared in in in our uh past episodes is ex you know, in order to uh help our working memory not be so overloaded, one thing we can do is really externalize the information. You know, write it down, use a checklist, use a planner, use a sticky notes, like like like Kay suggested. You know, we talked about using calendars or whiteboards, you know, uh put use your phone, your iPhone reminders. Make things uh uh visible and tangible so that you're freeing up that cognitive load so that we can do the harder tasks. So first uh strategy is really to externalize the information. Okay. The other, the other thing is chunk your tasks. No one says you have to know everything all at once. That that's really a tall order. So chunk it. Break down those directions, break down the assignments a lot, uh, different times and days or time block, like we've talked about before. Even chores, you know, I get overwhelmed when I know I have, you know, even if it's one chore, but if there's multiple, but there's always multiple parts to almost everything we do. So break that down so we can free up again that that space and our our mental space. Okay. Or study into smaller units, you know. Um working memory handles smaller chunks better than long strings of information. Okay. Um the other thing is is, you know, we are in a period of overload, whether it's verbal overload, visual overload, you know. So really just reduce the overload. Okay. If I, you know, like even with my own kids or my clients, when I'm working with them, I'm always saying, okay, let's do one step at a time. Or, you know, parents with younger kids out there, you know, give them two-step directions or make make those directions visible. Okay. Um, and do check-ins. You know, so this prevents the first step from being erased by the later ones.

Kay 22:51

Well, and I think taking breaks is a good thing. Oh, yes. Because it's interesting. I just had my eyes checked recently. And I asked the uh doctor if she had any tips, and she said, 20, 20, 20. And I said, excuse me. And she said, every 20 minutes, take at least 20 seconds and look at something 20 feet away. And I thought, well, okay, so just taking more breaks, because I'll do things like in 30-minute chunks or 45 minute chunks or hour chunks. And I'm like, I think my chunks are too big, right? It needs to be smaller and taking breaks. And, you know, even with younger children, you know, let's do homework for a certain period of time and then let's play a game. Or let's go for a run around the house. I mean, I had a neighbor who every she would have her kids run around their house like five times and then come back in and then do something. So I think the other piece is too, to the extent you can include nature as part of that break, I've heard there's studies done that have said that that is something that has a really positive impact.

Vinita 23:55

Absolutely. And this being spring, I'm so excited to like get outside of our plant and things like that.

Kay 24:01

And even if someone's listening to this in the the dead of winter, I mean you can still see the snow or the cold or you know a tree branch. Yeah. Pardon?

Vinita 24:12

Yeah, and again, you know, that that these breaks, they do. We talked about this in another episode, is that they help re-regulate us. So any and again, this this also goes back to the point about how all of these skills work as a system, you know? Um, so that that that's a great reminder. And you know, also with Ruth, I I'm like you, I I'm really big into using, you know, graphic organizers. Now I'm going back to the academic piece here, graphic organizers for both reading and writing. Yes. You know, like show what you know, take it out of your brain, and put it onto something, whether it's a graphic organizer or an outline, you know, um, create your own study guide, rubrics. I always, and and back to the note-taking scenario I gave, I always tell my my students and my own kids look, it's not just about preparing for a quiz or a test. Go home, five minutes, review your notes. Yes. Review your notes. That's going to help your working memory and the rest of your executive functioning skills. Because once you do that, then when it does come time for the test, you've already overlearned some of those concepts. And reviewing your notes gives you a chance to look at everything and see where the gaps are. What did I miss? Because my working memory was overtasked in the classroom. What did I miss? So go back and review your notes. It's five minutes. You know, five minutes in science, five minutes social studies. Do that every other day. And same with the other classes, you know, you can stack up, stagger them.

Ruth 25:46

Yeah, that's so helpful. And also just splitting up the tasks even finer. I know some students I've worked with who do struggle with working memory will record a lecture so that they can pay attention in the moment and then come back and take notes or come back and re-listen to it.

Vinita 25:58

And transcribe them. That's a great idea. If that's allowed, like because that will require technology in college, certainly in college, yeah. Or even in meetings, like professional meetings, you know, recording recording lectures could, you know, oftentimes when I'm listening to a podcast, I and I'm oftentimes multitasking, whether I'm at the gym or listening, you know, at home or in the car and you have to pay attention to the road, I will have to rewind, you know, and re-listen, you know, and again, that's an example of how our working memory is is always being shared. The attention is always being shared. Okay. Um, and then the other thing is build routines. Repeated routines reduce the working memory demand because the brain no longer has to recreate the plan each time and remember, you know. So maybe have a good morning routine or a bedtime routine, you know, so that you're not forgetting. Or if you have like a landing space for all of your things, you don't have to worry about, well, where are my keys? And you're just worrying about instead, what's the day going to look like, you know? So keep your routines, you know, for those hot moments of the day.

Kay 27:10

I always call that hygiene. I mean, like you have certain routines for oral hygiene or for, you know, career hygiene or for working memory hygiene, things that you do on a consistent basis that can help, to your point, offload and make things a little more systemic. Yeah.

Vinita 27:26

And not even working memory hygiene, executive functioning hygiene. Because if you are helping your working memory, you're really helping all the other skills. But that's a great way to look at it. Yeah. Um, and the other thing is protect your attention. We multitask, and I am super guilty of it. And it's okay to do that sometimes, you know, but when the stakes are high, you know, you want to limit your distractions. Things like silence those notifications, clear the visual clutter, create a defined workspace because distractions will compete when it involves your working memory space. You know, you think of that mental workspace we're talking about. You can't have too much stuff on that desk. Yeah. You just can't. It will fall.

Ruth 28:11

Yeah, I've heard all kinds of students say, like, oh, I actually study better if I'm looking at TikTok at the same time. It's like you don't.

Vinita 28:16

I don't think I would really challenge that thinking. I would really challenge that thinking.

Ruth 28:22

But you know what I do like is if you're, you know, because sometimes the silence can kind of reverberate. I know I'll have I'll struggle with that. I've had students who struggle with that. If you need to have something going, um, you can just put on some uh very simple, non-melodic, uh no-lyrics music. You just kind of have that going in the background.

Vinita 28:39

I've actually read research on that. And in fact, my son showed me a couple of studies on classical music and how classical music can really just, you know, help focus, focus you. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then the last thing is really um build automatic automaticity, you know. So kind of goes along with the routines, but you know, build build a system that's going to work for you, that's going to protect your attention, um, that's going to free up your working memory space. So review those notes, use the, you know, uh, use the routine. Um those will all help with with being less taxed. Okay. Um, and so just it just in closing, short-term memory is holding it, working memory is using it and working it, and long-term memory is storing it. Okay. So when working memory is invisible, um, it can break down, and we don't want the last thing we want to do is misread behavior. So make things visible, break it down, reduce the load, protect your attention, and build those routines because you're supporting not just working memory, but the rest of your executive functioning skills. Awesome. Questions.

Kay 30:02

I can now articulate the difference between short-term and working memory. Great.

Vinita 30:06

And we will have a handout on this episode on our website, netcollective.org. Thanks for joining us. Until next time.

Kay 30:15

If today's conversation resonated with you, please share this episode with anyone who may need it and follow us at netcollective.org or wherever you get your podcasts so you won't miss what's next. We are Netcollective. Navigating everything together, one conversation at a time. Thanks for listening.