Today you’re going to learn how to boost your memory fast.
Now it is time to learn simple ways to remember things especially when it comes to your studies.
In this text, we will discuss ways to boost your memory that you will find so simple and interesting that you will get straight to business.
How To Boost Your Memory Fast:
Some of the ways to boost your memory are listed below:
1. Attention:
Focus all your attention on the materials you are studying.
Keep in mind your ability to pay attention is one of the major components of memory that help you retain useful information when you need.
In order for you to move your prized information to from your short-term memory into long-term memory, you need to pay close attention to the information presented for you.
2. Get rid of all the distractions:
When you are studying to memorize something, try to do it in a place free of all distractions such as television, music, and other diversions.
Keep in mind that by getting rid of distractions, you will be able to concentrate. Getting rid of all distractions may be challenging at first, especially if you are surrounded by things you cannot let go of; things which prove to be addictive and alluring, like a TV series for instance.
But try doing this: set aside a short period of time to be alone. In that period of time, ask your roommates or your family to give you some space.
If you have children, ask your spouse to take the kids out for an hour to the park or to the ice-cream parlor, so you can focus on your work.
3. Establish for yourself a regular study session:
Bjork (2001) is reported to have concluded that studying materials over a number of sessions will give you the time you need to adequately process all the important information you need to call yourself the master of your topic.
Keep in mind that this is the technique used by colleges and schools around the world.
Research has shown that students who study regularly remember the material far better than those students who do all of their studying in one marathon session before their exam.
4. Structure and organize the information you are studying:
We have already discussed some of these techniques in the previous chapters and by now you must have had an understanding of it but let me refresh it in your mind so that you can actually benefit from it.
Researchers have found that information is organized in memory in related clusters. Structure and organize all the materials you are studying. Try grouping related concepts and terms together.
Your memory is composed of complicated neural connections in your brain and just like a computer hard drive those complicated neural connections of your brain are believed by experts to have the ability of holding millions of data.
Our brains have the ability to code and interpret complex stimuli such as images, colors, structures, sounds, smells, tastes, touch, positions, emotions, and language etc.
We use this evolution of our brain to make sophisticated models of the world we live in so that we can better understand it.
Our memories store in our minds all facts and information very effectively. And they keep adding new information like I said in my metaphor of mind being a computer.
5. Use the mnemonics system to memorize:
We have already discussed this: Mnemonic is basically just another word for memory tool.
Mnemonics are techniques for remembering information and facts that are otherwise quite difficult to recall: An example of this is ’30 days hath September’ rhyme for remembering the number of days in each month of the calendar.
The central idea behind using mnemonics is to be able to encode information that is otherwise difficult-to-remember, information in a way that is much easier to remember.
SEE ALSO: How To Memorize Faster And For Longer Time: [3 Best Systems]
6. Elaborate and rehearse
In order to be able to recall all the needed information, you need to code and encode everything that you are studying into long-term memory.
The way to do this is association. Association is the method by which you link various things by merging images together, or wrapping them around each other, rotating them around each other or metaphorically having them dancing together as if madly in love.
You can also associate each thing with giving them similar color, smell, shape, or emotion. When you get accustomed to this process, you will notice, after a few times, that recalling the information is much easier.
7. Visualize concepts
Use positive and pleasant images to remember. Keep in mind that your brain, to protect you, often blocks out unpleasant images from your recall.
Use vivid, colorful, sense-laden images because the beautiful images are easier to remember than the dull images.
You use all your senses to code information or to dress up an image. Keep in mind that you can’t just have to associate information with pictures but you call use anything any of your five senses.
Keep in mind that your mnemonic can contain sounds, smells, tastes, touch, movements, and feelings and emotions as well.
Give your image three dimensions. Give them life; let them have movement and space to make them more vivid. You can use movement either to maintain the flow of association, or to help yourself to remember actions and associate them with what that is that you want to remember.
Another way is to exaggerate the size of important parts of the image in your brain. Make the important stuff Pentagon important.
8. Relate new information to things that you already know
When you are studying unfamiliar and new material, take the time to think about how the new information and relate it to things that you already know.
For example if I know that Tom is a boy and a few days later you find out that he is nine years old.
You can add the information of both together and by establishing relationships between new information and previously existing memory of that thing, you can dramatically increase the likelihood of recall the newly learned information.
We have already discussed before that memorization and the retention of data operates by loading images, sounds, taste, smell, and sensations in a very organized and meaningful combination in our brain.
Your brain can create, program, remember and reload all the files, having data stored in a very systematic order. There are separate files for all the things you know.
There are hypothetically separate files for every person you know. Information is added in those files of your brain constantly and systematically.
9. Teach new concepts to others
Research done by experts suggests that reading materials out loudly (1) significantly improves memory retention of the specific material.
Educators and psychologists have also agreed with the discovery that having students not just read out loud but actually teach new concepts to others students enhances their understanding and the recall of the topic in question.
You can use this approach in your own study sessions. You can learn all you want to learn, all you have to learn by teaching all new concepts and information to somebody else.
All you have to do is find yourself a friend or study partner who is will to have you teach them. You can also take turns teaching each other and both will learn.
SEE ALSO: How To Learn Anything Fast And Remember It: The Real-World Guide
10. Pay extra attention to unmemorable things
If you are concerned with your learning abilities, you must have noticed how easy it is to sometimes remember the information at the beginning of the chapter and at the end.
Experts have found that the order in which the information was achieved can play a vital role in recalling that information and retaining it. This is also known as the serial position effect.
While recalling all the information in middle can be difficult and rather challenging, you can easily overcome this problem by spending your time and focus on the unmemorable information.
And don’t stop there, use the techniques we have learnt before and apply them to use here.
The strategy here is to restructure what you can already retain so it will be easier to remember it.
What I mean is, if you can only remember the beginning, start from what you cannot learn and mark it as your beginning. So next time when you come across an especially difficult concept, make it very important to devote extra time to memorizing that information.
11. Bring variations to your study routine
You can increase your retention of information by changing you study routine regularly (2); if you are accustomed to studying in one specific location or at one time, try to move to a completely different spot for your next study session.
For example in you study in your living room, try to study on the toilet; you won’t be able to forget the chapter you studied in the toilet. It will have a special significance in your life after it.
If you study in the evening or the morning, try changing that time and if it is difficult, try spending a few minutes each morning reviewing the information you studied the previous night or try to revise each night before falling asleep.
And therefore when you add an element of uniqueness to your study sessions, you can increase the effectiveness of your efforts to retain important information and therefore significantly improve your long-term recall altogether.
12. Sleep
Believe it or not researchers have long known that sleep is important not just for physical health but also for memory, learning, and all other cognitive inhibitions.
It will be useful to note here that some of the recent research has shown that taking a nap right after you have learnt something new can actually do wonders for you.
Just a nap can do wonders for you; it can help you learn faster and remember better.
It will be interesting to know that one study actually found that sleeping right after learning something new and adding new information to your brain leads to actual physical changes in your brain.
It was found that the sleep deprived mice which were used in the experiment actually experienced less dendritic growth which was followed by a learning task their results were compared with well rested mice.
So take this finding very seriously and the next time you are struggling to learn new information, put your books away and go to the bed and consider getting a good night’s sleep.
And never underestimate the power of being recharged.
13. Add more resources of learning
You must have noticed about your ability of learning that if you read an entire page, you only tend to remember a certain facts from that page.
What if I told you that you can increase the facts you will remember only by adding more resources to your learning.
For example, if you were learning about long term memory, you may not remember reading one definition on a website but if you were to read about long term memory from all the sources present to you, you will remember more.
So, next time, don’t just read from one book, read about the same topic online, in journals, in all the books available to you and if you are really committed, try to go to the library and read about your selected topic.
Once done, discuss it with people. You will see a considerable change in the amount of facts your brain retained about the topic you selected.
