From maintaining the password of your Facebook or Gmail accounts to remembering your friend’s birthday, you have a pretty good amount of things to remember. Do you find it hard to recollect things and keep going through them over and over, if not always, then sometimes? Well, if you are a student and you are reading this, you might be thinking that this holds quite true when you refer to the concepts given in the voluminous pages making up your books. However, at times it happens that, we see or hear something just once, and we remember it forever.
This is the mystery of memory
Everything from celestial to terrestrial is governed by certain rules and processes. Your brain is no exception in this regard. When it comes to retention of information, your brain adheres to certain rules. How you perceive a piece of information is closely related to its longevity in the brain.
Scientists and psychologists across the globe have researched a lot in this direction. According to them, the cone of learning says, we tend to remember 10% of what we read, 20% of what we hear, 30% of what we see, 50% of what we see and hear, 70% of what we say and 90% of what we say and do.
Read below to find out what are the 10 simple strategies that are highly recommended to boost up your memorization skills.
- Practice retrieval technique–
The best and highly followed method to remember information is to revise it. It could be through extensive writing, or through reading again and again, or narrating it to somebody else. No matter what you do, you are actually re-running the entire information in your brain.
- Use analogies–
The moment you think of an analogy, complex looking information gets simplified in a fraction of seconds. An example of analogy could be if we try to resemble the parts of human brain with parts of a computer. This way of learning paves a way for inter-linkage of concepts. This inter-linkage is a mandate when it comes to learning new things.
- Use audio visual mode–
Engage all your senses into work, for perceiving information. Reading, listening and visualization, together can create wonders. This makes a symphony in the brain, the result of which is synchronization of information. This can help the tissues of your brain trigger the information, whenever you need it, in the most efficient way.
- Make learning models–
Usage of mind maps, flowcharts, diagrams and flashcards is highly recommended for the sinking in of information in your brain. Assembling your study notes into flashcards is indeed a good practice. Also, different colors can be dedicated to different topics while designing these flashcards. Periodic assessments of the studied topics should also be followed.
- Teach one–
An age old saying goes like this, ‘Your understanding is best judged when we teach someone’. These golden words work even in the 21st century. The exercise will not only make you organize the information systematically, but also lets your brain process it in the best possible way.
- Never force–
In order to ensure good health of our stomach, we should eat as much as we can digest. Similarly for a healthy brain, we should furnish it with information that it can store with no overflow. It is always advisable to let your brain perceive small amount of information at a time. Once the information is able to make room for itself in the lobes of your brain, only after that, the next piece of information should be allowed to make an entry.
- Take periodic breaks–
Studying in duration of 25 minutes with a 5 minutes break in between is considered to be one of the healthiest study practices. This lets your brain store the information effectively. Research proved that the energy generated by the brain is sufficient to power a 10 Watt light bulb. It is very important to conserve this energy and use judiciously when required. Relaxing in between long study hours make the super-energetic ions of the brain settle down for a while, and gear up again after the break with double potential.
- Eat smart and take fresh air –
This point initiates with the first meal of your day, your breakfast! Have a proper and a balanced one stuffed with vitamins, proteins and carbohydrates. Studies indicate that including whole grains in the breakfast helps in sustenance of mental focus. The other three meals also need to be of proper nutritional value. Exposing your mind and soul to fresh air is as important as maintaining a balanced diet is. Exercising and meditation can really boost up your memorization skills. A sufficient sleep without any disturbance is also needed.
- Make your examination scenery–
The retention of information is better when you simulate your examination scenery. Think of your examination room, that pin drop silence, the periodic ringing of bell, and the most important one, your focus on the question paper. Rehearse as much as you can before the day by preparing yourself with all these conditions in your preferred study location. However, regular changes in the location are advisable to make your brain adapt to an unanticipated circumstance.
- Believe in yourself–
All these tips work when you believe in yourself and have genuine interest in the subject that you study. Your only target should be to understand the concept clearly. An honest attempt to do that makes you stick to practice a concept again and again. The medium of learning should be the notes, and the lectures, and not your examination date sheet.
You can adapt to these methods and soon you could identify many that fit well in your learning style. When your heart knows that you have done all these, you just need to keep a positive attitude. The magic of remembering then follows.