Experiment with these techniques to make a flexible, custom-made memory system that fits your style of learning. The 20 techniques are divided into four categories, each of which represents a general principle for improving memory.
Briefly, the categories are:
The first three categories, which include techniques #1 through #16, are about storing information effectively. Most memory battles are won or lost here.
- 1.Organize it. Organized information is easier to find.
- 2.Use your body. Learning is an active process; get all of your senses involved.
- 3.Use your brain. Work with your memory, not against it.
- 4.Recall it. This is easier when you use the other principles to store information.
To get the most out of this article, first survey the following techniques by reading each heading. Then read the techniques. Next, skim them again, looking for the ones you like best.
Mark those and use them.
Organize it
1 Learn from the general to the specific
Imagine looking at a new painting this way: Blindfold yourself, put a magnifying glass up to your eye, and move your face to within inches of the painting. Now yank the blindfold off and begin studying the painting, one square inch at a time. Chances are, even after you finish looking at the painting this way, you won't know what it is.
Unfortunately, many students approach new courses and textbooks just this way. They feel driven to jump right in and tackle the details before they get the big picture.
Here is a different approach. Before you begin your next reading assignment, skim it for the general idea. You can use the same techniques you learned in Exercise #1: "Textbook reconnaissance".
You can also use this technique at the beginning of a course. Ask someone who has already taken it to quickly review it with you. Do a textbook reconnaissance of the reading assignments for the entire course. This technique works best at the beginning of a term, but it's never too late to use it.
If you're lost, step back and look at the big picture. The details might make more sense.
2 Make it meaningful
A skydiver will not become bored learning how to pack her parachute. Her reward for learning the skill is too important. Know what you want from your education, then look for connections between what you want and what you are studying. If you're bogged down in quadratic equations, stand back for a minute. Think about how that math course relates to your goal of becoming an electrical engineer.
When information helps you get something you want, it's easier to remember. That is one reason why it pays to be specific about what you want.
3 Create associations
The data already stored in your memory is arranged according to a scheme that makes sense to you. When you introduce new data, you can recall it more effectively if you store it near similar or related data.
Say you are introduced to someone named MaryAnne. One way to remember her name would be to visualize another person you know named MaryAnne. When you see the new MaryAnne again, your mind is more likely to associate her with the MaryAnne you already know.
Use your body
4 Learn it once, actively
According to an old saying, we remember 90 percent of what we do, 75 percent of what we see, and 20 percent of what we hear.
These percentages might not be scientifically provable, but the idea behind them is sound. Action is a great memory enhancer. You can test this theory by studying your assignments with the same energy that you bring to the dance floor or the basketball court.
Many courses in higher education lean heavily toward abstract conceptualization, that is, lectures, papers, and textbooks. Such courses might not give you the chance to act on ideas, experiment with them, and test them in situations outside the classroom. So create those opportunities yourself.
Your English teacher might tell you that one quality of effective writing is clear organization. To test this idea, examine the texts you come in contact with daily - newspapers, popular magazines, web sites, and textbooks. Look for examples of clear organization and unclear organization. Then write Intention Statements about ways to organize your own writing more clearly. This science class might include a discussion about how nutrients affect a persons overall health and well-being. See if you can apply any of these ideas your own nutrition and diet. Then write Discovery Statements about your experiences. The point behind each of these examples is the same: To remember an idea, go beyond thinking about it. Do something with it.
You can use simple, direct methods to infuse your learning with action. When you sit at your desk, sit up straight. Sit on the edge of your chair, as if you were about to spring out of it and sprint across the room.
Also experiment with standing up when you study. It's harder to fall asleep in this position. Some people insist that their brains work better when they stand. Pace back and forth and gesture as you recite material out loud. Use your hands. Get your whole body involved in studying.
These techniques are also great ways to battle boredom. Boredom puts memory to sleep. Wake it up by using your arms and legs as well as your eyes, ears, and voice.
Learning can be deceptive. Most learning, especially in higher education, takes place in a passive setting. Students are seated, quiet, and subdued.
Don't be fooled. Learning takes energy. When you learn effectively, you are burning calories, even if you are sitting at a desk reading a textbook.
5 Relax
When you're relaxed, you absorb new information quickly and recall it with greater ease and accuracy.
Part of this is common sense. Students who can't recall information under the stress of a final exam can often recite the same facts later when they are relaxed.
Relaxing might seem to contradict the idea of active learning in technique #4, but it doesn't. Being relaxed is not the same as being drowsy, zoned out, or asleep. Relaxation is a state of alertness, free of tension, during which your mind can play with new information, rolling it around and creating associations with it, and apply many of the other memory techniques. You can be active and relaxed.
Many books, tapes, and seminars are available to teach you ways to relax. Courses in accelerated and "whole mind" learning also teach relaxation techniques. Experiment with these exercises and apply them as you study.
"Mellowing out" might do more than lower your blood pressure. It might help you succeed in school.
6 Create pictures
Draw diagrams. Make cartoons. Use these images to connect facts and illustrate relationships. Associations within and among abstract concepts can be "seen" and recalled more easily when they are visualized. The key is to use your imagination.
For example, Boyle's law states that at a constant temperature, the volume of a confined ideal gas varies inversely with its pressure. Simply put, cutting the volume in half doubles the pressure. To remember this concept, you might picture someone "doubled over" using a bicycle pump. As she increases the pressure in the pump by decreasing the volume in the pump cylinder, she seems to be getting angrier. By the time she has doubled the pressure (and halved the volume) she is boiling ("Boyle-ing") mad.
Another reason to create pictures is that visual information is associated with a different part of the brain than the part that processes verbal information. When you create a picture of a concept, you are anchoring the information in a second part of your brain. This increases your chances of recalling that information. To visualize abstract relationships effectively, create an action-oriented image, such as the person using the pump. Make the picture vivid, too. The person's face could be bright red. And involve all of your senses. Imagine how the cold metal of the pump would feel and how the person would grunt as she struggled with it. (Most of us would have to struggle. It would take incredible strength to double the pressure in a bicycle pump, not to mention a darn sturdy pump.)
7 Recite and repeat
When you repeat something out loud, you anchor the concept in two different senses. First, you get the physical sensation in your throat, tongue, and lips when voicing the concept. Second, you hear it. The combined result is synergistic, just as it is when you create pictures. That is, the effect of using two different senses is greater than the sum of their individual effects.
The "out loud" part is important. Reciting silently, in your head, can be useful-in the library, for example-but it is not as effective as making noise. Your mind can trick itself into thinking it knows something when it doesn't. Your ears are harder to fool.
The repetition part is important, too. Repetition is the most common memory device because it works. Repetition blazes a trail through the pathways of your brain, making the information easier to find. Repeat a concept out loud until you know it, then say it five more times.
Recitation works best when you recite concepts in your own words. For example, if you want to remember that the acceleration of a falling body due to gravity at sea level equals 32 feet per second per second, you might say, "Gravity makes an object accelerate 32 feet per second faster for each second that it's in the air at sea level" Putting it in your own words forces you to think about it.
Have some fun with this technique. Recite by writing a song about what you're learning. Sing it in the shower. Use any style you want ("Country, jazz, rock, or rap; when you sing out loud, learning's a snap!").
Or imitate someone. Imagine your textbook being read by James Earl Jones, Jessica Simpson, or Clint Eastwood ("Go ahead, punk. Make my density equal mass over volume").
Recite and repeat. It's a technique you can use anywhere.
8 Write it down
This technique is obvious, yet easy to forget. Writing a note to yourself helps you remember an idea, even if you never look at the note again. You can extend this technique by writing it down not just once, but many times. Let go of the old image of being in elementary school and being forced to write "I will not throw paper wads" 100 times on the chalkboard after school. Used with items that you choose to remember, repetitive writing is a powerful technique.
Writing engages a different kind of memory than speaking. Writing prompts us to be more logical, coherent, and complete. Written reviews reveal gaps in knowledge that oral reviews miss, just as oral reviews reveal gaps that written reviews miss.
Another advantage of written reviews is that they more closely match the way you're asked to remember materials in school. During your academic career, you'll probably take far more written exams than oral exams. Writing can be an effective way to prepare for such tests.
Finally, writing is physical. Your arm, your hand, and your fingers join in. Remember, you remember what you do.
Use your brain
9 Reduce interference
Turn off the music when you study. Find a quiet place that is free from distractions. If there's a party at your house, go to the library. If you have a strong attraction to food, don't torment yourself by studying next to the refrigerator.
Two hours of studying in front of the television might be worth 10 minutes of studying where it is quiet. If you have two hours in which to study and watch television, it's probably better to study for an hour and then watch television for an hour. Doing one activity at a time increases your ability to remember.
10 Overlearn
One way to fight mental fuzziness is to learn more than you need to know about a subject simply to pass a test. Another option is to pick a subject apart, to examine it, add to it, and go over it until it becomes second nature.
This technique is especially effective for problem solving. Do the assigned problems, then do more problems. Find another text and work similar problems. Make up your own problems and work those. When you pretest yourself in this way, the potential rewards are speed, accuracy, and greater confidence at exam time.
11 Escape the short-term memory trap
Short-term memory is different from the kind of memory you'll need during exam week. For example, most of us can look at an unfamiliar seven-digit phone number once and remember it long enough to dial it. See if you can recall that number the next day.
The problem with short-term memory is that it can fade after a few minutes, and rarely lasts more than several hours. Sometimes, students will review material and recognize the material as something they have seen before. The trap is that what they have in their long-term memory is that they have seen the material before, and not necessarily actually remember the material. This can lead to the all-too-familiar feeling during a test that you thought you knew the material, but can’t seem to recall what it was.
A short review within minutes or hours of a study session can move material from short-term memory into long-term memory. That quick mini review can save you hours of study time when exams roll around.
12 Use daylight
Study your most difficult subjects during daylight hours. Many people can concentrate more effectively during the day. The early morning hours can be especially productive, even for people who hate to get up with the sun.
13 Chunking
This is a technique generally used when remembering numbers, although the idea can be used for remembering other things as well. It is based on the idea that short-term memory is limited in the number of things that can be contained. A common rule is that a person can remember 7 (plus or minus 2) "items" in short-term memory. In other words, people can remember between 5 and 9 things at one time. You may notice that local telephone numbers have 7 digits. This is convenient because it is the average amount of numbers that a person can keep in his or her mind at one time.
When you use "chunking" to remember, you decrease the number of items you are holding in memory by increasing the size of each item. In remembering the number string 64831996, you could try to remember each number individually, or you could try thinking about the string as 64 83 19 96 (creating "chunks" of numbers). This breaks the group into a smaller number of "chunks." Instead of remembering 8 individual numbers, you are remembering four larger numbers. This is particularly helpful when you form "chunks" that are meaningful or familiar to you (in this case, the last four numbers in the series are "1996," which can easily be remembered as one chunk of information).
14 Distribute learning
As an alternative to marathon study sessions, experiment with shorter, spaced-out sessions. You might find that you can get far more done in three two-hour sessions than in one six-hour session.
For example, when you are studying for your American history exam, study for an hour or two and then wash the dishes. While you are washing the dishes, part of your mind will be reviewing what you studied. Return to American history for a while, then call a friend. Even when you are deep in conversation, part of your mind will be reviewing history.
You can get more done if you take regular breaks. You can even use the breaks as mini rewards. After a productive study session, give yourself permission to log on and check your email, listen to a song, or play 10 minutes of hide-and-seek with your kids.
There is an exception to this idea. When you are engrossed in a textbook and cannot put it down, when you are consumed by an idea for a term paper and cannot think of anything else-keep going. The master student within you has taken over. Enjoy the ride.
15 Be aware of attitudes
People who think history is boring tend to have trouble remembering dates and historical events. People who believe math is difficult often have a hard time recalling mathematical equations and formulas. All of us can forget information that contradicts our opinions.
Being aware of attitudes is not the same as fighting them or struggling to give them up. Simply acknowledge them. Notice them. Your awareness can deflate an attitude that is blocking your memory.
One way to befriend a self-defeating attitude about a subject is to relate it to something you are interested in. For example, consider a person who is fanatical about cars. She can rebuild a motor in a weekend and has a good time doing so. From this apparently specialized interest, she can explore a wide realm of knowledge. She
can relate the workings of an engine to principles of physics, math, and chemistry. Computerized parts in newer cars can lead her to the study of data processing. She can research how cars have changed our cities and helped create suburbs, a topic that includes urban planning, sociology, business, economics, psychology, and history.
We remember what we find interesting. If you think a subject is boring, remember that everything is related to everything else. Look for connections that relate to your own interests.
16 Choose what not to store in memory
We can adopt an "information diet." Just as we choose to avoid certain foods in our diet, we can choose not to retain certain kinds of information in our memory. Decide what's essential to remember from a reading assignment or lecture. Extract the core concepts. Ask what you’ll be tested on, as well as what you want to remember. Then apply memory techniques to those ideas.
17 Combine memory techniques
All of these memory techniques work even better in combination. Choose two or three techniques to use on a particular assignment, and experiment for yourself.
For example, after you take a few minutes to get an overview of a reading assignment (#1), you could draw a quick picture to represent the main point (#6). Or you could overlearn that math formula (#10) by singing a jingle about it (#7) all the way to work. If you have an attitude that math is difficult, you could acknowledge that (#14); then you could distribute your study time in short, easy-to-handle sessions (#13). Combining memory techniques involves combining sight, sound, and touch when you study. The effect is synergistic.
18 Method of Loci
A particular technique used by ancient orators to remember speeches combines the use of organization, visual memory, and association. Before using the technique, you must identify a common path that you walk. This can be the walk from your dorm to class, a walk around your house, whatever is familiar. What is essential is that you have a vivid visual memory of the path and objects along it. Once you have determined your path, imagine yourself walking along it, and identify specific landmarks that you will pass. For example, the first landmark on your walk to campus could be your dorm room, next may be the front of the residence hall, next a familiar statue you pass, etc. The number of landmarks you choose will depend on the number of things you want to remember.
Once you have determined your path and visualized the landmarks, you are ready to use the path to remember your material. This is done by mentally associating each piece of information that you need to remember with one of these landmarks. For example, if you are trying to remember a list of mnemonics, you might remember the first--acronyms--by picturing SCUBA gear in your dorm room (SCUBA is an acronym).
You do not have to limit this to a path. You can use the same type of technique with just about any visual image that you can divide into specific sections. The most important thing is that you use something with which you are very familiar.
Recall it
19 Remember something else
When you are stuck and can't remember something that you're sure you know, remember something else that is related to it.
If you can't remember your great -aunt's name, remember your great-uncle's name. During an economics exam, if you can't remember anything about the aggregate demand curve, recall what you do know about the aggregate supply curve. If you cannot recall specific facts, remember the example that the instructor used during her lecture. Information is stored in the same area of the brain as similar information. You can unblock your recall by stimulating that area of your memory.
You can take this technique one step further with a process that psychologists call elaboration. The key is to ask questions that prompt you to create more associations. For example, when you meet someone new, ask yourself: What are the distinctive features of this person's face? Does she remind me of someone else?
A brainstorm is a good memory jog. If you are stumped when taking a test, start writing down lots of answers to related questions, and-pop!-the answer you need is likely to appear.
20 Use it before you lose it
Even information stored in long-term memory becomes difficult to recall when we don't use it regularly. The pathways to the stored information become faint with disuse. For example, you can probably remember your current phone number. What was your phone number 3 years ago?
This points to a powerful memory technique. To remember something, access it a lot. Read it, write it, speak it, listen to it, apply it-find some way to make contact with the material regularly. Each time you do so, you widen the neural pathway to the material and make it easier to recall the next time.
Another way to contact the material is to teach it. Teaching demands mastery. When you explain the function of the pancreas to a fellow student, you discover quickly whether you really understand the pancreas.
Study groups are especially effective because they put you on stage. The friendly pressure of knowing you'll teach the group helps focus your attention.
21 And remember, you never forget
You might not believe that an idea or thought never leaves your memory. That's OK. In fact, it doesn't matter whether you agree with the idea or not. It can work for you anyway.
Test the concept. Adopt an attitude that says, “I never forget anything. I might have difficulty recalling something from my memory, but I never really forget it. I will find out where I stored it.” The intention to remember can be more powerful than any memory technique.
Many people use the flip side of this technique and get the opposite results. “I never remember anything;” they say over and over again. “I've always had a poor memory. I'm such a scatterbrain.” That kind of negative self-talk is self-fulfilling.
An alternative is to speak more positively, or at least more accurately. Instead of saying, “I don't remember,” you can say, “It will come to me.” The latter statement implies that the information you want is stored in your mind and that you can retrieve it-just not right now.
We can also use affirmations that support us as we develop our memories. Possibilities include "I recall information easily and accurately;' "At any time I choose, I will be able to recall key facts and ideas;' and "My memory serves me well." Or even “I never forget!”
Mnemonics
'Mnemonic' is another word for memory tool. Mnemonics are methods for remembering information that is otherwise quite difficult to recall. A very simple example is the '30 days hath September' rhyme. The basic principle of mnemonics is to use as many of the best functions of your brain as possible to store information.
Our brains evolved to code and interpret complex stimuli such as images, colors, structures, sounds, smells, tastes, touch, positions, emotions and language. We use these to make sophisticated models of the world we live in. Our memories store all of these very effectively. Unfortunately information we have to remember is almost always presented in only one way - as words printed on a page. While language is one of the most important aspects of human evolution, it is only one of the many skills and resources available to our minds.
Using Your Whole Mind To Remember
By coding language and numbers in striking images, you can reliably code both information and the structure of information. You can then easily recall these later.
You can do the following things to make your mnemonics more memorable:
- •Use positive, pleasant images. Your brain often blocks out unpleasant ones
- •Use vivid, colorful, sense-laden images - these are easier to remember than drab ones
- •Use all your senses to code information or dress up an image. Remember that your mnemonic can contain sounds, smells, tastes, touch, movements and feelings as well as pictures.
- •Give your image three dimensions, movement and space to make it more vivid. You can use movement either to maintain the flow of association, or to help you to remember actions.
- •Exaggerate the size of important parts of the image
- •Use humor! Funny or peculiar things are easier to remember than normal ones.
- •Similarly rude rhymes are very difficult to forget!
- •Symbols (red traffic lights, pointing fingers, road signs, etc.) can code quite complex messages quickly and effectively
Designing Mnemonics: Imagination, Association and Location
The three fundamental principles underlying the use of mnemonics are imagination, association and location. Working together, you can use these principles to generate powerful mnemonic systems.
Imagination: is what you use to create and strengthen the associations needed to create effective mnemonics. Your imagination is what you use to create mnemonics that are potent for you. The more strongly you imagine and visualize a situation, the more effectively it will stick in your mind for later recall. The imagery you use in your mnemonics can be as violent, vivid, or sensual as you like, as long as it helps you to remember.
Association: this is the method by which you link a thing to be remembered to a way of remembering it. You can create associations by:
As an example, to remember that fish were the first vertebrates, you might link the number 1 with a fish by visualizing a 1-shaped spear being used to impale it.
- •placing things on top of each other
- •crashing things together
- •merging images together
- •wrapping them around each other
- •rotating them around each other or having them dancing together
- •linking them using the same color, smell, shape, or feeling
Location: gives you two things: a coherent context into which you can place information so that it hangs together, and a way of separating one mnemonic from another. By setting one mnemonic in a particular town, I can separate it from a similar mnemonic set in a city. For example, by setting one in my hometown of South Bend, IN and another similar mnemonic with images of Manhattan, we can separate them with no danger of confusion. You can build the flavors and atmosphere of these places into your mnemonics to strengthen the feeling of location.
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