11/06/2014
Improve Your Memory:
1. Focus on it. So many people get caught up in multi- tasking, that we often fail to do the one thing that
will almost always improve your memory.
2. Smell, touch, taste, hear and see it. The more senses you involve when you need to encode
memory, usually the more strong a memory it
becomes.
3. Repeat it. One reason people who want to memorize something repeat it over and over again
is because repetition (what psychologists
sometimes refer to as “over learning”) seems to
work for most people.
4. Chunk it. Americans remember their long 10-digit telephone numbers despite being able to hold only
7 pieces of information in their brain at one time.
They do because we’ve taught ourselves to chunk
the information. Instead of seeing 10 separate
pieces of information, we see 3 pieces of
information — a 3 digit area code, a 3 digit prefix, and a 4 digit number. Because we’ve been taught
since birth to “chunk” the telephone number in this
way, most people don’t have a problem
remembering a telephone number. This technique
works for virtually any piece of information. Divide
the large amount of information into smaller chunks, and then focus on memorizing those
chunks as individual pieces.
5. Organize it. Our brains like organization of information. That’s why books have chapters, and
outlines are recommended as a studying method in
school. By carefully organizing what it is you have
to memorize, you’re helping your brain better
encode the information in the first place.
6. Use mnemonic devices. There are a lot of these, but they all share one thing in common — they
help us remember more complicated pieces of
information through imagery, acronyms, rhyme or
song.
7. Learn it the way that works for you. People often get caught up in thinking there’s a “one size fits all”
learning style for memorizing new material. That’s
simply not the case — different people prefer
different methods for taking in new information.
Use the style that works for you, even if it’s not the
way most people study or try and learn new information. For instance, some people like to write
things down when they’re learning something
new.
8. Connect the dots. When we learn, we often forget to try and make associations until later on.
However, research has shown that memory can be
stronger when you try and make the associations
when you first take in the information. For instance,
think about how two things are related, and the
memory for both will be enhanced. Connect new information to existing information or experiences
in your mind.
