11 tricks to remember better when studying

April 5, 2024

For most of our life, most people are continuously learning new things .

Having new information we can be able to adapt better to the environment and constant changes typical of today's society. Although this learning process is continuous throughout the life cycle, it is especially visible during training processes, in which we acquire most of the general knowledge and attitudes that we will then apply, deepening, contrasting and modifying throughout life.

In such training it is frequent to have to memorize a large amount of information in relatively short periods of time. For this reason, In this article they will provide some tricks to remember better when studying .

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Study, a strenuous activity

There are very different types of learning, but all of them are based on the acquisition, either voluntarily or involuntarily, of information from a source (external or internal, experiential, vicarious or even imaginary) and its subsequent retention.

Anyone who has had to study in depth knows that this is an activity that can be strenuous . The learning and memorization of especially technical or complicated material can be a real headache for those who must learn it. Although a great effort is not always required (either due to personal preferences, via which the information, attitude or skill arrives, there are people who more easily retain certain information), in general it usually requires the repetition of a series of behaviors or information up to get a habituation or domain of the subject treated.

In any case, if we want to keep the acquired knowledge in our memory, we must be able to provide them with a sense for the learner, so that the learner is able to generalize and apply them to other contexts. Without giving meaning to a learning this is going to become mechanical, not being so profitable for adaptation to the environment .

However, many times what is learned is forgotten with great speed, applying a few times at most and then disappearing from our lives. Why do we forget this material?

The curve of oblivion

The memory and the loss of information retained in it over time have been studied. With the passage of time, memory traces deteriorate, causing information to be lost. This may be due, among other possible explanations, to the fact that the new information that is acquired is superimposed on the old ones, with which the old information suffers a progressive deterioration due to the interference that the new material produces.

Herman Ebbinghaus is famous for his studies related to memory . From his research he outlined what is now known as the curve of oblivion, to the loss of retentive information over time. According to this graph, which describes the process of forgetting the information in the absence of a consistent review of it, the amount of material retained will decrease exponentially.

If the first day retains 100% of the material the second, if not reviewed, that percentage could be reduced by half , and after several more days the amount of material retained is close to zero. However, it is important to highlight that the review of the information to be learned allows us to recover the information stored more quickly than if we started from scratch. The closer the time of learning approaches and the review of this less investment of time will be necessary to recover the stored material.

In order to retain information and help streamline and maintain the retention process, it is recommended to use a series of mnemonic strategies and tricks, such as those explained below.

Some useful mnemonic techniques

Next we are going to contemplate some useful mnemonic techniques to retain information and facilitate study and review .

1. Construction of a story

This mnemonic technique is based on making a small story that links all the elements to memorize . It can be used to remember dates, names and elements of a listing.

The story itself should be brief and significant, as it is to facilitate the memorization of some data, and not to present a stimulus too complex that involves extra learning. In this way, a story is woven that keeps the elements to be remembered together.

This is one of the most effective tricks to remember , since each part of the story contains elements that anticipate the next.However, its main disadvantage is that it requires some effort and creativity.

2. Use acronyms

It is very useful to remember formulas and lists, this mnemonic technique basically is based on using the initials of the words to form another that allows the memory of all . It is based on using very specific clues to remember the information.

In this way, the sonority of an acronym gives us clues that lead us more easily to the words and concepts we try to remember.

3. Create an imaginary route

It is a well-known mnemonic trick although it can be complex if the associations are not done well. Its operation is simple, it is about creating an imaginary route in which we link the different points of reference to the names or elements what to study To be effective, it is necessary to bear in mind that we have to be able to remember the association (for example, where it is bought, have a similar color, etc.).

4. Use of similar rhymes, words or phrases

Using words that rhyme with those of those elements that we want to learn can allow us to better remember a specific material. Dividing it into smaller and easier to memorize fragments can also be useful . Basically it is about being able to associate the word, number or knowledge to learn with another element that is more accessible to us.

This trick to remember, by the way, can be used in combination with the creation of acronyms.

5. Employ a sense of humor and imagination

Positive emotional states facilitate memorization . For this reason, trying to link humor and study, provided it is done in its proper measure and with sufficient prior knowledge, can be very useful to better remember what has been studied. The use of small games, as well as riddles, can be helpful.

6. Use your likes and hobbies

Another mnemonic technique that facilitates the consolidation of the material in our memory is to splash the study process with things that you like. For example, try to link the material to study to your favorite series, movies or books , or try to imagine a relationship with the things that you love, your hobbies.

7. Link the new to the old

To be able to learn easily and effectively it is necessary to be able to give meaning to the information that they give us . The best way to do this is to relate the material to learn or retain with previous knowledge or experiences. Thus, new information must not be created from scratch, but becomes a deepening of things that we have already seen or experienced previously, requiring less effort to encode the material and memorize it. We are talking about meaningful learning.

Following this same logic, if what you want to remember better is a text with relatively complex ideas, reviewing is essential and, although it may seem false, very effective. Reading a second or third time a text not only serves to see again what needs to be remembered; it also allows us to see relationships between the ideas that appear at the beginning and end of the text. This allows us to understand much better what we are reading, and understanding is the key when remembering, because it means integrating all the data in a coherent system of information where there are no "loose pieces".

Strategies for learning

Apart from the aforementioned techniques, It is essential to apply some of the following strategies to achieve good memory maintenance of the material to remember.

8. Review what you have learned

It may not seem like an elaborate mnemonic technique , but taking into account that over time we are losing much of the material learned is one of the main recommendations if you want to remember the material. Each time we review a content, this memory is becoming more consolidated in our brain.

9. Make summaries and schemes

The fact of making schemes and summaries of a specific agenda helps to exercise the mind and forces attention to focus on what is a good trick or strategy to remember better when studying. In this way we establish categories with the information to be memorized, having to prioritize some contents over others, establish hierarchies and in general work with information at the cognitive level.

10. Use different ways to process information

We often think of studying as an activity in which we basically sit down reading a specific content until it is recorded in the memory. Although it is a method to learn, different types of help can also be used. The visualization of videos, the use of audios and exercises through which to put into practice the acquired knowledge They are helpful.

11. Explain to others the material / Study group

In the same way as in the two previous cases, the fact of having to expose to others the material to be memorized forces to work with the information , so that their retention is greater. In addition, the fact of working collaboratively makes the vision of the subject can be enriched by the perspectives of others and helps to adopt other points of view.

It also makes it easier to take the study in a more relaxed or serious way, depending on the type of person that accompanies us, being able to motivate the study or reduce the level of tension. However, there is also the risk of deviating too much or of maintaining too many opposing positions on a specific topic, so that the time available and the type of relationship with the other person must be assessed.