Memorization techniques have a double effect on your brain. Firstly, you learn the information at hand, and secondly, you become better at remembering over time. The key to getting better at any memory technique is finding one that works for you in particular, and setting goals for your training.
The Loci Technique
This method, originally believed to have been developed in Ancient Greece around 2.500 years ago, has many names.
- Popularly known as “The Memory Palace”, this technique has been featured in many movies (think Sherlock Holmes) and TV shows as a memory exercise of choice for the specially gifted heroes and villains.
Lifestyle improvements
Improving your lifestyle might not give you an overnight boost in memory but it will have positive long-term effects that can make all of the above-mentioned techniques even more effective.
- The lifestyle improvements that might have a positive effect on your memory can largely be split into three areas: sleep, diet, and exercise.
Mnemonics
Memorable sentences that are constructed out of words that start with the same letter as the items you are trying to memorize.
- Musical mnemonics have been proved to be the most helpful at remembering academic content as well as retention of the information over a longer period of time.
Repetition
Ed Cooke, a memory tournament champion and co-founder of the language app Memrise, launched an online experiment that challenged many experts in the memory field to come up with the best ways to memorize things faster
- Repetition came out as number 2 on the list
- Try to understand the essence of the words
The Storytelling Technique
By creating different images that include items you need to memorize and connecting them in a sequence, you create a story your brain can follow
- The exact narrative has little importance.
- Create a story with elements that interest you
- Example: Your cat sitting on top of things you are trying to remember
Mind Maps
Best for learning new information or simply organizing information in a more coherent way
- Use a piece of paper and a pen
- Put down the central topic or idea you are trying to remember on paper, then connect it to sub-topics with simple lines
Things You Don’t Need to Memorize
Time blocking
- Block off time on your calendar for fairly mundane tasks
- This allows your brain to stop thinking about those tasks because the time to complete them has been allocated already
- Track the time you actually spend on tasks and adjust your blocks accordingly
Chunking
This is about grouping items together to remember them easier
- The key aspect of this technique is grouping things based on semantic encoding
- Things are put in groups according to context or pattern
- You can succeed by finding the patterns that feel most natural to you and sticking with them
The Building Technique
This is a technique that can be built on top of the techniques mentioned above, and it can help you expand much further beyond simple recall of facts.
- Once you introduce a sense of understanding and meaning to the things you are trying to remember, you can remember things better and apply them in different contexts.
