You’re likely to forget 70% of what you have learned unless you make a special effort to remember it.
Information needs to be transferred form your short-term memory (temporary) to your long term (permanent) memory.
There is no such thing as a “bad memory” and anyone can improve their skills, so long as they’re not suffering from memory loss as a medical condition.
If you want to improve your memory, here are 5 techniques to use:-
1.Beginnings and endings
Studies show that we remember the first and last things better. So, for example, in a one-hour training session, you are more likely to have a stronger recall of the content covered in the first and last 10 minutes.
You’ll remember parts of the other 40 minutes, however not as strongly.
So, a great way to remember more is to try to create yourself more beginnings and endings. For example, take a short 2-5 minute break every 20-40 minutes.
2.Mnemonics
Mnemonics is a created word or phrase. It is defined simply as some device which aids the memorisation of something. The word comes from the Greek ‘mnemonikos’, which refers to the mind. Studies show this one technique alone can improve your recall by 77%!
Mnemonics come in a variety of forms. One common type is RHYME. The following classic reminds millions of people of the number of days in each month of the year:-
“Thirty days hath September, April, June and November.
All the rest have thirty one, excepting February alone.
Which hath but twenty-eight in fine. Till leap year gives it twenty nine.”
The following phrase helps people to remember how the spell words such as ‘receive’
“I after E, except after C”
Many mnemonics also take the form of acronyms.
For example, to remember how to spell the word ‘mnemonics’ you could memorise the following phrase:-
Monkey Nut Eating Means Old Nutshells in C
Other examples:-
Guitar string names = E, A, D, G, B, E=
Eddy Ate Dynamite Good Bye Eddy
Colours of the Rainbow = Roy G BIV
Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet.
Planets of the universe = My very enthusiastic mother just served us noodles
My is MERCURY, Very is VENUS, Enthusiastic is EARTH Mother is MARS, Just is JUPITER, Served is SATURN, U is URANUS, and Noodles is NEPTUNE.
3.Focus on it
So many of us get caught up in multi-tasking and “busy-ness” that we often fail to do the one thing that will almost always improve our memory – paying real attention to the task at hand.
One reason people can’t remember where their keys are, is that they’re not paying attention when they put them down. Studies show that it takes eight seconds to fully commit a piece of information to memory, so concentrating on the task at hand is crucial.
This is important because your brain needs time to encode the information properly. If it never properly makes it into your memory, then you won’t be able to recall it later. When you really focus on something, it will become BIGGER. Everything else falls into the background.
Try this: for just 30 seconds, focus on the colour RED – and you’ll notice it everywhere! If you need to memorise something, quit multi-tasking – focus on one thing at a time.
4.Use your senses
Smell, touch, taste, hear and see it!
The more you can involve your senses when you need to remember something, then the stronger your memory of that thing will become.
That’s why the smell of your mums home baked cooking can still be instantly recalled as though she were downstairs making them just now!
Need to remember someone’s name you met for the first time? It may help to look them in the eye when you repeat their name and offer a handshake. By doing so, you’ve engaged 4 out of your 5 senses.
5.Clench your fist!
Your memory can be improved simply by clenching your fist, a study suggests.
In an experiment, 50 adults performed better at remembering words from a long list when they carried out these movements.
Researchers think clenching a fist activates specific brain regions that are associated with memory processing and suggest that these simple body movements can improve memory by temporarily changing the way the brain functions.
Clenching your right hand for 90 seconds prior to learning information and cleaning your left fist for 90 second even before recalling it, will help to improve your memory.
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