At some point in our lives we have all wanted to improve memory, either to get good grades in our studies or to go one step further in our professional career or simply to remember everything we have to do throughout the day.
It is essential for students to be able to optimize their study time and make the most of it. In addition, a trained memory will be very useful in your professional life, and more in these times when it is necessary to constantly recycle.
How to improve working memory?
Understanding that improving memory consists of improving the process of information retrieval and increasing the retention of it, below we will see ten strategies to improve memory.
The strategies outlined here are intended to improve effectiveness during the study process and are drawn from various studies, books, and articles on cognitive psychology.
1. Focus your attention on what you are doing
Attention is one of the main components of memory. When studying or trying to memorize something, it is important to be in a place without distractions that allows us to focus our attention.
Avoid distraction and run away from “multitasking mode on”
For this you can also practice mindfulness. Through this technique, you will learn to focus your attention on a single stimulus. In this way, it will help you when you start studying as it is a way of training, among other things, our attention. Thus, when we are studying, we will be less likely to be distracted and we will be more focused.
2. Set up regular study sessions and don’t leave everything to the end
It is not about educating discipline, but about helping our minds to process information properly.
Organize your time and avoid binge eating
By studying a little every day, the knowledge will be processed and will go from working memory to long-term memory. With this, we ensure greater possibilities of remembering the information when we get to the exam. It should be remembered that working memory is limited, so if we study a little every day, we will store the information in a more adequate and lasting way.
3. Structure and organize information
Researchers have shown that information is organized in memory into related groups. Therefore, by structuring and organizing study materials, grouping similar concepts, or summarizing with notes taken throughout the study, it is easier to associate related information and thus improve the study.
Simplify, sketch, analyze, relate. You have many tools and technology to make it easier and more entertaining
4. Use mnemonic techniques to remember information
Mnemonic techniques are strategies used to remember information that are usually very personal . They function as an “access key” that allow us to associate something specific with what we want to remember. Some techniques consist of forming a word using the initials of the first words in a list to remember all the points or memorize a series of funny pictures or drawings, use a song, etc.
Make sequences or funny words to remember: Study positive
5. Make progressively what you are studying
To remember the information it is necessary to encode what is being studied in long-term memory. To do this, a very effective technique is to progressively delve into a concept starting with reading the definition of the key term, then studying that term and then delving into a more expanded definition. Repeating this process several times favors memorization.
Simplify and add more information little by little, don’t attack it all at once
When we carry out this process over time, the information accesses the long-term memory. Therefore, it is important to study a little every day instead of leaving everything for the last day. With this, what is achieved is that the stored information is disordered and chaotic. Therefore, if it is studied and progressively deepened, the information will access our most solid memory.
6. Relate new information to what you already know
When faced with new and unfamiliar study material, first think about how you can relate it to what you already know. Thinking about what you already know will help you give new information more meaning and meaning.
7. Visualize the concepts to remember better
The display is one of the techniques used and gives better results. For this, it is important to look at the images (photos, diagrams, graphics), use your own colors and symbols, make mind maps, personal drawings, etc. Anything that evokes the memory is worth. In this way, information retention can be enhanced. They are small tricks to remember the content so that the brain also stores information visually.
Decorating your notes will help you better visualize the information and have a more joyous and positive study material. This will allow you to improve memory.
8. Tell someone else what you have learned
Research suggests that voice reading of information significantly improves the memorization process. To take advantage of this technique you can study with a partner or ask someone in your family or in your environment to listen to you.
If you can not count on anyone you can do it just imagining a conversation or using photographs, posters, dolls … anything you feel comfortable with
Buddhist psychology, oddly enough, has something to say about it. He claims that when we are able to explain to another person what we are studying, it is the best way to learn. Therefore, studying something and then trying to explain it to a friend – or to a photo if we are alone – helps us to retain a large amount of information.
9. Pay special attention to the most difficult and restructure the information
Researchers have found that the order of the information can play an important role in memory. An interesting technique would be to restructure information, starting with what is easiest for us to remember, spending a little more time on what is most difficult for us.
Break down the information and make it easy to digest. Find what costs you the most and spend a little more time on it
10. Occasionally vary your study routine
Introducing a novel variant in the study routine breaks the monotony and increases the effectiveness of the efforts made, helping to improve the retrieval of information in the long term. For them it is enough to change the place of study, try to find other different hours to study or any other news that seems interesting to us. It is not necessary to make a radical change, just look for occasional alternatives.
Introducing something new makes the study more interesting and allows us to relax the mind with a little creativity exercise to improve memory.
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