From the first years of elementary school to our adult life, working on memory skills is extremely important so that we can absorb new information with quality, process it and draw conclusions that help us solve different types of questions in our daily lives. .
Taking this scenario into account, it is no wonder that so many people are constantly looking for new methods that are really effective in optimizing their learning and increasing productivity.
If you are interested in this subject, continue reading this post, as we are going to present 06 memorization techniques that will give your studies extra strength. Check out!
1. Avoid “memorizing”
Many people still believe that memorizing is the same as memorizing. Therefore, it is very important to start the post by demystifying this thought!
The famous “memorize” is nothing more than an automatic and unconscious reproduction of a concept focused on a specific objective — for example, learning certain mathematical formulas just to pass the entrance exam . You will even be able to solve the questions proposed at the time of the test, but soon you will forget a good part of the contents studied.
Memorization, on the other hand, is the ability to absorb information in depth based on high levels of attention and concentration at the time of study. Therefore, to memorize content correctly, it is necessary to dedicate your time and willpower to truly understand it.
2. Train your brain to stay focused
During studies, one of the most important — and challenging — points is to maintain concentration. And to achieve this goal, it is essential to train your brain so that you can stay focused on your activities in the present moment, without being distracted by thoughts related to past events or future possibilities.
To help you in this regard, we are going to propose an exercise based on a yoga practice: before starting your studies, take at least 5 minutes and try to focus on your breathing rhythm. Count “one” for the in-breath, “two” for the out-breath, and let the thoughts flow without clinging to any of them.
Over time, practice will become easier and you will be able to train your mind to focus on one thing at a time. Thus, their learning will also be enhanced, even eliminating the need to read the same text several times to absorb it.
3. Establish a rhythm of studies
The memorization process is something that demands commitment and assiduity. It’s no use trying just once a week or when there’s “time”. It’s like the routine of an athlete who wants to conquer the highest place on the podium and become number one in his sport: it requires constant training and a lot of discipline!
In the same way, to make a good use of your studies, it is essential to draw up a well-structured schedule, reserve specific times for each content and focus on them during the period you have established. As these actions become a habit, your concentration will also increase.
Also try to reserve a few minutes of rest so that you do not overload your brain and better absorb the knowledge acquired. In addition, when we study, we tend to stay seated and tense the neck and shoulders, and a good tip to avoid this discomfort is to stretch so that the energy accumulated in certain parts circulates freely.
4. Organize your physical space
Another way to help the memorization process is to organize your study space . It must be an extension of your mind—a space of calm. Therefore, try to have a place reserved especially for this activity and always keep it clean and lit.
Also make an effort to stay away from your cell phone, social media and any apps that might distract you from your main purpose. The message notifications we receive, for example, are enough to break our rhythm. If this happens, you will find yourself reading and rereading the same passage without being able to reproduce it a short time later.
5. Prepare summaries and outlines
To really learn something, you have to go beyond reading. Take an active role with the content: make summaries, mind maps, notes, brainstorming — the famous brainstorm — and other schemes that help you to systematize the main concepts exposed and facilitate the review of the subjects already studied.
Another very effective method is teaching to learn. Gather your notes and considerations and teach a class on the subject, even if it’s for an imaginary student. By verbalizing the acquired knowledge, you will also be able to fix it better in your mind. Also, with the use of this tactic, it will be easier to notice the points where you still have doubts and that need to be reviewed.
6. Associate new learnings with what you already know
Have you ever heard that the only way to learn new content in adulthood is to associate it with what we already know? The logic behind this statement is as follows: associating a new idea with something that already exists in our routine (it can be a movie, a book or an image, for example) is a way of inserting it into our cognitive domain.
Since learning is a continuous and connected process and, therefore, a natural tendency, since this fixation of content happens almost without us realizing it, we must use this resource in our favor and use it consciously.
When learning a new language, for example, it is easier to memorize when we associate foreign words with those used in our mother tongue.
