It’s funny. We have this idea about how our memory works which are – in fact – completely inaccurate. We have this idea that our memory is a lot like a movie, where we can simply rewind to the moment that we wish to recall. This isn’t anything like how memory actually works. Instead, memory is initially stored in short-term memory and only a certain amount of short-term memory is written into long-term memory, based on a number of factors like an emotional load.

That’s not the end of the story, either. You see, just because something might be written into memory, doesn’t mean it’s simply recalled. Memory is not some videotape, where everything is stored in accordance to when it happened. Instead, it is stored a semantic network, which is a fancy way of saying that it is filed away according to certain associations. That’s why when you just let your train of thought go, you’ll jump from thought to memory and back again, as associations trigger the next thing wagon on the track.

All of this has certain repercussions for how you can work to recall things in your mind. Let’s cover a few tools that you can use to make your memory better.

Places and things

Due to the way our brain evolved, we’re much better at remembering physical things or actions than abstract ideas. That makes sense. After all, most our history we weren’t all that busy with abstract things. It was tigers and hunger that occupied the center of our attention.

What that means is that if you want to remember anything, you should try to tie it to a place or an action. Alternatively, you can make it particularly relevant to yourself by imaging yourself using that idea in some real-life event.

Real memory experts have actually learned to build mental places where they can tie things to. So, if they’re trying to remember a deck of cards, for example, then they’ll go on a journey through a mental representation of their childhood home and tie the cards to specific things in the house. So, if they need to remember the seven of hearts then they might remember seven heart-shaped vases on the mantelpiece in their living room. As long as they then repeat the same journey through the house, they’ll find it far easier to recall the seven of hearts.

Of course, you don’t have to go that far. Still, directly trying to visualize what you’re trying to remember, will make it far more likely that you’ll recall it.

Engaging multiple senses

So many people seem to believe that the best thing they can do to study is read through their books a couple of times. They couldn’t be more wrong. You see, every sense you’ve got is a different way into your brain. It uses different channels and activates different centers. What’s more, a written word is stored differently than a heard word and every time you process a word (by speaking it or writing it down) you’re exponentially raising the chance that you’re going to remember it.

So take advantage of that. When you’re reading information, don’t do so quietly. Instead, read it out loud. If that’s not possible, because other people in the café you’re sitting in will look at you weird, then take notes. Read the entire page, then try to summarize what you’ve read in your own words afterward. Now, this doesn’t have to noteworthy of Essayguard, but you should at least be able to make sense of them.

Heck, I often take notes that I never look at again! And yet still, the practice helps me remember far more of what I’m reading, particularly as trying to cover the ideas a second time at the end of a page, brings them up again and forces me to make sure that my thoughts are coherent and make sense.

Clustering or chunking

We have very poor short-term memory. In fact, it now would seem that we can’t even remember as much as goldfish! That’s depressing, no? Fortunately, there are workarounds. These are known as ‘clustering’ or ‘chunking’. The idea is very simple. Instead of remembering a number, like ‘9’ you cluster the number, like ‘965’. This isn’t just possible with numbers, of course, but also with letters and words (you don’t first remember each letter in a word – instead you remember the word, then you work backward to remember how to spell it).

This is possible with higher level concepts as well. By grouping relevant concepts together and trying to remember them as a unity, they’re much easier recalled later on, as remembering one piece will activate the entire semantic network and make all the associated concepts come back as well.

Last words

Nobody is born with a bad memory. Generally, people that struggle to recall information often just have bad memory techniques. You too can remember the names of every person that you meet. All you need to do is have the right tools in place to nail down that name.

Similarly, if you use the right strategies to study, you will remember a great deal more at the end of the day. So use these tools. Oh yes, and make sure you’re interested in what you’re reading. After all, interest is an emotion too and will, therefore, boost your memory overall.