The ability to remember a vast amount of data and information is vital to students and can truly be the difference between passing and failing a subject. So it's no wonder that there is so much focus on maximizing our memory ability!
But how many students actually take the time to understand how their memory works? We'd all love a brilliant memory but we spend very little time (if any) using the techniques that make this possible. Don't you ever wonder why you can remember lots of seemingly useless information but when it comes time to recall all that information you learnt in science class during the year you can't remember a thing?
The fact is that we all have a perfect memory and it functions exactly the way it is designed to function - except that we don't take the time to understand how it works.
For one reason or another, we all seem to think that by constantly repeating information to ourselves we will imprint the information into our memory. This works occasionally, but it's clearly not the best approach and it usually indicates that we don't understand our memory at all.
So let's spend some time getting to know our memory. The ability to access our powerful memory recall and make certain that we can remember everything we need to remember truly is the difference between getting an A or getting a C.
There are many techniques you can use to improve your memory recall but today's lesson is about just one of them - the "What's in it for me" method. This method states that the more you can make something relate to you personally, the more about it you will be able to remember.
When it comes to memory, your brain always wants to know "How does this relate to me?" or put even more simply "Why should I even bother storing this as a memory?"
Therefore, when a bit of information or data is personally significant to you, your memory is far more likely to store that information for you (and the real kicker is that it will remember all the little details about it as well!)
You remember to do things that are going to impact you directly (like making sure you buy a ticket to the next Green Day concert). You remember names of people and places and locations that are really going to impact your life. You remember prices of things that you really want to buy. You remember where, what time and with whom you are going out with on Saturday night. You remember the name and phone number of that girl or guy you like.
This recall doesn't happen consciously - it all occurs without thought. You didn't have to do anything special to remember the information. The information was already there wasn't it? You just remembered it without any effort. So, given that we now know this method works, the real question is what do you need to do to apply this method to your studies? Let's look at some basic examples.
Let's say you are learning about economic trends (extremely interesting I know). Instead of just looking at economic bell curves and wondering how life could be so boring you need to make the information all about you. Economic trends impact your purchasing power which impacts the amount of money in your wallet which impacts your ability to buy that thing you really want. So does that context make economic trends easier to remember?
If you are learning about other cultures (for example) you can simply compare their culture to your own. In what ways does the culture differ from your own? In what ways does it match? In what ways is it kind of similar but not really? Asking yourself these questions may seem silly but the more questions you can ask that are actually about you, the more you will remember.
If you are trying to remember names and dates just focus on how do these names and dates relate to you. Ask yourself, "Do I know anyone by those or similar names? Do I like the name for some reason or do I think it's a weird name? Why is that? Did the people or dates that I have to remember ever impact my life in any way? Did anything happen on those dates that relates to me personally?"
There are many ways for you to improve your memory recall. The "What's in it for me" approach is just one. But it's one that is easy to use and it really works. Identify what you need to remember and then make it about it you. You will be very surprised at what happens next. Good luck!
But how many students actually take the time to understand how their memory works? We'd all love a brilliant memory but we spend very little time (if any) using the techniques that make this possible. Don't you ever wonder why you can remember lots of seemingly useless information but when it comes time to recall all that information you learnt in science class during the year you can't remember a thing?
The fact is that we all have a perfect memory and it functions exactly the way it is designed to function - except that we don't take the time to understand how it works.
For one reason or another, we all seem to think that by constantly repeating information to ourselves we will imprint the information into our memory. This works occasionally, but it's clearly not the best approach and it usually indicates that we don't understand our memory at all.
So let's spend some time getting to know our memory. The ability to access our powerful memory recall and make certain that we can remember everything we need to remember truly is the difference between getting an A or getting a C.
There are many techniques you can use to improve your memory recall but today's lesson is about just one of them - the "What's in it for me" method. This method states that the more you can make something relate to you personally, the more about it you will be able to remember.
When it comes to memory, your brain always wants to know "How does this relate to me?" or put even more simply "Why should I even bother storing this as a memory?"
Therefore, when a bit of information or data is personally significant to you, your memory is far more likely to store that information for you (and the real kicker is that it will remember all the little details about it as well!)
You remember to do things that are going to impact you directly (like making sure you buy a ticket to the next Green Day concert). You remember names of people and places and locations that are really going to impact your life. You remember prices of things that you really want to buy. You remember where, what time and with whom you are going out with on Saturday night. You remember the name and phone number of that girl or guy you like.
This recall doesn't happen consciously - it all occurs without thought. You didn't have to do anything special to remember the information. The information was already there wasn't it? You just remembered it without any effort. So, given that we now know this method works, the real question is what do you need to do to apply this method to your studies? Let's look at some basic examples.
Let's say you are learning about economic trends (extremely interesting I know). Instead of just looking at economic bell curves and wondering how life could be so boring you need to make the information all about you. Economic trends impact your purchasing power which impacts the amount of money in your wallet which impacts your ability to buy that thing you really want. So does that context make economic trends easier to remember?
If you are learning about other cultures (for example) you can simply compare their culture to your own. In what ways does the culture differ from your own? In what ways does it match? In what ways is it kind of similar but not really? Asking yourself these questions may seem silly but the more questions you can ask that are actually about you, the more you will remember.
If you are trying to remember names and dates just focus on how do these names and dates relate to you. Ask yourself, "Do I know anyone by those or similar names? Do I like the name for some reason or do I think it's a weird name? Why is that? Did the people or dates that I have to remember ever impact my life in any way? Did anything happen on those dates that relates to me personally?"
There are many ways for you to improve your memory recall. The "What's in it for me" approach is just one. But it's one that is easy to use and it really works. Identify what you need to remember and then make it about it you. You will be very surprised at what happens next. Good luck!
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