How to Memorize Using Brief Recall
Memory is the foundation of learning. You can memorize more quickly with greater recall and longer retention by practicing systematic recall. Get-It-Done Guy teaches you how.
In this brave new world we have information at our fingertips like never before in history: Wikipedia, Google, blogs, and other exceptionally convenient sources of mis-information, propaganda, and un-fact-checked opinion stated as fact. Some people have speculated that we are in a new age where we never need to remember anything again. The internet helps us increase memory, since we can access it any time. They say we just need to remember how to find facts we need. Those people know nothing about how the human brain works, and they’re just wrong.
Learning how to memorize is extremely important, because what you know and remember forms the building blocks for your future creativity, innovative thinking, and problem solving. Yes, if you need to know who Edgar Allen Poe is, you can look him up. But if his poems are in your memory, you can be working on an unrelated problem and your unconscious mind will suddenly make a connection and find the answer in one of Poe’s poems. How cool is that?
The only question about how to memorize is how you get stuff into your memory efficiently, so you still have time to play Plants vs. Zombies before you go to bed. Hmm…Wait! I recall a stanza of Poe’s “The Raven” that discusses memory:
Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow, vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow – sorrow for the lost Lenore;
You might think “The Raven” is about what to do when a bird gets trapped in your home and won’t leave. Or about lost Lenore, who ended up at Target instead of Home Depot when her GPS got miscalibrated. Or symbolism. Ravens are black. What else is black? Yes, the crunchy cookie crust of an Oreo Ice Cream cake.
I rest my case.
No, the key words in Poe are distinctly I remember. With these three words, he gives the secret to memorization: distinct patterns of memorizing and recall.
Reinforcement is How to Memorize
Just like TV detectives call for reinforcements, your memory needs reinforcements, too. When you memorize something, the memory starts off weak—you haven’t memorized it yet—and then gets stronger and stronger. But then after a while it starts to fade. If you review the material just as it starts to fade, however, it will re-strengthen the memory. Only this time, the memory is stronger and will last longer. Then it will start to fade. But if you review the material just as it starts to fade, it will get even stronger and last even longer. And so on.
If you want to remember something, go through it with focused attention. That means no multitasking while you learn. Pay close attention. Personally, I like to take notes longhand as I read. Engaging my body along with my mind seems to help me increase memory, so try to learn standing up.
When you’re done with today’s learning session, try to recall the information and then review your notes to refresh your memory. Most people don’t realize that memorizing is only half the game; practicing recall is also critical.
Tomorrow, around the same time, jot down the key points you remember from today’s lesson. Then review your notes to make sure you got everything. This review should be quick—just a few minutes. You want to re-activate all the material in your brain and get your brain thinking about it again.
Review at Defined Intervals
The next step in how to memorize is to review the material in a week. Again, start with recall and then review your notes. A month after that, review the material again. Then review it after six months and after a year. Your review schedule will be:
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immediately after learning
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1 day later
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1 week later
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1 month later
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6 months later
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12 months later
By your final review, the material will be pretty much burned into your brain. As I mentioned earlier, the exact intervals depend on when your memory starts to fade. If you’re super-ambitious, you could try to figure out the exact intervals that would work best for you. These intervals are approximate and generic, but still give better results than straight-up one-time memorization. By reviewing at these intervals, you’ll increase memory retention.
Cramming Isn’t Useful
Interestingly, the opposite of this technique, marathon cramming sessions, does not work well to increase memory. Repetition separated by sleep cycles is what integrates material into your brain; that’s how to memorize efficiently. Single-session marathon cramming can get a lot into your head for a test or other one-time event, but the information doesn’t become permanent.
Very recent research is showing that what may help long-term memory formation is memory rehearsal during sleep. If you record what you’re learning and play it back while you’re sleeping (like, say, in a podcast form), it helps your brain memorize and consolidate the information. It doesn’t work for learning new material, but it does work for reinforcing something your brain is already working on.
If you want to increase memory and become awesome, having access to Google won’t do it. You need to learn how to memorize information yourself, so your brain has it available at the right times. Take notes as you learn, then rehearse the recall and review the notes at intervals: a day, week, month, six months, and a year. Don’t cram, but if you really want to speed up memorization, listen to a recap of the material as you sleep. Soon you’ll be able to memorize an entire dictionary. A rhyming dictionary. Just like Edgar Allen Poe. Whom now I quothe, “Nevermore.”
I’m Stever Robbins. I help people build extraordinary lives and organizations. If you want to know more, visit Stever Robbins.
Work Less, Do More, and have a Great Life!
Man Thinking and Girl Cramming images from Shutterstock
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About the Author
Stever Robbins was the host of the podcast Get-it-Done Guy from 2007 to 2019. He is a graduate of W. Edward Deming’s Total Quality Management training program and a Certified Master Trainer Elite of NLP. He holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a BS in Computer Sciences from MIT.Â
