Want to Remember Better? Here is How

The ability to remember previously acquired knowledge, perceptions, talents, and habits is referred to as memory. Memory also involves prior experience and knowledge. Sadly, sometimes our memory does not work as we hope it will; it tends to forget things we try to retain. How can we retain our memory longer so that we can remember better?

There are 3 tips that I will share with you so you can have a better memory. But before that, please do not forget to like ❤️👍 this post and subscribe 🔔 It will help the channel grow! Also, feel free to share this link with anyone struggling to retain their memory! ✍️

Without further ado, let's check them one by one!

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Memory is a tricky thing. It is the corpus of accumulated and retained knowledge due to our experience or activity, as demonstrated by changes in our structure, behavior, or stuff we can recall and recognize (Cherry, 2022). In a sense, memory is a bit like a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it gets; when you stop using it, it starts to atrophy (Kwik, 2020). Here are 3 easy ways I use to help keep my memory strong, and you can try using them to strengthen yours, too!

1. Make It Familiar to You

First, make your new understanding meaningful by relating the new information to a familiar concept. You can try to use common instances to explain brand-new ideas you learn! Simplify your understanding by considering how the new knowledge applies to your daily life (Kwik, 2020). If you do not grasp an instruction or concept, you are unlikely to recall it well because understanding enlightens the relationship between the components, connecting them to produce a logical wholeness (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2009). However, if you translate the new concept into something you understand, you will be able to recall your memory of it more easily!

There are 3 ways to make the unfamiliar familiar. First, when I learn new Spanish, Greek, or Korean vocabulary, I link the concept to similar words I know in Indonesian or English. Second, I listen to catchy lyrics in songs I like or famous phrases from actors I admire in that pattern, so it is easier for me to memorize. Third, I personalize the sample sentence to make it true for me. For example, although the textbook provides a sample sentence, "I go to school every day," since I no longer go to school, I note the sample sentence as, "I cook homemade food every day" instead.

2. Pinpoint Your Trigger

Second, pinpoint your memory trigger. Do you know what a memory trigger is? Imagine a person with heavy trauma or PTSD. Let's say the trauma happened because he was shot in a dark alley on a rainy day. Then, the darkness, the rain, and the gun can be the triggers that make his brain recalls the tragedy. Without seeing his previous shooter or revisiting the alley, he would have trembled in fear just from being in the dark, seeing the rain, or hearing the sound of gunshots.

So, how about you? Identify what your triggers are and keep the triggers in an accessible place, such as an analog notebook or any online app convenient for you. The more you see it, the more familiar it becomes, and the stronger your memory becomes! In my case, I have quick and easy access to the Anki and Notion applications because they are installed on the device I use frequently and bring with me everywhere I go. Every day, I trigger my past memory of things I have studied the day before by taking a glimpse at my previous notes, which I jot down in Notion and GoodNote5.

3. Revisit Your Trigger through Active Recall

Third, try actively recalling your trigger so that your familiarity remains intact. Once the trigger we discussed earlier has been encoded in the brain, it can be revisited to activate the memory (Cherry, 2022). Use what you have learned by actively recalling it every now and then; otherwise, you will gradually forget most of it (Abdaal, 2018). After three days, a week, and a month, attempt to review your note until the trigger to recall the thing is embedded in your long-term memory (Cherry, 2022). As a result, you would retain the information for much longer than if you simply copied-pasted from your textbook.

You can also use effective notes that trigger active recallings, such as the Cornell Notetaking Method (CNM) or Feynman Technique (FT). Look at the illustration of the CNM notebook below! I personally like to combine them both by doing CNM in the upper three sections of my notebook page, and then I do FT to rephrase and reexplain my own notes in my own words as the lesson summary of that day. Usually, I write down the summary in FT style immediately after the lecture is over. You can learn more about how to do FT here in my previous post!

To sum up, familiarize yourself with the concept you are learning, pinpoint the trigger to retrieve the memory, and retain your memory's familiarity by revisiting it often through active recall. By making the knowledge familiar, the memory we try to retain will become more meaningful, encoded in the brain more thoroughly. As a result, we can remember them longer. I hope these tips help! ❤️

References:

Abdaal, A. (2018). Study with me + Active Recall tips | Life as a Junior Doctor [Video]. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch

v=YHJzSbLiQNs

Cherry, K. (2022, May 16). Take a deeper look into human memory (D. B. Block, Ed.). Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is

memory-2795006

Jehovah's Witnesses. (2009, February). You can improve your memory! JW.ORG; Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania.

https://www.jw.org/en/library/magazines/g200902/You-Can-Improve-Your-Memory/

Kwik, J. (2020). Limitless. Hay House Inc.

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