#memorytraining #studytips #brainpower #memorizationtechniques
Are you struggling to memorize complex information or lengthy terms? Do you find yourself forgetting key details when studying? If so, you’re not alone. Memorization can be a challenge for many people, especially when faced with a new subject full of intricate details.
Understanding the Challenge:
When diving into a subject with long Latin terms and extensive processes, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Memory plays a crucial role in retaining this information, but it can be tricky to train your brain to retain it effectively. The good news is that there are practical solutions to improve your memorization skills.
Practical Solutions:
1. Use Mnemonics:
- Memorize complex terms by associating them with simpler, more familiar words or phrases.
- Create acronyms or funny stories to help you remember key concepts.
2. Repetition is Key:
- Review the material regularly to reinforce your memory.
- Quiz yourself on the information to test your retention.
3. Visualize the Information:
- Create mind maps or diagrams to visualize complex processes.
- Use flashcards with images or colors to help trigger your memory.
4. Stay Organized:
- Break down the information into smaller, manageable chunks.
- Create a study schedule to allocate time for memorization practice.
By incorporating these techniques into your study routine, you can train your brain to memorize information more effectively. Remember, practice makes perfect, so be patient with yourself as you work on improving your memory skills.
What strategies have you found helpful in training your ability to memorize? Share your tips and tricks in the comments below to help others facing the same challenge.
[Mnemonics]( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mnemonic) helped me with college biology classes.
There’s an app called memoryOS made by a guy who won memory competitions. I highly recommend it.
Repetition. For me writing is way more useful than reading.
Repitition is key.
Like with any skill, practice is important. Also, it helps to understand what you memorise. So looking up what the Latin terms mean will probably make them easier to remember.
https://artofmemory.com/blog/how-to-build-a-memory-palace/
rhyming helps me.
I found it’s most important to figure out how you think. I see mnemonics mentioned, and I know many people who successfully use it. I’m not one of them – doesn’t work for me. However, I have good (relatively short-term) recall of visuals. When I had to learn a bunch of random facts for an exam, I made posters of the salient points and studied them several times a day. During the exam, I could visualize the poster to get answers. Other people I knew took copious notes about the material, and then studied their notes because the act of writing was what helped them memorize the material. Maybe you need the material in audio form, because listening is the best way your brain retains information. Figure that out, and it’s just the grunt work of studying from there.
I (50yo) am studying something that requires a decent amount of memorization – which I stuggle with just like you.
I have found that flash cards help me. I created them as I am studying ( like writing notes ) and then use them over and over.
I use an online tool for it. Because the tool will show things that have not memorised more frequently and it’s working pretty good for me.
A bit off topic but as someone working in a biology related field, to help memorize Latin words, learn the Latin meaning when you learn a new word. Whether they are species epithets, organs, bones, processes, etc., the majority of these words have a Latin/Greek/etc. origin, and once you understand that it helps the words stick.
I use this memory castle, grandma’s house is the place that works for me. If I need to remember something I “ leave it“ in a place in the house which I walk through.
https://www.wired.com/story/memory-palace-technique-explained/
Theres a party/magic trick i saw once of memorizing the order of a deck of cards. Shuffle it up, look through once, call out the card, then flip them over one at a time. I think there’s a bit about a specific card order called 323 king street or something along those lines, where they tell a story and flip the matching cards along with the story that would be a good practice for memorizing any order.
Then once you get good at memorizing cards, you can put that into practice with other things.
See if you can find or make little songs on the subject matter that’s essential to memorize. (I still remember that a mole is 6.022×10^23 because of a silly song my chemistry teacher taught me over a decade ago. Have never used that after that chemistry class, but I know it.)
Read the book, moonwalking with Einstein. It tells the story of a newspaper man who fell out of memory competition and then it went on to win it the next year. It follows very easy principles that I use through medical school and works incredibly well. I can still remember a shopping list from 10 years ago
I like to listen and type at the same time.
You do it by *using* your ability to memorize. Speaking as a good memorizer who’s won many scholarships, reading is useless. You’re not practicing long-term remembering at all when reading, it’s all short term. Writing is a lot less useless, as you’re holding a whole idea in your head for the whole time it takes to write it. But neither is really training your long-term memory. Our short term memory is pretty good. You want to leverage that to long-term.
So what you want to do is go through your whole set of notes several times, training you to remember each point *for increasing lengths of time*.
For example, you’re studying a list with 3 points on it. You read the first point, then look away and try to remember it as exactly as possible. Repeat until you get it. Ideally, write it out from memory. Then do the next point. Once you’ve completed the list, try to recall the whole thing without looking. Any mistakes you make, go back to that point.
Then do the next section the same way. At the end of the set of notes, try to recall everything without looking. Study until you can do it. Do it again a few hours later (just the recall part). Then again a day later. Recap at the end of the week, or on subject change. Look over your notes again while waiting for the next class to start. We make our brain go “hey this is relevant” by pointing our thoughts at something over and over again.
I personally also try remembering them in reverse order, or starting with the ones I remember least, or random order.
Using the steps in this process to also produce summaries, flash cards, and the like is a very efficient use of time.
Linking new knowledge to existing knowledge (from a different subject) is a great way to remember something
Passed my Latin class only through memorization – I did not make an effort to understand Latin rules.
A tip for memorization: Writing definitely helps. However, try writing down the terms and processes while watching your favourite movie or a movie you have watched several times already. You can then associate a scene in the movie with a particular term or process that needs to be memorized. For example, you write down the 5 declensions while Andy walks in the office with her new look (Devil Wears Prada).
Make flash cards. Reading the information, digesting the information, and then transcribing on the cards is usually all I need. I’ll take a few looks at them, but I generally have what I need down by then.
Mnemonics don’t work for me. Just straight out repetition; writing, listening, speaking over and over and over… until I can recall effortlessly. (Learning foreign language)