We’ve been there! In school, the ones with the most effective and efficient memory thrive in all the learning subjects. At work, memorizing is still handy. Whatever was learned in the past could be applied in the future, more so if these came with practical skills like Steve Jobs who learned the basics of calligraphy before dropping out of Reed College. He eventually incorporated the calligraphy into the first Macintosh to give it wonderfully spaced fonts.
Once memorized, some skills also just become second nature like driving a stick shift or using words in the right context. In some cases, memorization is our only choice like when we have to remember our ATM passwords and home security codes. Memorizing these us mitigate risks.
We all know we need to memorize. So how can we improve our memory? Here are five useful tips:
1. Use acronyms
We get accustomed to internet talk because it’s easier with all the shortcuts: BTW (by the way), TTYL (talk to you later), LOL (laugh out loud), and so on. Acronyms are proven and tested, and that is why institutions make it a point to come up with their own for faster recall. Acronyms are easy to make; it doesn’t require a lot at all.
2. Make a story
The popular podcast More Perfect created a funny story turned into a song to help American remember the names of United States Supreme Court Justices. Kittens (Kagan) Kick (Kennedy) The (Thomas) Giggly (Ginsburg) Blue (Breyer) Robot (Roberts) All (Alito) Summer (Sotomayor). So in case we are asked who decide on cases using the laws of the land, just imagine kittens kicking the giggly blue robot all summer. We can always rely on stories to facilitate memorization-- the funnier, the truer, the better.
3. Ask: Why?
A criticism always thrown at memorization is that it doesn’t serve any purpose at all. So what if we know all the countries in the ASEAN or the EU? Asking why these countries come together to form regions does not only make memorization easier, it also provides a better understanding of geographical, political, cultural, and social forces at play. Asking why provides contexts that make memorization important.
4. Practice, practice, practice.
Like what’s said earlier in this article, driving a stick shift requires memorization at the onset. However, driving over and over certainly engrains the necessary steps, and before we know it, we’ve memorized everything seamlessly to the point that we can’t distinguish where one step begins and another finishes. The same applies in sports. We memorize the rules, the techniques, the sequence of plays until we know them by heart. Eventually, we just adhere to the rules, do the techniques, and carry out the sequences in the field. Practice makes such level of memorization possible.
5. Teach
Research published in the journal Memory and Cognition says that simply telling students that they have to teach another student improves their memories. Outside control environments, teaching puts us in a position where we don’t want to disappoint. We desire to provide the right and accurate information, and these could motivate us to make our memory sharper.
Memory is like a muscle, it must always be exercised to avoid its deterioration and continue its improvement. We hope that these memory tips will help you.