How To Study Effectively: Why Being Self-Centered Will Make Your Memory Soar
The difference between passing and failing can very often be all about what you can remember - not what you know. As a result, the focus on being able to remember lots of information is absolutely crucial to your success.
But how does our memory actually work? How come we can remember some information without any effort at all (often useless information like the names and theme songs of the cartoons we watched when we were children) yet often we when really want to remember certain things for tests or assignments we draw a blank?
The reality is that our memory is perfect in design and it operates exactly as it should. The real issue is that we don't spend any time getting to know our memory and finding out what we can do to help it remember with precision.
For some reason, we expect to be able to recall information at will (usually just by constantly repeating the word or re-reading the information we want to remember) without any understanding of how memory recall even works. As a result, the way we approach memory recall is usually quite dumb.
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 ways to increase the power of your memory recall. This article looks at just one - the "All about me" technique. The rule of this technique is that when you make something about you, the ability to remember the information is drastically increased.
It's simple really. Your mind has a filter that is constantly questioning what data needs to be stored. A trigger for creating a memory is to make the information about the most important thing in your world - you.
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.
If you are learning about something like economic trends (yawn!), imagine how those may impact on your ability to go and buy a new pair of jeans (i.e. your personal buying power as a consumer - yawn again!) Or perhaps think about how it may impact on your ability to get a high paying job after school.
What about learning about different cultures, beliefs and customs than yours? If you were to think about your own culture, beliefs and customs then you can easily compare the two to each other. Now, if you compare them to yourself you will remember them wont you?
What about names and dates? Well they're easy to remember when given the right context. Do the names mean anything to you? Do you know anyone who has the same name? Does the name remind you of anything you like or dislike? Do you like or hate the name? What about the dates. Do the dates relate to you in any way? Did anything significant happen to you on or around the dates? Did anything else happen to you (or even anyone you know) around that date that could trigger a memory? It should also be noted that you can just make up fake reasons to remember the details (such as, "Oh yes on that date I was riding a flying pig all the way to the moon") and it will still help you remember it. Why? If you create the memory trace in your mind, your memory recall doesn't know the difference; it just knows it's all about you!
Remember, it's all about you! The more you tie something to yourself and make it about you the easier it will be for your memory to create the traces needed to make memory recall a breeze. Try it for a week. You will be glad you did!
But how does our memory actually work? How come we can remember some information without any effort at all (often useless information like the names and theme songs of the cartoons we watched when we were children) yet often we when really want to remember certain things for tests or assignments we draw a blank?
The reality is that our memory is perfect in design and it operates exactly as it should. The real issue is that we don't spend any time getting to know our memory and finding out what we can do to help it remember with precision.
For some reason, we expect to be able to recall information at will (usually just by constantly repeating the word or re-reading the information we want to remember) without any understanding of how memory recall even works. As a result, the way we approach memory recall is usually quite dumb.
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 ways to increase the power of your memory recall. This article looks at just one - the "All about me" technique. The rule of this technique is that when you make something about you, the ability to remember the information is drastically increased.
It's simple really. Your mind has a filter that is constantly questioning what data needs to be stored. A trigger for creating a memory is to make the information about the most important thing in your world - you.
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.
If you are learning about something like economic trends (yawn!), imagine how those may impact on your ability to go and buy a new pair of jeans (i.e. your personal buying power as a consumer - yawn again!) Or perhaps think about how it may impact on your ability to get a high paying job after school.
What about learning about different cultures, beliefs and customs than yours? If you were to think about your own culture, beliefs and customs then you can easily compare the two to each other. Now, if you compare them to yourself you will remember them wont you?
What about names and dates? Well they're easy to remember when given the right context. Do the names mean anything to you? Do you know anyone who has the same name? Does the name remind you of anything you like or dislike? Do you like or hate the name? What about the dates. Do the dates relate to you in any way? Did anything significant happen to you on or around the dates? Did anything else happen to you (or even anyone you know) around that date that could trigger a memory? It should also be noted that you can just make up fake reasons to remember the details (such as, "Oh yes on that date I was riding a flying pig all the way to the moon") and it will still help you remember it. Why? If you create the memory trace in your mind, your memory recall doesn't know the difference; it just knows it's all about you!
Remember, it's all about you! The more you tie something to yourself and make it about you the easier it will be for your memory to create the traces needed to make memory recall a breeze. Try it for a week. You will be glad you did!
About the Author:
HelpMeToStudy.org is the best resource for learning new study skills, changing your studying habits and discovering the best study tips available. We will help you change the way you think about study - and even better - we will show you how to study effectively: How To Study Effectively | Memory Training
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