When you’re studying and trying to remember things for school, then focus on that one task. Don’t think about that friend’s party from the weekend. Don’t try to do a bunch of different tasks at the same time, or you won’t get the full benefit from any of them.
Find a specific place to study and don’t do other things while you’re there (like pay your bills, do leisure activities, etc. ). Make sure that you only study when you’re in that place, as it will help your brain get into the studying mode. Choose an area that has good ventilation and light so that you are more likely to stay awake and not get distracted. If you do find that you can’t work and that you’re not retaining anything, take a short break (not too long and don’t do anything that will start consuming your time like going on the internet). Go for a short walk, or get a drink.
Keep a specific notebook for these distracting thoughts. If it’s a thought that requires later attention (like paying your electricity bill), jot that thought down and dismiss it from your mind so you can work. Make the distraction a reward. Tell yourself that once you have finished reading (and understanding and remembering) this next section, you’ll take a break to deal with the thoughts, or daydreams.
Write down the main points from each things you’re reading, so that you can jog your memory when you need to and to show that you read and comprehended what you were reading/studying.
Make acronyms for things you’re trying to remember. Take the first letter of each word and turn it into an acronym that makes sense to you. For example you might do H. O. M. E. S. for the Great Lakes (Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior). Mnemonics can be useful for remembering spelling. Make up a little rhyme/nonsense phrase using a word for each letter. For example to remember necessary you might remember ‘Never Eat Cake; Eat Salad Sandwiches And Remain Young’. Make acoustics. This basically is a nonsense phrase that helps you remember the first letter of a sequence of information (this is used a lot for mathematical formulas). For example Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally is used to remember the order of operations: Parenthesis, Exponents, Multiply, Divide, Add, Subtract. You can also make up little poems or rhymes to help you remember important information. For example: “I before e except after c/ or when sounding like a/ in neighbor and weigh” helps you remember where e and i go when they’re together.
Use a funny or odd image to recall a fact that you need to remember. For example, if you’re trying to remember JFK’s involvement in the Bay of Pigs invasion, you might visualize the president swimming in the ocean with a bunch of pigs. While it may seem silly, the association of ocean and pigs will lead you back to JFK and you won’t forget. Number association is associating certain numbers with a mental image. This is partly why so many passwords and codes that people come up with have some sort of meaning to them (like birthday, cat’s birthday, anniversary date, etc). So if you’re trying to remember your library number (say it’s 52190661), you could say May 21, 1990 is your brother’s birthday (that takes care of 52190). You could then say that your mother is 66 years old and you’ve only got one of her (which takes care of the 661). When you’re trying to recall the number, visualize your brother and a birthday cake and then visualize your mother.
For example if you need to remember to get bananas, bread, eggs, milk, and lettuce from the store, you might make up a story where a banana, a slice of bread, and an egg have to rescue a head of lettuce from a lake of milk. It’s a super silly story, but it has all the elements of your list linked together and will help you remember them.
Walk every day for about 30 minutes. It’s a gentle way to get some exercise (and you can do some exploring too!). The benefits of exercise on your mental health will last for a long time. It’s not just walking, there are lots of different ways to exercise and have fun! Try doing yoga, or put on some music and dance.
Change things up. You want your brain to keep from getting complacent, so keep learning and trying new things. This will force your brain to keep from going stagnant and will help improve your memory. For example: You could learn a new word everyday, or learn about your countries history. These improve memory and make you more intelligent. You can also memorize a poem every couple of weeks. It makes for a good (if nerdy) party trick and it will help improve your memory. So get memorizing Beowulf!
Try to get at least 8 hours of sleep every night, so that your brain can go through all the important stages of sleep and you feel well-rested. Shut down any electronic devices at least 30 minutes before you go to bed, so that you give your brain time to calm down and prepare for sleep. This means all electronic devices: phone, computer, kindle, etc.
Repeat a person’s name after you’ve been introduced to them (although do it in a natural manner). Say “Hi Anna, it’s great to meet you. " This will solidify the connection between the person and their name so it’s easier for you to recall later. You can also do this to remember dates and times and places. For example, if you’re invited to something repeat the invitation back to the person who gave it, like “The Blue Mouse Theater at 6? I can’t wait!”
Practice this skill by looking closely at a scene (you can do this anywhere: your home, on the bus, at work) and, closing your eyes, trying to recall as many details about the scene as you can. You can also do this with a photograph, as long as it’s an unfamiliar one. Look at it for a for a second or two and then flip it over. try to recall as many of the details as you can remember. Repeat the exercise with a different photograph.
Try to eat 5-6 small meals during the day, instead of three big meals. This will help you avoid dips in blood sugar, which make your brain not function as well. Make sure that you’re eating healthy foods.
