Top three tricks to memorise and actually remember stuff 😶‍🌫️

Ever sat with your head in your hands one day before the paper wondering how in the world you're going to memorize the entire frickin' book in the next few hours? So have I.

This a pervasive issue that all of us as students face, regardless of our age and capabilities. We tend to think that there are these special people out there who have a so-called "photographic memory" and can memorize things much more quickly just because their brains are hardwired that way. That is so not true. While some A-graders out there might have photographic memories, most do not. However, they do have a stash of tricks in their hand which they more often than not like to keep a secret. And today, that secret is exactly what I'm going to reveal. Curious? Scroll down ;)

WRITING, WRITING, AND WRITING

The surest and the most foolproof way to memorize anything is to write it down. Now there are two ways in which you could write something and memorize it - either make your own notes or make your own questions. Writing your own notes in your own style definitely helps you remember things because in actuality you are just writing your way of understanding a topic on a sheet of paper. It helps in clarifying the topic as well as organizing it for your brain.

Now the second method, i.e. framing your own questions from the topic ensures that you are prepared for each and every type of question that the examiner throws at you. Making fill-in-the-blanks or MCQs on your own is the best possible way to do that because that way you cover every line and can be precise in your answer.

Just a warning though, this method might be foolproof, but it is definitely time taking. Topics that you can read in minutes end up becoming topics that you read for hours. So if you have less time, this is not a card you should play. But if you really believe that the only way you can memorize something is by writing it down, do it on a laptop. Much more time-friendly and environment-friendly ;)

READ, RE-READ, AND DON'T READ

Read the chapter once properly, visualize it while you read it, and paint a picture in your mind. Once you have done that, read it again, and this time try to make more connections within the topic and link one thing to another. Now the third time, take one topic at a time and don't read it. What I mean is that you basically keep the page open in front of you but you don't actually look at it, instead, you look somewhere else...the wall, the ceiling, anywhere; it doesn't matter. But this time, try to recollect the topic and explain it from whatever you have read the past two times. If you can't remember it then just look down, read it again, and then recite it. Believe me, it helps more than you think.

TALK TO EVERYBODY...OR NOBODY

The last trick to memorizing a topic is to discuss it with someone. You don't have to discuss it with anyone who knows about it necessarily, you could just be explaining it to a friend or a parent...it doesn't matter as long as you are actively recollecting it and understanding it in your own words. If people do know about the topic, then it's better because now you can ask your doubts and help solve the doubts of others - all the while benefiting yourself. But in the scenario that you're lonely and don't have any friends (hehe just kidding), you can imagine a situation where you are presenting the topic to an audience, like giving a TED talk on it, for example. Sure you may sound crazy and your parents might question your sanity but hey, I'm pretty sure most of us study with our doors closed so that crisis is averted. This may seem like a stupid method now, but when you're standing (and sinking) knee-deep in books, it doesn't seem so mental.

The inspiration for this blog came to me when I was myself debating whether to throw the book out or not while studying, because honestly, no matter how much of a scholar you are, whenever exams are right at the corner, everyone is just trying to cram stuff in. While rote learning is not the preferred method to study, it is sometimes the only way to study (history, for example). Even in Science subjects, while obviously conceptual understanding is the most important thing, sometimes you need to just memorise the formulas, postulates and the endless functions of mitochondria. But there are tricks to do everything in a smarter way and these three tricks, in particular, have been working for me for as long as I can remember and have been the reason why I scored a 98.4% in my boards last year. I never really liked social science, but the only reason I was good at it was because I integrated these three tricks into my studies. So maybe you can try it too, what do you know, it might just work :)