Retain More Information When You Study

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Maybe it’s just my incessant need to be fairly good at anything I take up, but I constantly feel like I need to retain more information or study more about whatever I’m doing. If you’re anything like me, however, you don’t keep as much of the information as you would like. So, what do we do? Weeeellll( Read: Well), I went down a rabbit hole, as I usually do when learning something, and returned with a plethora of information. I then sifted through that information and found what I believe to be the most consistent and proven techniques to retain more information. These tactics can be used whether you are studying for school, trying to grow in your career or just wanting to learn more.

5 Ways to Retain More When You Study

Before Studying

• Find a place you can be comfortable for longer periods.
• Use tools that you like because you’re more likely to reach for them and utilize them.
  • My favorite things that made studying seem more enjoyable were highlighters and colored pens. These are my current favorites here.
• Filter out any possible distractions. Put your phone on do not disturb and away from you so you aren’t tempted to grab it.

Studying

• Skim and then read
  • When you skim something before reading, you become familiarized with it. Reading something you are familiar with allows you to retain more information as you are not hyper-focused on trying to read while you figure out what it is that you’re reading.
• Go over notes within 1 day of taking them, retention rates are 60% higher then. Try to study before you sleep, around 4-6 am, or upon waking up.
  • These are prime times for your brain function. Studying before sleep allows your brain to process the information overnight and studying upon waking up lets you take in the information while you’re fresh.
• When trying to retain large chunks of information, study in 25-30 min increments then take a break.
  • The brain can only continuously take in information in about 30 min increments before you begin to lose focus, so make sure to take breaks.

After Studying

• Active Recall: Read -Recite -Review
  • Active recall is a style of studying that engages the memory.
  • Read and then recite everything you can remember up until that point without looking at what you read. This process converts the information from your short term memory to your long term memory.
  • Create questions or present a problem. Asking questions about the information will also force your brain to convert the information to your long term memory.
  • Review the information by recalling it in journal or blog style, make a poem, turn it into a lesson, or applying it to your own life in some way. The practical application of information is why we remember most things. Think about it, when you start a job, you remember most of your training because you use the training every day. Not all information can be used in this way. Therefore, apply the information to something like a journal entry or my favorite, treat it like a lecture that you have to give.
• Focus on recollection versus recognition, recognition requires a trigger.
  • You want to be able to recall information without a prompt. Recognizing information means that if you see a something related to your topic, you are then able to recall it. However, on tests or in everyday application, these types of triggers are not guaranteed. Aim, instead, to be able to recall information rather than recognize it.

That’s it! Try implementing a few or all of these the next time you dive into learning something and see what works for you! If you find one of these works or you find something that works better, let me know in the comments!!

This post was proofread by Grammarly