How to Memorize Ideas

The simplest advice for memorizing things in school, work, and any aspect of life

No matter who you are, you’ve probably struggled with memorizing things.

I happened to be discussing this with a friend today. He had a one-hundred-question psychology test, and I think the advice I gave him may help you.

In my humble opinion, as a non-expert, merely a student in school and in life, I think the best way to begin to improve your memory is to

Apply the ideas you learn to the life you live.

If you aren’t using these ideas, they won’t help you. And this can apply to anything.

In the context of my friend, I suggested that he try applying terms he learns in his class to daily life. Psychology is a fairly straight forward example.

However, what if you want to remember a math concept?

When I was in 8th grade, I would to and from school every day. In order to better comprehend and retain the ideas I learned in geometry class, I would walk along and think about the stuff I had learned about in the class the previous day. I would play with it in my mind, and try to construct mental models.

I distinctly remember that I used the idea of the shortest line between two points, and I made my route as short as possible. Was it a complicated concept in geometry?

No.

However, I think it pins the idea that I’m getting at here. You don’t need to recite things. Hell, you don’t even need to apply them in their full depth.

All you really need to do is somehow use them. By using them, you are actively convincing your brain that this is important knowledge and it should be remembered.

In more scientific terms, the neuron connections that were made at the time of learning the idea, are strengthened and become faster and easier to access the more you use them.

Now, I also have another piece of advice that comes from my own anecdotal experience. I’m not sure whether there is scientific backing to this idea, however, it’s something I came up with a while ago, and it has helped me ever since.

The more you clean and organize your mind, the easier it is to learn and remember the things important to you.

After I stopped playing video games, overconsuming junk food, and just in general working on becoming a better and healthier individual, I found that I had almost gained a new ability to just remember things.

I’m not too sure how to go about explaining this, but somehow I was able to just recall ideas that I had heard of. In class, I just retained ideas really well. Admittedly, I was always diligent about doing my homework, and I had watched countless videos on optimal study habits, and I had read books about learning and retaining ideas as well. However, even though most of the time the extent of my studying was limited to doing homework, and the occasional additional practice problems, I never put much extra effort into studying, yet somehow I was able to retain, at least to me, information like never before.

I know this isn’t the most rigorous form of advice. So, take it with a grain of salt.

I like to think of it as decluttering my mind and making room for stuff I find more important to me.

Nonetheless, I can guarantee you that by using the ideas you learn and applying them to your life, you will find yourself better equipped to retain them.

For example, if you are in physics, try to observe the mechanics you learn in class in the world. If you are taking a history class, try to observe history’s effect in the modern world.

And most importantly,

Take an interest in what you are learning

If you aren’t interested in the topic, you’ll learn nothing, and you will retain even less.

Sometimes, even if you aren’t gleaming with joy over learning a certain topic, you have to try to frame it in a way where you find it interesting.

Make it fun. Find something you enjoy about it. Even if it seems mind-numbingly boring, I can assure you there is something you can find that makes it interesting for you.

Your learning is in your own hands. Take all this with a grain of salt (except maybe the first piece of advice, that idea is heavily backed by research).

And most importantly, learning does not stop in the classroom. Learning does not stop when you graduate.

A real student is a lifelong student.

happy learning,

-Daniel