Do you struggle to remember the name of a person you were just introduced to? How is it that some people seem able to remember everything so easily? Fear not! There is hope for us all. We’ve gathered some of the best tips and tricks to help boost your memory skills.
Whether you’re studying for a test or learning a language, memorizing new information is easier than you think. To start with, we’ve gone all the way back to the Greeks. If you’ve seen Sherlock you’ve probably heard of a “mind palace.” Also known as the loci method, it was invented more than 2,000 years ago to help memorize long speeches. Yes, even the Greeks struggled to memorize stuff. But in their typical “let’s invent everything” style, they devised a method that is still used to this day. Scientists are on board with it, too. They believe it works by utilizing our navigational and spatial memory skills, and research shows that this method dramatically improves memory.
There are a whole slew of other methods to try out too. At some point, it might even be time to get creative and let your inner poet out. Ask any school kid and they’ll tell you: rhymes are one of the simplest ways to remember anything. Or If you have a list or group of words you need to memorize, creating a new word using their first letters is an effective way to do it.
If an exam is on the horizon and stressing you out, give the simple and efficient PQRST method a try. Then we have linking and chunking, which might sound strange, but read on–they work!
Scientists have been trying to find out how human memory works for at least 2,000 years. While they’re still making new discoveries, they all agree on the efficacy of these techniques that have been tried and tested by generations of humans. So no more excuses – it’s time to build that mind palace or write a catchy rhyme. Which method will you choose?
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