How To Memorize Anything Using 5 Simple Memorisation Techniques
Have you ever looked at a textbook until your eyes blurred? You read your notes over and over for hours, thinking that if you read them enough, they would somehow sink in and stick.
But when it's test day, you blank. It's an awful feeling that so many students can relate to. You might think that you just have a "bad memory", but that's rarely the case.
The issue is not with you; it's with the methods you are using. Forgetting what you studied can be quite a blow, especially when you spent so much time and effort researching. It is not simply studying harder; it is studying smarter.
The good news is your brain is extremely powerful. With the right strategies, you can learn how to memorise things faster and to 'lock' information into your long-term memory.
In this post, we will put aside those old, poor techniques and learn the effective memorising techniques that work with your brain, not against it.
Why Traditional Methods Fail
So, why doesn't rereading your notes or highlighting each other's sentences work? This is because these methods are passive. You are looking at the information and not genuinely engaging with it. Your brain sees the text, recognises it, and deceives you into thinking you know it.
What you are doing is called recognition, which is not the same as recall. The aim is to recall the information without any cues at all. This is the skill that is built with recall practice. This is one of the reasons why students fail GCSE. They mistake the familiar feelings of recognition as true understanding.
Students use ineffective study habits to create a continual cycle of long, exhausting nights, followed by student burnout. You feel like you are working constantly with little to show for it. But studying with ADHD is even tougher because staying focused on non-active tasks can be very challenging.
If you want to memorise things quickly, you must become an active participant in your learning. You have to give your brain a reason to encode the information more deeply. The aim is to move from simply looking at the words to making connections, which is an aspect of how to memorise any subject quicker.
Technique #1 - Mnemonics
Using a mnemonic device is one of the most powerful ways to memorise information. Think of mnemonic devices as memory aids that help you link what you want to remember to an existing object that you can easily recall. Consider those devices as creative shortcuts for your brain.
You may make abstract facts more concrete and easier to remember by using rhymes, songs, or acronyms. For example, most of us learned the order of the planets using the sentence, "My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Noodles." The first letter of each word is referenced to develop a simple sentence that is easier to remember than a long list.
This style of remembering works because you are organising information, and your brain loves to do that. Instead of memorising a list of random information, you are making a pattern. When you are learning vocabulary or more complex formulas, a fun mnemonic makes it feel less like work. It is an easy trick to remember and can help you memorise faster.
Technique #2 - Method of Loci (Memory Palace)
Want to feel like a memory champion? The memory palace technique (or method of loci) is a great way to memorise things. This technique involves picturing a familiar place (your house, your walk to school) and placing the items you need to remember at specific spots along that journey. So, if you need to memorise a grocery list, you could visualise a giant carton of milk blocking your front door and eggs smashed on your living room couch.
The way you use the memory palace technique is to mentally walk through your palace and see the items that are there. The more interesting and obsessively vivid the images are, the better chance you have of remembering them. This works because our brains are great at remembering spatial information.
When you connect new facts to something you already know (like how your house is laid out), you give your brain a systematic way to save and retrieve what you learned. This is a great technique for memorising any type of information that must be memorised in order.
Technique #3 – Spaced Repetition (Distributed Practice)
If you intend to remember any information long-term, then you have to quit cramming. Spaced repetition is the key to moving knowledge from your short-term working memory into long-term memory.
The concept is straightforward: you review a topic for hours, then break it down into shorter periods over a longer time. You are reviewing information just as you are about to forget it. Each time you do this, you have made that memory stronger.
This is where flashcards are useful. You can create physical cards, or study tools or apps that use spaced repetition algorithms. When you study a concept, you will review it the next day, then in three days, then in a week. This is a validated way to learn and remember things faster because it aligns with the brain's natural forgetting curve. This is the most effective memorisation technique for anything you might study.
Technique #4 – Active Recall (Testing Effect)
Active recall is the act of directly retrieving information from your memory. Rather than just rereading a chapter, close the book and try to recall: what was I supposed to learn? Try explaining the concept aloud without any help. The act of trying to remember a piece of information creates synapses in the network in your brain that connect to that memory and strengthen it. This ultimately ensures that your memories become more retrievable in the future. Active recall is a game-changer if you are looking to speed up memorisation of any subject.
With this method of learning, you now have to distinguish between the information you actually have and what you think you have. In a way, active recall is a type of self-testing. You can self-test in a number of ways: by doing practice questions, physically explaining a topic to a friend, or by using flashcards.
What is important is that your brain is forced to carry out the brain function of recalling. The more often you can practice pulling information from your memory - no matter how small your pupil is - the easier it's going to be when you need it. This is how you develop a working memory.
Technique #5 – Chunking & Connecting chomping/ Linking
Do you ever get that feeling of being overwhelmed when confronted with a long string of numbers or an intimidating, lengthy paragraph of text? You need to chunk! Chunking is the way we form information into smaller, manageable chunks.
There are limits to your working memory (the taking notes process), and, therefore, there are limits to the number of items to memorise (aka a 10-digit phone number). Once you break down larger information into smaller groups, i.e., 123-456-7890, we are more capable of organising new information into manageable groups.
Chunking is vital for learning how to memorise things faster, as it creates an opportunity to connect the chunked information into meaningful connections. Then, you can build those connections to new mental relevance (or what you already know) within your brain.
Your brain is now a web of knowledge, where some of the concepts you are connected to have another linked piece of knowledge to reference to more accurately recall a memory (this is also a built-in rewards system we use to store memory).
Next time you are attempting to memorise something complex or extensive, always remember to break it down into simple chunks.
Putting It All Together – A Step-by-Step Routine on How to Memorise Faster
It's one thing to know these memorization techniques, but it's another to actually use them. Here's a simple routine that combines these tips to help you learn how to remember anything faster and finally stop procrastinating.
Step 1: Understand and chunk the material
Before you try to remember something, make sure you understand it. If you don't understand something, you can't remember it. Read the material and then break it down into its main ideas or points. Organise related pieces of information into manageable groups.
Step 2: Create mnemonics or memory palace visuals
Make a memory aid for each piece. Use the first letter of each item on a list to make an acronym. When you use the memory palace method, give each idea a strong, memorable image and put it in a certain place in your mind.
Step 3: Use active recall immediately after learning
Don't put it off. Put your notes away and practise active recall right after you've studied a part. Write down everything you can think of. Speak the information out loud. This first test helps to encode the information more deeply from the start, which is an important step in learning how to remember things faster.
Step 4: Schedule spaced repetition reviews
Make a schedule for your review sessions. Create a plan to revisit each topic using flashcards or an app. You should do your first review within 24 hours, then every few days, and then once a week. This will help you remember what you've learnt and move it to long-term memory.
Step 5: Reflect and build connections for deeper recall
As you go over the material, think about how the different pieces of information fit together and how they relate to what you already know. This process of making connections strengthens your mental framework, which will help you remember the details more easily and improve your memory.
Conclusion
It's not about having a "gifted" brain; it's about using the right tools and methods to learn how to remember things faster. You can change the way you study by stopping passive rereading and starting to use active strategies like mnemonics, the memory palace, spaced repetition, active recall, and chunking.
These methods work with how your brain naturally remembers and learns, which makes your efforts more effective and efficient. You can finally stop putting things off and start learning things that will last. It's a skill to learn how to remember things faster, and like any skill, it gets better with practice.
Are you ready to make your study sessions even better? We at StudyFetch have developed a suite of AI study tools, including Quizzes AI, Flashcards, and Spark E, which leverage these powerful ideas. Sign up for StudyFetch right now and learn how to study better, not harder.
Frequently Asked Questions on How to Memorise Anything Faster
How can I memorise or retain information quickly?
Active learning is the most effective method for quickly memorising information. First, learn the material. Then, use a mnemonic device or the memory palace technique to make strong mental hooks. Use active recall right away to test yourself and make sure you can remember it without any hints.
What is the 7 3 2 1 study method?
This is a way to plan how to review material over time. You study the subject seven days before the test, then again three days before, two days before, and finally the day before. It is a structured way of spaced repetition that is meant to help you remember things better.
What is the 2 7 30 rule for memory?
This rule is a different way of using spaced repetition. You go over what you've learnt twice: once two days after you learn it, then again seven days later, and finally thirty days later. This schedule is a great way to remember things because it breaks the forgetting curve and moves information to your long-term memory.
How can I memorise 10x fast?
Use a mix of different memory techniques to significantly speed up your memorisation. Break up information into smaller parts, give each part a strong mnemonic or memory palace visual, and then use active recall right away. Using spaced repetition with flashcards on a regular basis will help you remember that information for a long time.
