How To Learn Faster And Remember More: (8 Proven Ways)

If you want to understand how to learn faster and remember more, do not look for revolutionary methods. Instead, focus on the details.

What you write with, what you look at, and how many breaks you take are all very important. See what you really should pay attention to.

For dozens of years sitting in numerous schools, you are asked to memorize many things every day, but nobody tells you how to learn or the best way to memorize.

Weird, is not it?

After all, memorization is the basis for learning and working efficiently in virtually every field.

Whether it is preparing for a big test or cramming in your own ID numbers, the more you remember them, the better.

There are numerous ways to learn

While there aren’t any shortcuts, and everybody has barely different talents, there are some techniques that are easy to learn.

This is not some magic trick or a revolutionary approach. You’ve most likely used most of this stuff for a long time, but… the secret is in the details.

As you’ll see in a moment, even seconds count.

In this post, I’ll tell you about eight ways to study that not only help you remember things faster, but also keep the information in your head longer.

That is, learning will be effective.

This is not a far-fetched thing, I based it on research and the results of diverse scientific experiments.

Let’s start? 🙂

1. How to learn difficult things?

Information that seems easy to remember often pops out of your head the fastest, why?

Let’s say a friend gave you his address and his house number is 15A/15. You find it too easy to remember and… you stop trying.

Instead of repeating it a few times to reinforce it, you decide it is too trivial to do.

Then, you end up on the street and for the rest of your life you cannot remember the number your friend gave you. You just remember that it is something easy…

Of course, less complex information is embedded in memory much faster, but we still must try to remember it.

Without some repetition and a clear intention to memorize something, even the simplest things will slip out of our minds.

But what sort of effort will be enough?

2. How to learn by repetition?

A group of individuals is shown 26 short scenes captured on video.

After each video, half of the participants were asked repeat in whatever way they want what they simply saw for 40 seconds. They can play the scene again in their head, out loud, write it down, etc.

After two weeks, the difference in effect was drastic.

Those who only watched the video remember virtually nothing.

However, if someone repeated the information for at least 40 seconds, even after two weeks they could remember many details.

Of course, this does not just apply to movies.

This easy method also works with books or lectures, for example. A brief repetition of just 40 seconds is sufficient to remember even more.

Another experimentconducted by Harvard Business School, showed that employees who created a brief summary at the end of the day and drew conclusions from the last few hours achieved almost 23% higher results.

Repetition is the cornerstone of remembering and learning. How to do it most effectively?

3. Repeat aloud to the other person

When you tell other people what you have just learned, you clearly increase their chances of retaining the information for longer.

Research shows that this principle applies even if the other person is not listening.

Professor Victor Boucher, who studies this phenomenon, in one experiment asked different groups of participants to memorize several words.

Depending on the group, he imposed different modes of learning – some subjects had to repeat the words in their heads, others were asked to say them out loud, and a third group was told to tell the story to someone else.

It was this last group that achieved the best results in subsequent memory tests.

Research has proven that this method is also effective with totally made-up and non-existent words, showing that telling others helps in learning virtually any subject.

This is because the brain engages a further sense (speech), but also processes, analyzes and organizes information to best communicate it.

It is this extra effort that facilitates memory.

SEE ALSO: How To Study More Effectively In Less Time: [18 Exclusive Tips]

4. How to learn by taking notes?

But we do not at all times have someone we can talk to freely, or it gets strange in certain situations.

We won’t whisper in the ears of colleagues everything that the teacher said during the lecture.

Then, rather than just listening, it is vital to take notes. This is a seemingly trivial conclusion, but here too there are some details worth noting.

5. How to make notes?

First, it is not good to take notes on a computer.

Research has proven that those who took notes by hand remembered the material better. Why?

By writing on a computer we can take notes more quickly and this is paradoxically to our detriment. Because of this high speed, we literally record everything we hear.

Handwritten notes don’t give us this convenience.

We are forced to paraphrase and quickly analyze the material in order to pick out the most significant elements from it. Thanks to this, we more consciously “process” the information that comes to us.

Second, when taking notes by hand, do not be afraid to sketch and doodle in the margins. These seemingly unnecessary additions improve learning outcomes.

Professor Jackie Andrade from the University of Plymouth asked 40 people to listen to a boring message about an upcoming party.

The participants were asked to record, from amongst the names that came up, the people who were invited to the party.

That experiment maker make sure that the subject is very bored. The recording is very long and the tone is monotonous.

At the end of the study, the participants were asked to retrieve their notes and were unexpectedly asked to write from memory the names they had written on the cards.

Those who sketched while listening memorized 30% more of them on average.

This is because even the simplest doodles let you maintain a enough level of concentration.

Your attention stays focused on the page and you are not too distracted to be distracted by another topic.

Third, find and develop your own tried and tested record keeping system. I remember at university envying people who could take notes in a structured way. Their records then became the most popular during the session. 😉

Find your record system. One interesting way is the Cornell method.

5. Do you want to study more efficiently? Rest!

I once signed up for a speed reading course.

In fact, I learned how to scan text at a good speed and that I can understand lots of things. Unfortunately, such reading has one big drawback – after a few days I practically forget everything.

Memory doesn’t like rush.

If you want to memorize large and demanding material, you’ll need to divide it into sections and take short breaks between each section.

Information must have time to consolidate. If you cram hundreds of pieces of data into your head at lightning speed, just a few of them will last there long.

6. How long is the study break?

It does not take much.

In the one experimentparticipants who took a 10-minute break after reading the text remembered as much after a week as those who had read the same story just a quarter of an hour before!

SEE ALSO: How To Be A Smart Student In School: The Definitive Guide

7. Nature helps you remember

If rest is so important, why not combine it with a brief walk?

The question is, is our memory affected by where we go?

Researchers at the University of Michigan show participants in experiment a set of random numbers and ask them to memorize it.

They then divided the subjects into two groups. They sent one for a walk in the park and the other along a busy street.

After coming back from this short rest, those who walked amongst the trees and greenery remembered 20% more than their counterparts who walked along the way.

Subsequent research has shown that views of nature itself are the key factor here, rather than really being surrounded by it. Memory is helped by lovely landscapes outside the window, or even pictures and pictures.

Maybe that classic Windows wallpaper is not so bad after all?

8. Physical activity also affects memory

Physical exertion helps in so many ways that it’s not surprising that it also has a positive effect on memory.

However, it turns out that details are also important here.

In one studyparticipants were divided into three groups: the first exercised instantly after learning, the second 4 hours after, and the third didn’t exercise at all.

In later memory tests, those who had a 4-hour gap between learning new material and training performed the best. Physical exertion instantly after learning has no effect on memory ability.

Adequate rest has yet again proved beneficial and is worth including.

Extra tip: Work on your ability to concentrate

Are you finding it more and more difficult to focus on a single task and resisting the temptation to continuously glance at your phone? This is the result of the flood of information and widespread addiction… social media.

Many studies show that the way we consume them affects many aspects, including permanently changing our brains.

We are less able to concentrate, and the joy that comes from other notifications or blue light from the screen disappears instantly.

Summary: What can you do to focus on learning and learn effectively?

First of all, you must see it as a process, a kind of training of the mind. Yes, the ability to concentrate can be developed. Where to start?

Start work or study by scheduling your breaks for… distractions. How do you apply this to effective learning?

Divide your time into blocks, writing in time to view e-mail, social media, and other distractions. This will keep you disciplined, without the effect of being totally cut off.

During the time spent studying, turn off all notifications, preferably keeping the phone out of your sight. Make your life and decisions easier by using time control and social media tools – like the Kill News Feed plugin.

Develop a regular rhythm of work or study, approach it as a habit that you need to develop.

Learn to rest and work on the quality of your sleep. Before going to bed, try to summarize your day, write down what you managed to do and write down the tasks that weren’t completed.

Also, turn off your phone before going to bed or use screen light mode at night.

These are only a few examples of methods. Give it a try or find your own.

Thank you for reading this article on how to learn faster and remember more and I actually hope you take my advice into action.

I wish you good luck and that I hope that its content has been a good help to you.