Learn How to Memorize Notes Fast With These 6 Effective Ways
Have you ever had an exam to prepare for and can’t seem to get your points into your memory? Or been in an exam hall and can’t remember that last point to bring your total answer to 5? As human beings, we are always in the process of learning. Be it at school, work, or a professional course, learning how to memorize notes fast is a vital skill everyone should develop.
When it comes to learning, we’re not just restricted to academic life. If you’re conscious about self-development, you’d understand that every day, we learn new things. You can decide to learn a new language, or a new course to boost your qualifications. Whatever, it is you’re learning, the ability to memorize notes fast can make you stand out.
6 Tips on How to Memorize Notes Effectively
1. Write Down Your Points
Probably one of the most common techniques, one tip on how to memorize notes fast is by writing everything you’ve learned down.
When you write down whatever it is you’re learning, you become familiar with the concepts of your study. You can always go over what you’ve written in case you’ve forgotten your points. In addition, writing down your points pushes your brain to bring back what you’ve memorized. When reading, pay attention to points you can build on. After you’ve read your notes, write down the points you’ve memorized and build more points from them.
Next, memorize these points since you’ve written them down in your own words. Rewrite these points again to see if you have successfully grasped the idea behind what you’re studying.
This technique is particularly useful for those who are visual learners and take time to memorize notes.
2. Divide and Conquer
Sectioning your notes is a great way to help you memorize your notes easily. Personally, when preparing for an exam or a test, I arrange my notes into sections and read accordingly. For example, let’s say I’m studying the ‘History Of Military Coups in Nigeria’ (I’m purposely picking this because I studied it last year), I divide my notes into sections – one for each of the military coups.
Then, for each of the coup, I divide it into further sections such as:
- The “why” section – Here, I ask questions like “why did the coup happen”, “Were the reasons justifiable enough?”.
- The “who” section – Here, I find out who the plotters were, who was against, and who was for.
- The “when” section – “When and where did the coup occur”. What is a success or not?
Using this technique, I was able to memorize the story behind every coup plotted in Nigeria.
Sectioning your notes helps you memorize your notes fast and easily. The beauty of this is that it breaks down the bulk of three reading into smaller, easier bits for you to memorize. It is also a great way of helping you plan your answers to questions by presenting them in an orderly manner.
3. Use Repetition to Aid Memorization
Constantly repeating what you’ve learned is how to memorize notes fast and effectively. This technique is probably widely used. I once had a roommate who used this technique a lot. Reading with him was an extreme sport but it worked for him.
The key to using repetition to memorize your notes is by repeating a section of your note till you can say it or write it down without flinching.
Since you’ve already divided your notes into sections, it should be easy to pick a section to focus on before moving to the next. Use repetition to memorize a section of your note before moving to the next.
When you’re done with one section, you can move to the next section. After studying two sections, try recalling these sections together without staring at your notes. If you can’t recall a section, you know where to focus on.
4. Teach It to Someone Else
I am a big fan of this method. I have used it multiple times in school and it has worked for me. One way i learned how to memorize notes fast is by teaching them to someone else. You get to recall most of the information you’ve memorized and retain it.
In my first year, I was struggling to grasp certain concepts in Political Science. After a few studies, I felt I understood it enough until my roommate had asked me to explain it to him. He said “Explain it to me like I’m five” and I kept on repeating the lines I had crammed. I realized I knew little.
I went back and did my research, understood the topic, and explained it to him in the simplest term. This way, I was able to understand and make him understand too. If he hadn’t asked me to explain to him, I would have gone to the exam prepared to fail.
If you’re finding it difficult to memorize, try explaining it to someone else. Pay attention to their response. It gives you a clue on where you need to improve.
5. Take a Break
One mistake we make when memorizing is trying to digest lots of information over a long period of time. I know many students guilty of this.
Your brain is not a machine. It is a living thing and like you, it does not like stress. One best practice of taking a break is the one I learned from my close friend. For every 20 minutes she spends reading, she takes a 10 minutes break. So in an hour, she spends 40 minutes reading and 20 minutes relaxing.
Take a break when memorizing your notes. It gives your brain time to relax and regain energy without having to think about what you’ve read. During your break, you can take a walk or grab a drink or have a conversation with someone.
LifeHack- Avoid using social media during your break.
6. Make Use of Recordings
One of my favourite techniques to memorize notes easily is making records of the information I’m studying.
Most smartphone devices come with a sound recorder in them. You can record every information spoken during a lecture or tutorial and listen to it later. It aids your visual learning by adding more information to what you’re reading.
Another way you can learn how to memorize notes fast is by recording yourself while reading and listening to them in your free time. This way, whatever you’ve missed while reading, you’d grab when listening. My favourite part of this technique is recording myself read aloud in a musical way (yes, I know. I play too much). So let’s say I’m having difficulties remembering a concept, I record myself singing notes and listening to it like it’s a song. My brain thinks it’s a song and stores the “lyrics” for me to recall easily. You should try it.
Conclusion
Learning how to memorize notes fast is a great skill to build this year. Whether you’d be applying these methods to school or professional courses, it is a great way to excel in whatever field you’re applying it to.
If you can relate to any of these methods, let me know which and how you’d be applying some new methods.
