How To Remember More Of What You Read!
A lot of us try and cram as much information we can into our heads each day, Whether it’s stuff for school, Work Or the exciting books we read filled with the info we want to remember.
The problem is we are doing too much too quickly.
We Suck At Remembering
Haven’t you noticed, A lot of the stuff you learn, You don’t remember? Well if the information isn’t used in awhile, It will leave our brain quickly.
I noticed this when I went back to UPS. I remembered all the basic stuff, Like how to maneuver the scanner to scan the boxes. But I forgot little odds and end things, That I ended up having to “awkwardly” ask my coworkers what to do. Which of course I laughed at a little bit of it.
We Waste Our Time
I used to listen to podcasts nonstop.
While this is not a bad hobby. I would do it so much And expect myself to remember EVERYTHING. Yeah, Doesn’t work like that.
As a result, Instead of retaining one episode's worth of data, I spread my reach too thin, And as a result. Forgot a lot of stuff from all the podcasts I listened to that day.
This is the same with reading, We always hear about those college students reading for hours.
Highlight And Write In The Book
This allows you to engage with the content. Another good reason to buy used books, I don't know if I could bring myself to write or highlight in a book that is brand new. Not only can you take notes, But highlighting key points with that bright highlighter will help you remember the content.
Summarize Take Notes
Not only does taking basic notes help you But summarizing the content on a piece of paper can help you recall the information you just read, It also saves you time from re-reading the material.
Review
The brain loves to relax when things seem familiar. This is why re-reading all the info again can be tedious and a waste of time, But when you simply review the information you can quickly get through it and "remind yourself" of certain key points.
Ohhh, glad to see I am not the only one who struggles with highlighting new books, lol. But folding the corner of pages would cause me to cringe. I would shove paper between pages, until I slowly got the courage to use those pretty bright colors, lol. But my boss uses little colored sticky notes, and jots key points on them, then sticks them to each page she needed to remember stuff from.
@kaylinart - You make a very valid point about 'spreading too thin'. We often try to remember a lot (and sometimes irrelevant stuff too) instead of focused reading and remembering. This reminds me of the Sherlock Holmes episode where, when Dr. Watson tells Sherlock that Earth goes around the Sun, Sherlock responds with "Now that you have given me this piece of information that is totally irrelevant to the cases I work on, I will try my best to forget it". Keeping the brain uncluttered is indeed necessary.
Thanks for reminding me again through your blog. Upvoted full
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Regards,
@vm2904
Completely agree regarding information overload.
I used to listen to a wide variety of podcasts all the time, and while in the moment I am entertained by the information, I retain a fraction of the info.
Recently I've become relistening to things I find particularly interesting or relevant, and am finding my retention of the data is obviously much greater.
Also been meaning to read the book "How to read a book"
I agree so much with this article. The best thing for me is to consider a book more valuable marked up than in prestine condition. I highlight on the first read and then summarize the highlights in my own cliff notes and put them in a folder I call read books. Therefore, I can re-read a book in 3-5 minutes. If I feel I have grown and the book could have new things for me to learn I can later re-read the book.
I use to treat books like trophies. Now I rough them up and treat them more like a workbook.
You are pure awesomeness!
I am just bummed I didn’t check back across your blog sooner!
Thanks for doing what you do!
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Excellent post thanks for sharing@kaylinart
When I studied in university I always summarized all the stuff that I just read and then used that material to prepare for exams. However, when you read something in internet, you don't really have so much time to write any review or summary and that's why a lot of information is getting lost.
Sometimes bookmarks are the answer, but I have so many of them that I literally forget about them from time to time and then it takes too much time to find what I need.
I hear ya there. The internet is where most go now, to seek out any info they want/need to learn. I started taking notes from them (like my trying to learn programming), but then would have them mixed up, or not jot down (needed info). Our desire to keep up with the way things are changing, are causing us to overload our brains too fast. The thirst for knowledge is a powerful thing.
I read somewhere that if you write something down you will remember it 300 times better. I don't know if there is science to back it up. Anyways if you still forget you atleast have the chance to look it up again hehe
Really nice post mam.thanks for sharing us..i always follow your post..