20 Study Hacks to Improve Your Memory

Posted on January 24, 2014 by Andrea Leyden

We’ve scoured our brains and the internet for the best study hacks to help your brain
remember information quicker and easier and ultimately help you do better in your
exams.

1. Walk Before an Exam

It’s been proven that exercise can boost your memory and brain power. Research
conducted by Dr. Chuck Hillman of the University of Illinois provides evidence that about
20 minutes’ exercise before an exam can improve performance.

2. Speak Out Loud Instead of Simply Reading

Although this may make you look a little crazy, give it a go! You will be surprised how
much more you can remember when you’ve said it out loud. Warning: Don’t try this in a
crowded library!
3. Reward Yourself with A Treat

There are many ways to integrate a reward system into your study habits. Here’s a
simple way to motivate yourself to study with Gummy Bears:

4. Teach What You Have Learned

The best way to test if you really understand something is to try to teach it to someone
else. If you can’t get anyone to listen to you explain the Pythagorean Theorem, why not
teach a class of stuffed animals!

Join GoConqr for free and you’ll have access to Study Groups in which students from all
over the world share their secrets to better academic results

5. Create Mental Associations

The ability to make connections is not only an easier way to remember information, but
it’s the fuel of creativity and intelligence. Steve Jobs famously said “Creativity is just
connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a
little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something”.
Mind Maps are an easy way to connect ideas by creating a visual overview of different
connections. Read more about the benefits of using Mind Maps to learn here.

6. Draw Diagrams

Drawing diagrams will help you to visualize information which would be hard to
describe. This creates a visual memory in your mind which can be recalled in an exam.
You may even be asked to draw or label diagrams such as the human heart in your
exam so get practicing!

7. Times New Roman is the Fastest Font to Read

Simply put – there’s a reason why Times New Roman is the default font on most
applications!
8. Use Apps to Block Distracting Sites

The Self Control app helps you to avoid distractions by blocking websites for a certain
amount of time. Discover more student apps to make student life easier in our blog
post “12 Student Apps You Don’t Want to Miss!”.

9. Watch a Documentary on the Topic

Documentaries are an entertaining way of compacting an entire story into a short

timeframe. This will help you remember key details from a story plus you may even get
extra credit for mentioning that you took the initiative and watched a film about the topic!

Check out the infographic in this blog post which helps you decide which documentary
to watch.

10. Search Google Like a Pro

Save time when researching sources online by mastering the biggest search engine in
the world; Google. Follow the tips in this image to find what you need at your fingertips:
11. Create Flashcards for Quick Memory Buzz

Quickly test your knowledge of key concepts, definitions, quotes and formulas
with flashcards. Sign up to GoConqr now to create your first Flashcard deck like the one
below now!

12. Take Regular Study Breaks

When your brain is working, you need to take regular study breaks to help your brain
absorb more information but also to keep you motivated and focused when you are
working. Take a short break after 45-50 minutes study as your focus and concentration
will become impaired after this period, anything new after 1 hour 30 minutes does not
get assimilated.
13. Listen to the Correct Type of Music

In our blog post “Music for Studying: 10 Tips to Pick the Best Study Music” we looked
into the area of how the correct types of music can lead to more productive studying by
elevating your mood. Have you made your Mozart Spotify playlist yet?

14. Make Your Study Space Portable

We may be creatures of habit with favorite seats in the library but information retention
actually improves when you vary the places where you study. Check out this Buzzfeed
video for more study hacks:

15. Practice, Practice, Practice…

Practicing sample answers to past exam questions can help train your brain to retrieve
information. Create realistic, exam-like condition and test your understanding by using
our new Quiz tool. Try our general Knowledge Quiz below:

16. Don’t Stay Up All Night Before an Exam

Make sure to get adequate rest the nights leading up to your exams. When you sleep,
your brain assimilates the information you have learned when studying so getting a
good night’s sleep will help you remember those pesky math’s formulas you need for
your exam!

Don’t make this your sleep schedule:

17. Discover News Ways to Learn

Trying new methods of studying can help you find what really works for you. Use
technology to your advantage by watching educational TED Talks or downloading
useful dictionary apps for example. Read more about the benefits of using technology to
study.

18. Use Scents or Gum to Jog Your Memory

This may seem a bit random but spraying an unfamiliar scent while you’re studying can
help jog your memory when you spray it again just before an exam. Chewing a strange
kind of gum will work the same way.
19. Study in a Group

Studying in a group can help you collect new insights to enhance your learning
experience. The ExamTime Groups tool is an innovative spin on the traditional study
group formula. Our Groups tool helps you share resources, discuss ideas and interact
with members of your team or group project. Sign up here to get started!

20. Meditate

Studies say that meditation can help students stay focused when studying. Not only will
meditation help you concentrate when studying but it will help reduce pre-exam stress
as it improves both mental and physical health.

Check out this Meditation Education infographic on Edutopia which details the
educational benefits of meditating:
Our final piece of advice for those of you sitting exams is to stay positive. It’s amazing
how a positive attitude can impact on your exam results or motivate you to
complete that assignment when all you want to do is go to bed!

Got any other study hacks? Let us know if any other study hacks have worked for you in
the comments section below.

How To Memorize Things Quicker Than Other People

PRODUCTIVITYBY JON NEGRONI
People like to joke that the only thing you really “learn” in school is how to memorize. As

it turns out, that’s not even the case for most of us. If you go around the room and ask a

handful of people how to memorize things quickly, most of them will probably tell you

repetition.

That is so far from the truth, it’s running for office. If you want to memorize something

quickly and thoroughly, repetition won’t cut it; however, recalling something will. The

problem is that recalling something requires learning, and we all learn in different ways.

Below are some universal steps to mastering the art of recalling so that you can start

memorizing a ton of data in a short amount of time.

Before we start, you need to establish something: are you an auditory, visual, or

experiential learner? If you’re an auditory learner, then the most effective way for you to

grasp information is by hearing it. As you can imagine, visual learners favor seeing

something in order to learn it, and experiential learning types are more akin to learning

from events and experiences (or, doing something with the material). Most of us are a

combination of at least two of these categories, but I will denote which step is most

favorable to your most agreeable learning style so that you can start to memorize things

quickly and efficiently.

Step 1: Preparation

To optimize your memorization session, pay close attention to which environment you

choose. For most people, this means choosing an area with few distractions, though

some people do thrive off of learning in public areas. Figure out what is most conducive

to your learning so that you can get started.

Next, start drinking some tea. I could link you to mounds of scientific studies that

confirm green tea as a natural catalyst for improving memory. Mechanically speaking,

our ability to recall information comes down to the strength between neurons in our

mind, which are connected by synapses. The more you exercise the synapse (repetition),

the stronger it is, resulting in the ability to memorize.

As we get older, toxic chemicals will damage our neurons and synapses, leading to

memory loss and even Alzheimer’s. Green tea contains compounds, however, that block

this toxicity and keep your brain cells working properly a lot longer.

Step 2: Record What You’re Memorizing

This is especially useful if you’re trying to memorize information from a lecture. Use a

tape recorder to track all of the acquired facts being spoken and listen to it. If you’re

trying to memorize a speech, record yourself reading the speech aloud and listen to

yourself speaking. Obviously, this is most helpful for auditory learners, but it’s also

handy because it ensures that you’re getting more context from a lecture that will help

you learn the information faster.

Step 3: Write Everything Down

Before you start trying to recall everything from memory, write and re-write the

information. This will help you become more familiar with what you’re trying to

memorize. Doing this while listening to your tape recorder can also help you retain a lot

of the data. This is most useful for experiential learners.

Step 4: Section your notes.

Now that you have everything written down in one set of notes, separate them into

sections. This is ideal for visual learners, especially if you use color coding to

differentiate between subjects. This will help you break everything down and start

compartmentalizing the information being recorded in your brain.

Step 5: Apply repetition to cumulative memorization

For each line of text, repeat it a few times and try to recall it without looking. As you

memorize each set of text, be cumulative by adding the new information to what you’ve

just learned. This will keep everything within your short-term memory from fading.

Keep doing this until you have memorized that section and you are able to recall the

entire thing. Do not move on to another section until you have memorized that one

completely. This is mostly visual learning, but if you are speaking aloud, then you are

also applying auditory.

Step 6: Write it down from memory

Now that you can recall entire sections, write everything down from memory. This will

reinforce everything you just have just learned by applying it experientially.

Step 7: Teach it to someone (or yourself)

The most effective method for me when I was in school was to teach the information to

someone else. You can do this in a variety of ways. You can lecture the knowledge to

someone sitting right in front of you (or the mirror, if you can’t convince anyone to sit

through it) and explain everything extemporaneously. If what you’ve learned needs to be

recited verbatim, then do this in front of someone as well in order to get a feel for what it

will be like to recite the text to the intended audience.

My favorite method for this is creating tests for other people. Take the information and

predict what questions will come out of them. Use multiple choice, matching and so on

to present the data in test format, and see how someone else does. All of this is

experiential learning, since you are actually practicing and manipulating the concepts

you’ve learned.

Step 8: Listen to the recordings continuously

While doing unrelated tasks like laundry or driving, go over the information again by

listening to your tape recordings. This is certainly auditory learning, but it will still

supplement everything you’ve shoved into your short-term memory.

Step 9: Take a break

Finally, let your mind breathe. Go for a short time without thinking about what you just

learned and come back to it later on. You’ll find out what you really know, of course, and

this will help you focus on the sections you might be weakest at.