How to memorize things faster: 7 memory techniques that work
Whether it's vocabulary, dates, formulas or the countries of Europe, everyone has something they need to remember. Some methods work much better than others – and the ones that feel easiest (like reading something over and over) are usually not the best.
1. Test yourself
The most powerful memory technique is simple: try to recall the information without looking, then check. Every time you pull something out of your memory, it becomes easier to recall next time. This is called active recall, or retrieval practice. How active recall works.
2. Space it out
Reviewing something several times over a few days works much better than the same amount of time in one go. Go over new material the same day, then a day or two later, then a week later. Spaced repetition explained.
3. Chunk it
Your short-term memory can only hold a few things at once. In a famous 1956 paper, George Miller suggested the limit was around seven items; later research by Nelson Cowan suggests it may be closer to four "chunks". The trick is to group information into bigger, meaningful chunks:
- A phone number is easier as 0721 – 558 – 902 than as ten separate digits.
- The planets are easier as "inner rocky planets" and "outer gas giants".
- A long list of words is easier in groups by theme.
4. Use a mnemonic
A mnemonic is a memory trick that turns something hard to remember into something easier.
- Acronyms: ROY G BIV for the colours of the rainbow (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet).
- Sentences: "My Very Easy Method Just Speeds Up Naming" for the planets in order (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune).
- Rhymes and songs: "Thirty days hath September…"
Mnemonics are great for lists and order. For understanding a topic, combine them with the other techniques here.
5. Build a memory palace
The method of loci is an ancient technique: imagine a place you know well – your home, your way to school – and "place" each item you want to remember at a spot along the way. To recall the list, walk through the place in your mind. The stranger and more vivid the images, the better they stick.
6. Connect it to what you know
New information sticks better when it's linked to something you already understand. Ask yourself why something is true, how it relates to the last topic, or where you've seen it in real life. Explaining it in simple words – the Feynman technique – is a great way to do this.
7. Sleep on it
Sleep helps the brain store what you learned during the day. A late-night cram followed by little sleep is one of the worst combinations for memory. Sleep is part of studying.
Little and often
The best memory plan is a little practice every day, with questions rather than re-reading. That's how TONEC STUDY works: a few short tasks daily, at your level, with an explanation after each answer.
The research
- Miller, G. A. (1956). The magical number seven, plus or minus two: Some limits on our capacity for processing information. Psychological Review, 63(2).
- Cowan, N. (2001). The magical number 4 in short-term memory: A reconsideration of mental storage capacity. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 24(1).
- Roediger, H. L., & Karpicke, J. D. (2006). Test-enhanced learning: Taking memory tests improves long-term retention. Psychological Science, 17(3).