Teach Someone

Okay, we have tuned our ears to listen, and we’re using our eyes to observe. Now, we need to store the stuff we’ve heard and seen. This is where our memory steps onto the field.

We have two types of memory–short-term and long-term. Short-term is also called working memory. It can hold up to 10 items, like a phone number. Some people can hold more, but they are rare. Most of us finish at around seven.

Good news: you can train yourself to hold more.

Bad news: if you don’t do something with the information, you’ll forget it.

Doing something with the information means pushing it into your long-term memory. It’s best not to let anyone or anything distract you when you do this. One of the easiest ways is to repeat the info to yourself. Say it over and over. Wait a few minutes, then do it again. Later, say an hour, repeat it.

The big test comes after a couple of hours. See if you can write it down.

That is hard to do when your teacher presents several lessons daily. Short-term memory throws away anything we haven’t tried to remember. There is a better way to remember things, especially important stuff like schoolwork.

Teach someone else.

Explain to another person what you remember from your day at school. You don’t have to make a lesson of it. Just tell them a story.