Exam period has started, which means that every student out there is trying to memorize as much study information as possible. Or, sometimes, impossible. Our biggest fear is feeling empty-headed during an exam, or panic so much our mind would go blank.
Luckily, there are lots of useful techniques that can help you boost your memory and slay this exam season! We are coming to the rescue. Read ahead to find out what they are.
1. Use associations
Association is probably one of the most popular memory improving techniques among students. It links new terms, items, ideas that we need to remember to the information we already know. All of us associate things with one another, that’s how our memory works, so creating associations on purpose while studying has proven to be a great memory tool. For example, if you need to remember a certain historical date, try finding something to link it to in your everyday life – maybe, your mother was born in the same year, or your favourite music album came out? There are lots of ways to use the associations technique, all of them are creative and fun, and what is more important, they really do help you to cement the necessary information in your brain.
2. Use your photographic memory
Combine the information with images to remember it faster and easier. You may have noticed that a lot of professors at the university use graphs, photos and other visualisation of the study material in their presentations. There is, for sure, a reason for that – when preparing for the exam, and after looking at that presentation day and night, your mind will only have to retrieve an image – and you have it all covered! Of course, for some people photographic memory may not work that well, but you can still use this technique when organizing your notes and remembering the location of the information in them afterwards.
3. Say the information out loud
Saying things you want to remember out loud makes the information more distinctive in memory. While it can be really weird to walk around the house and repeating, for example, the main principles of Branding and Self-branding to yourself, the results of that technique are fruitful as you increase the chance of remembering the material by 50% - so go ahead and talk it out.
4. Change the environment for each subject
That may sound weird but go to different places to study different subjects. This technique has proven to be effective on practice multiple times in our personal experience. If you live in the dormitory and don’t really have a lot of rooms and places to change, go to different parks of Budapest, and change location for every other subject. Here, the association technique also comes into place, as you link certain information to a certain place. For example, study Philosophy in the Philosopher’s Garden at Gellert Hill, or Introduction to Law at Margaret Island. During an exam, it will be easier to remember what you studied in that exact place and retrieve information accordingly.
5. Get some gooood amount of sleep
Last, but not least, take care of your sleeping schedule. Do that not just the night before the exam, but every night prior to it. Even though it might feel like sleep doesn’t really matter now with the study load on your plate, believe us, you are going to regret this letter. A good, 8 or even 7-hour sleep will do miracles to your brain and help you digest the information you have studied throughout the day. Also, consider taking daily naps if you feel like it – sometimes sluggishness can be cured by a 20-minute nap, and you are ready to lean over the books again.
Exams can be really tiring and exhausting, but don’t let them take their toll on your mind! Use these techniques to boost your memory during that stressful period of time, and don’t forget to rest – this way, your memory will perform at its best ability.
