What to do to remember information faster. How to quickly and efficiently absorb information How to quickly absorb information

We are all “students” - from kindergarten through university or even into adulthood: every adult sometimes needs to learn a new skill, improve the skills of an old one, or simply improve their own productivity. And more than the result of learning itself - knowledge, the ability to learn and the ability to remember information are important to us. These two useful skills need to be developed: they help us absorb more knowledge, learn more quickly and efficiently, retaining information in memory for many years.

Learning is a process that is usually focused on a specific topic, for example, a section of psychology, algebra, and is often associated with visual elements: tables, diagrams, etc. However, we spend too much time cramming and make no attempt to understand how to learn productively. And to no avail: some general strategies are useful for improving academic performance, others are time-consuming and ineffective.

For more than 100 years, cognitive psychology researchers and education experts have developed a variety of teaching methods, from re-reading class notes and writing essays to interactive programs. However, some universities, trainers and teachers ignore this data and do not implement proven effective teaching methods. Well, since knowledge is what we ourselves first need, let’s consider the best strategies for learning and memorizing information, choosing the best ones for ourselves.

How to absorb information quickly and better

A teaching methodology is considered effective if it uses the maximum number of channels of interaction between teacher and student, and also affects the maximum number of aspects of the discipline, be it a foreign language, programming or yoga. It is very useful if the age of the person who uses his experience, his capabilities and his accumulated level of knowledge to master new information is taken into account. In addition, new knowledge must be tested in real situations - in practice. Moreover, it is not so important at what age a person begins learning a particular subject; what is much more important is how often he will train in this - and under what conditions? It is believed that learning is most effective in groups: it is clear that some people are more successful than others, this increases the satisfaction of the process among the former and stimulates the latter to understand and remember better. Ultimately, the maximum achieves long-term results.

Experts in educational psychology have identified five teaching techniques that are most effective and three that are ineffective because they were useful in too few situations or because their effectiveness was not supported by research. These five approaches are not a panacea - they are effective for the most motivated. However, these methods increase everyone's productivity during work, studying, passing exams and... throughout life.

How to absorb a large amount of information for learning

1. Self-esteem: check yourself. Self-assessment is a very useful learning tool - practice tests are effective regardless of the quality and quantity of information learned, the age of the subject and the interval between courses of study.

How it works? The student completes assessment tests independently outside of the group or classroom setting. However, these should not be the traditional tests with “tick boxes” that you are used to in school. For example, you can use flash cards (paper or digital) to recall information or answer questions at the end of each chapter in textbooks. Hundreds of experiments show that self-esteem increases the quality of learning and the amount of information remembered.
When to use? Self-assessment is applicable to remembering any type of information, including learning foreign languages (expanding vocabulary, improving spelling) or memorizing botanical terms. This practice even helps improve memory in people with Alzheimer's disease. Frequent self-assessment tests are especially effective when the student is self-correcting.
Is this practical? Very: Self-assessment takes little time and requires virtually no preparation.
How to do it? You can evaluate yourself on the textbook by answering questions at the end of chapters, or by asking yourself questions mentally and answering them immediately. The self-assessment method using the Cornell system is effective: during class, you need to make notes in the margins in the form of questions or keywords. Left alone, you can challenge yourself by answering questions (or explaining key words).

2. Distribution practice. This technique is very useful, but is effective in the long term (that is, it must be practiced over time) regardless of the type of information needed to be remembered and the age of the subject. It is easy to implement and has been used successfully in many training programs.

How it works? In a group: students gather and are divided into groups: some ask questions on the topic of fresh material, others answer. Then they change roles. Be sure to share with others what you just learned.
When to use? From three years old and at any age. The practice of distribution is especially effective when it is necessary to expand the vocabulary of a foreign language, new concepts and terms, and even when studying mathematics, practicing music or surgery.
Is this practical? Yes. But you should plan your topics in advance, and also avoid delays in answering or long breaks in studying.
How to do it? Short intervals between sessions and regular training will be most effective. Psychologists have found that learning productivity increases when the time allocated for such training is 10 to 20% of the time of the entire lesson, which involves learning new information.

3. “Ask yourself.” We are constantly looking for explanations for everything around us, asking ourselves the question “Why?” dozens of times a day. Use this technique to make the learning process easier. The ability to ask good questions and analyze is useful in cases where you do not need to process complex data: the effectiveness of this practice is limited when studying difficult subjects.

How it works? Using the “ask yourself” technique, also called analysis or self-questioning, students answer questions for themselves such as “Why did this sequence occur?” or “Why is this word conjugated this way?” This way you will build cause-and-effect relationships that will give you a more complete understanding of the information that you are studying, and it will remain in your memory for a long time.
When to use? If you want to learn and remember specific facts, especially if you already have some knowledge on the subject. This method seems to be quite effective, regardless of age and level of training. However, the more you know about the topic, the more effective the self-questioning will be. The method improves memorization of facts, but does not always facilitate understanding of the subject. It is also unknown how long the effect of this method of remembering information lasts.
Is this practical? Yes. This method requires little preparation and takes little time.

4. "Self-explanation." Explain the material to yourself - this will ensure that you fully understand what you have just learned. “Self-explanation” (or “auto-explanation”) is moderately useful: this technique works in teaching a variety of subjects, but how long-lasting its effects are is unknown.

How it works? Students explain to themselves how what they learned relates to what they already knew: “How does this information benefit me?” or “How does this information relate to what I already know?” Like self-questioning, self-explanation helps integrate new information with previous knowledge - figuratively speaking, it assembles the building blocks of new information into a monolithic wall of knowledge.
When to use?“Self-explanation” is effective for young people - from kindergarten to the first years of university. This method partially helps solve problems in the field of mathematics, with memorizing texts and developing strategies for playing chess. Self-explanation also allows young children to remember the basics of basic disciplines.
Is this practical? Not really: some studies show that this method increases learning time by 30-100%.

5. Variable practice.“Mix apples and oranges” - alternate the information you need to remember. Variable practice is moderately useful - it allows you to switch, relax and thereby facilitates learning, in particular, memorizing mathematical data, and also stimulates the intellect.

How it works? You need to study one subject before starting the next - on a completely different topic. Alternating “subjects” encourages you to choose the optimal order of subjects during class and teaches you to effectively compare different types of problems.
When to use? When disciplines are very similar: comparison of facts helps to determine their differences or similarities and thus better remember a larger amount of information. Variable practice is more useful for those who already have a certain level of knowledge. Its performance also depends on the content: the method has shown effectiveness in learning algebra, but has been ineffective in teaching a foreign language.
Is this practical? Yes: variable practice does not require teacher instruction. Recent research shows that alternating practice is quite effective: students who alternated between different types of information or problems during their studies did better on exams. However, several studies evaluating this technique still yielded negative results.

How to remember information: methods that don't work

But these methods, although practiced in schools and institutes for centuries, are neither useful nor effective - the effort invested in learning according to their rules will be a waste of time. Thus, for example, abstracts and mnemonic techniques turned out to be ineffective and time-consuming. On the contrary: they are energy-consuming and time-consuming, although they can produce results for a certain period. Don't waste your time and energy on them, use other strategies such as analysis, self-assessment and "auto-explain".

1. “Re-read.” Most students did this - reread what they were assigned. This is of little use: reproduction does not potentiate understanding in any way. Rereading is mindless and produces poor results. In addition, this boring activity distracts from more effective strategies.

2. "Select". Standard grades - without analysis and reflection - do not give results. Stressing is quick and easy, but it doesn't improve performance at all. Moreover, this method will be harmful for performing certain tasks: it takes information out of context and interferes with connecting the text into a single logical chain. However, highlighting or underlining can be the first step to success - only if the emphasized information is then immediately put into practice.

3. Mnemonics- a well-advertised method that involves recreating mental images from texts. According to the rules of mnemonics, you need to recreate mental images from each item read. It has not been scientifically proven that mnemonics are useful for remembering information. Scientific studies of this method provide conflicting results, especially regarding long-term effects. However, mnemonic techniques can be useful for expanding the vocabulary of a foreign language and remembering the definition of difficult words (for example, medical terminology). However, they will not be effective in the long term.

Let's continue to talk about working with information, about how to better assimilate information. But first, I'll tell you a little story. One day, by chance, on a tram, I saw a quote on the glass. You know, in many cities there are social programs in which excerpts from books, quotes from great people, and historical facts are pasted on the windows of public transport.

Gray clouds regularly floated past the window, making the sticker on the glass merge with the sky. But I really wanted to see what was written there. It was as if I was drawn to her. I took a couple of steps closer to the place where the words were more clearly visible and read

“To know, but not to apply, is like plowing, but not sowing.”

I couldn't see whose quote it was. But this phrase just stuck in my memory. These few words reflected my vision of knowledge! How accurately they got to the very essence of the phenomenon they were discussing.

Even mediocre information can open up thoughts, disturb the mind, and hurt feelings. Anything can get us excited - a book, an article, a TV show, a webinar, a small quote on a tram. But if the thought laid down by the author and understood by us is not applied, then like a plowed (but not sown) field, our thoughts are open to the winds that carry away the fertile layer of soil, and to the weeds that so quickly rise on the prepared ground.

The more we learn but do not apply, the more we become overgrown with information weeds, the less likely it is that truly valuable information will be USEFUL to us. This is why I talk so much not just about reading, but about assimilating information.

In the last article, I started a conversation about assimilation of information. Now we will continue it. Let me remind you of one simple but very effective piece of advice.

If you see advice in a book that is useful to you, place the book open, pages down. And let it lie with you until you try this advice in practice. Don't continue reading a book or start new ones until you put into practice what you've learned.

Now let's think about what it means to assimilate information? For me, assimilation consists of several components. Here they are.

Now let’s talk about how we can put all these components into practice.

How to remember facts and understand the meaning of information

Have you noticed that each text is perceived and remembered differently? We grasp some things on the fly, but others we cannot understand and remember the tenth time. Before we move on, let's understand why this happens.

Any information can have 2 main criteria that are important for assimilation. Knownness of information and the degree of its imagery. Roughly speaking, information may be known, partially known, or unknown; may be figurative, partially figurative, or abstract. Of course, in reality there may be many intermediate options.

So, take a look at the diagram, which reflects how the combination of each of the criteria makes it easy for us to read and remember, or, conversely, it is very difficult for us to perceive.

Now you understand that all types of information are different in their perception. What conclusion can be drawn from this? Don't treat all information equally. Complex and new information, replete with terms, abstract concepts and twisted verbal structures, is read slowly and poorly absorbed. Don't pressure yourself to remember this information quickly.

Most often, problems arise precisely when working with complex and new information. What can be done?

How to understand complex information

1 - Set a reading goal. We talked about this in more detail in the previous article about. The very act of setting a goal encourages your brain to look for what you want in the text. You are the captain of a ship, set the goal of your sea voyage.

2 - If your goal is to understand the key meaning, main thoughts and ideas, then act according to algorithms for working with information. Spiral algorithm (), differential algorithm, integral algorithm. Practice using them on 10-15 texts and after that you will be able to isolate the main ideas almost automatically. The captain's job is to ensure that each team member does what he knows how to do in order to achieve a common goal.

3 - In order to make it easier to perceive new information, find small data “for dummies” on this topic. A simple and concise summary of the main ideas. And then move on to more complex things. The captain needs a map of the new area to navigate where to sail. Without a map, it's easy to get lost in a new place.

4 - Increase the imagery of the text. Try to imagine the material you are reading in pictures, sounds and sensations. Even if it is very abstract. Create images for basic terms and concepts. Any captain knows the unique and memorable elements of the area (wonderful mountains or rocks, a special unusual bay or three small islands standing in a row). They are like beacons that help you navigate the waters of the world’s oceans and not get lost along the way.

And then your ship of knowledge will reach its intended goal.

Application of information

This is not all, but the very first exercises that will help you understand complex material. What to do next? How can you assimilate information more fully? Of course, apply it.

What can be done?

If this is possible, then immediately apply the advice, change something in your behavior, physically put into action what you read about.
If it is not possible to implement the idea right now, then write down a plan for implementing your new actions.
Retell what you read about. Insanely effective method. It is especially effective when you know in advance what you will be retelling.
Write down a quote or interesting thought if you liked it.
Make a summary or mind map of the material. This will help both structure the material and remember it.

So, I have already written so many tips that you will not be able to apply them all at once. Therefore, I’ll end here so that you can learn the material and begin to apply it in life. I really hope that these tips will help you absorb information better.

Next time we will continue the topic, but for now you have time learn information about learning information.

See you!

This article is part of a series of articles on working with information

2. How to absorb information [you just read it]

We learn throughout our lives, from childhood to old age. Playing the guitar, new software, raising a child - the human brain constantly absorbs knowledge, although this happens at different speeds. In childhood, information is absorbed very quickly, but the older we get, the more difficult it is to learn.

Below you will see several ways that will help you hack your mind and make it work faster and better.

Maintenance

Like any complex mechanism, the brain requires regular maintenance, and if you do not neglect it, it can cope with any task. A few good habits can help keep your brain in tip-top condition, so the learning process will be faster and easier.

Play sports

I don't trust a single thought that didn't come while I was moving.

Take a break from studying

You can’t do only one thing every day - work or study. It is important to periodically be distracted by something else so that the brain can take stock and process the information during this time.

If you decide to take up a hobby, choose activities that require concentration and hand-eye coordination, such as juggling. One study found that juggling has positive effects on brain function. True, positive consequences occurred immediately after people gave up a new hobby.

Have fun

Laughter is the best way to relax and avoid burnout, especially when you have to study at an accelerated pace. Laughter has been proven to help you find solutions to problems and be creative.

How to facilitate the process of cognition itself?

Brain workout

Before you dive into work, you can have a little fun, simultaneously tuning your brain to work. For example, you can mentally select rhymes for words or solve a simple problem. This warm-up helps you relax and tune in to more complex things.

Study together

If your training feels like storming a fortress, you can find someone to support you. Whether it's a group, a club or a friend - in a team it is easier to focus on the material and make the learning process itself more organized.

Robert E. Kennedy Library at Cal Poly /flickr.com

Arrange the place

The environment is very important for learning. Ideally, the space should be clean, quiet and fresh, but variety is a good idea. For example, in good weather, you can try working in a park or in a cozy cafe. The only thing that should not be mixed is training and. Even if it is very comfortable, the bed is subconsciously associated with sleep and relaxation, so it will be more difficult for you to concentrate.

Metacognition

Most tips for improving learning revolve around metacognition. This concept can be defined as the art of becoming aware of one's own consciousness. You evaluate your thinking, your ability to complete the task, and the goals that are appropriate for this.

You need to step back from your first impression of the material and evaluate how quickly you are absorbing knowledge, whether there are any problems and ways to study more productively.

Do one thing at a time

Multitasking is a real talent, but unfortunately it reduces your work efficiency. If you do several things at once, it is impossible to fully concentrate on them, so the time required to complete the task increases.

Don't be afraid of failure

A team of researchers from Singapore found that people who solved complex math problems without instructions or help were more likely to fail. However, in the process they found interesting ideas that helped them in the future.

This can be called “productive failure” - when the experience gained in the decision process helps more than once in the future. So don't be afraid of mistakes: they will come in handy.

Test yourself

Don't wait for the last exam - test yourself often or ask a friend to give you a short test. “Productive failure” only works with finding solutions, and if you fail an exam that required rote memorization, it will not help your learning, it will only hinder it.

Reduce material

It's helpful to supplement your notes with visual elements such as graphs, charts, or maps.

Think about where it can be applied

Very often, when presenting facts and formulas, the scope of their application is missed. Dry knowledge is quickly forgotten, and if you want to remember something for a long time, try to find application for it in real life yourself. Knowing how, where and why to apply facts in real life will firmly cement the information in your memory.

Use different methods

The more diverse the sources of knowledge, the more likely it is that it will remain in your memory.

The coordinated work of different areas of the brain improves the perception and retention of information.

For example, this could be reading articles, listening to audio materials, watching videos, writing or retyping by hand, or speaking out loud. The main thing is not to do everything at the same time.

Connect with existing knowledge

If you can mentally connect your knowledge with what you have learned before, it will help you learn faster and more effectively. Don't leave knowledge isolated - integrate it into the larger picture of the world that is in your brain.

You will succeed

Be confident and know that you will succeed. Not only because it's true, but also because belief in the power of one's intelligence actually increases it.

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You've probably had the experience that one book was given with great difficulty and required a lot of time, while another was “swallowed” literally in one sitting. The complexity of the text depends on many factors: mood, physical condition, type of material and the abilities of a particular person.

To understand and absorb any book, your brain must process not only the words in order, but also their relationships and the context behind them. The author may use irony, sarcasm, subtext and metaphors - all of which the reader should perceive as intended. You can learn this with practice.

Reading comprehension is a term from , meaning the ability to read text, process and understand its content. A person’s ability to understand a text depends mainly on his character traits and skills, one of which is the ability to draw conclusions. If text recognition is difficult, the book reader uses too much of his mental power to process individual words, making it difficult to comprehend the meaning.

How much information do you consume? Are you trying to read selectively or are you ready to absorb any article or book? Perhaps you read everything so you don't miss anything and stay up to date. Let go of this need and think about giving up some public pages, websites or books. Less in this case is better.
Who do you read? When was the last time you read an article that you didn't like, but at the same time made you think about your life? Find out which authors provide a new breath of fresh and useful information.
Is reading the best way to learn? Do you spend time absorbing information and staying current, or do you really want to learn a skill?

It's about being selective about what you read and also adding some variety to the process, e.g.

Read consciously and take time to absorb the information.

Once you've reduced the amount of information you absorb and started thinking about what's really important, it's time to figure out what will be most useful.

You need to turn reading into an active process that you engage in, getting rid of passive consumption. Create a list of topics that interest you most. This advice may seem strange, but it can help you get yourself out of autopilot mode.

After this, determine the optimal form of reading: blogs, websites, books or magazines. If you decide to focus on digital media, use programs like Pocket to keep the information you need at your fingertips without cluttering your browser with unnecessary tabs.

Create a Thoughtful Reading Stream

Changing your attitude towards a text is very difficult and requires a lot of practice. You won't need to do anything impossible, just normal patience and vigilance. After all, many of us have been reading since childhood and have acquired some negative habits that affect the absorption of information. And it’s very easy to return to them.

Before you add a new site to your list, make sure you do so so you can actually read it. If there is a slight doubt, it is better not to do it, because in the end you will be overloaded with information and it will only get worse.

To create a flow for thoughtful reading, first determine how much time you have. Then select several articles on topics that interest you. Put them in the correct order: some of them will probably need to be read later or earlier.

Don't lose sight of your goal: to keep your thoughts fresh, to remain receptive to comprehend and analyze the text. Remember that reading should enrich life, not be a burden. If you are bored, you need to either change your attitude and perception, or change the topic or article (book).

Improve your vocabulary

To learn to better assimilate information, you need to build your vocabulary. After all, if half the words are incomprehensible, then there will be no meaning in your mental labors.

The more words you know, the better you understand the text, as well as the context that lies within them.

By the way, about the context. When learning new words, try not to memorize them mechanically, but to understand why they are used in the text. Find several sentences with them and copy them into a notebook along with a new word.

Improving your vocabulary takes time - there's no getting around it. As you read, make notes in the margins for the words that appear most often. Study the context. What do they mean? Where and when can you use them?

Here are some simple strategies to improve your vocabulary:

Read. We talked about the need to do this consciously. But that doesn't mean it's not enough. Read books on a variety of topics, stop watching TV and YouTube videos.
Take notes. Whenever you find interesting words that are used to describe something more easily, write them down somewhere (best buy a notepad). Writing them down will help you remember them.
Write. When you find yourself in a position where you have to explain something or exchange ideas, you are forced to use new words to make sure others understand the message. Throw the words you just learned into battle, juggle them.
Be interested in something new. Many of the new words you learn are related to specific topics, so try learning different areas you know nothing about.

Be critical of the text

Irwin and Anderson, in their book Critical Literacy: Politics, Praxis, and the Postmodern, coined the term “Critical Literacy.” This is the ability to read and write through awareness of one's own as well as social experience.

What we say or do distinguishes us from other people and defines our personality. The ability to read, analyze and criticize is an intellectual activity that everyone needs to master.

We all, to one degree or another, admire writers, philosophers and businessmen who impress with their thoughts. They became who they are because they created a knowledge base from which they then built their unique opinions.

People are biased when they write text, so not everything written will be useful for you. You need to analyze information in order to learn to separate manipulations and the personal opinion of the author. There are always several ways to read the same text.

Text comprehension increases by improving your attention and focusing more on reading:

Find a quiet place where you can read without distractions.
Turn off all gadgets that might interfere with your thoughtful reading of the text. Or vice versa, turn on music without words and use headphones.
Always remember that understanding of a text is enhanced by vocabulary (we talked about this above).
Quickly skim through the main sections of the book or article.
Find out what questions the book answers.
Highlight, or better yet, write down the main points you read.
After reading a book or article, write down all your thoughts on paper. Do this, especially if you are reading several books on the same topic, to compare the concepts presented and thus improve your critical judgment.

Let the information guide you

If you're reading a textbook or book, use a few strategies to guide the information:

Re-read the summary, introduction, and conclusions.
Go to Wikipedia or another encyclopedia to cover all the blank spots left after reading the book.
Find out what other books and articles you need to read to fully understand the topic. If you understand little from what you read, this is not a reason to despair and quit the race.

It often happens that we read a book on a specific topic, after which we stop being interested in it, even though it was useful. Dig further, go deeper into the subject, don’t let go until the very end.

Read and have fun

The advice may seem too obvious, but does everyone follow it? How often do you enjoy what you read?

Start reading books that are slightly below your IQ level. This is not a defeatist mood, but a competent strategy. It will be useful for you to absorb easy and understandable text, especially if the topic is complex or not entirely pleasant. You will take your mind off the pressure, relax and begin to enjoy useful information.

For example, if you want to go deeper into science, then start with easy jobs, of which there are a lot now. You can watch videos where everything is explained in detail. There is no point in taking academic works right away - start with something simpler.

Develop reading fluency

Have you noticed that you stop whenever you see a comma? Now imagine that you will read this article or book, pausing after each word. It will probably be difficult for you to understand the content of the text, right?

It is difficult to understand text if you read words instead of whole sentences. This is why you need to develop reading fluency.

Reading fluency is how smoothly it goes. Words should flow naturally, such as during a conversation.

How to develop fluency? Many of the words in the text are actually just “spectacular.” You should read them in context, but you don't have to read every letter. Don't stop, even if the meaning is not completely clear. With practice, you will learn to perceive entire sentences without focusing on individual words.

One of the best ways to develop reading fluency is to acquire the skill.

We wish you good luck!