5 memorization methods for your work life

Have you ever wondered how human memory works? One of the most complex and indispensable mechanisms that we can use can, nonetheless, seem sometimes arbitrary. We might remember an event that occurred decades ago but, at the same time, we sometimes forget what we had for lunch a couple of days ago.

Memory is a very useful tool in every area of life. Also, of course, for our work life. And we can exercise it. Do you want to learn how to enhance your memory and remember what you need? We bring you some techniques and memorization methods that you can use. You can have other advice for your professional life in our blog.

Learn how to memorize with these methods

Whether it is to withhold key information from a meeting, to prepare a presentation or to study competitive examinations, memory is key in our work life. Besides, having an exercised mind to remember important data will also have a repercussion in our capacities to work. If we have motivation to memorize and pay attention, the objective will be close. But, sometimes, a few memorization methods will facilitate the process.

• Create a story. Is it hard for you to remember a key date or information? A good method is creating a story around that allows you to memorize easily. Imagine you have to withhold a 10-digit number. It might be a good idea to relate each of those digits to an element with a narrative sense in relation to the others. Think about your favorite football team and create in your mind a combination of passes between the players that carry those numbers This is also a very useful method when memorizing a long list of words.
• Method of loci or mental palace. This technique has been used since the Ancient Greece times and it consists on locating the concepts we want to remember in a familiar space for our mind. We can imagine our room and ‘put’ the concepts in it relating them with objects or specific places in the room. It’s a method that requires practice but can be very useful in the long term, as well as exercise our space memory.
• Comprehension method. If we want our comprehension to be effective, which is crucial when we are memorizing, we have to be capable of explaining what we learn. Without the book or other container of information we are trying to retain, we can try to write or speak about it with our own words. Contextualizing and understanding the topic is key to memorize it.
• Mind map. Few tools are so visually useful as this method. We relate ideas in a piece of paper starting from the main concept, so each element of the structure is linked to others. Visually, it looks like roots that emerge from the essential idea and explain, in a simple way, the complexity of that concept.
• Numbers method. This technique will help us remember numbers… through the own numbers. Imagine you have to withhold an important date, such as the Fall of the Berlin Wall (11/9/1989). Creating a story with words that contain that number of letters we will have it done. Also if we assign each number to a letter from the alphabet and start each word of our story with that letter – fro instance, for 11 it would be the letter k-.

FAQs about memorization

What is memorization and how does its process work?

Memorization is a strong cognitive function that allows the brain to store information. Psychology recognizes three main phases in the memorizing process: register, codification and retrieval of the memorized information.

How many kinds of memory exist?

There are three main kinds of memory. Sensorial memory, related with the external stimuli we receive through our senses; short-term memory, that lasts around 30 seconds; and long-term memory, that allows us to register and codify information during a long period of time. If you want to know more about the specific kinds of memory that exist, click here.

What are mnemonics?

Mnemonics are techniques about the association of the information you want to learn with a different idea you already know.