Whether you’re studying for a test or learning a language, memorizing new information is easier than you think. To start with, we’ve gone all the way back to the Greeks. If you’ve seen Sherlock you’ve probably heard of a “mind palace.” Also known as the loci method, it was invented more than 2,000 years ago to help memorize long speeches. Yes, even the Greeks struggled to memorize stuff. But in their typical “let’s invent everything” style, they devised a method that is still used to this day. Scientists are on board with it, too. They believe it works by utilizing our navigational and spatial memory skills, and research shows that this method dramatically improves memory.
There are a whole slew of other methods to try out too. At some point, it might even be time to get creative and let your inner poet out. Ask any school kid and they’ll tell you: rhymes are one of the simplest ways to remember anything. Or If you have a list or group of words you need to memorize, creating a new word using their first letters is an effective way to do it.