Preparing for an exam entails more than having to read your books or review materials for hours on end. If you go over those pages so many times and still end up with poor results, consider memory techniques. Here are a few that you will want to try out the next time you get ready for a test.
Proper planning will help. Before you get started, clear up the clutter from your workspace. Remove all the unnecessary items from your desk to ensure that you have only what you need. That will eliminate potential distractions and will help you focus on your books or lessons. Prepare everything you need, so you can get started from your notes to your pencils, your highlighter, reviewers, test papers and everything else.
Clean Your Space
Be sure to clean the space before you get started. If you have a ton of pizza boxes, unwashed dishes, dirty clothes, and more in your room, even if they aren’t on the desk, they could distract you. A neat and clean room is much more conducive to studying for your exams at Dubai Indian school.
Build a Memory Place
Think of your room or a place and associate each item or portion of the place—whether real or imaginary, so long as you can vividly see it in your head—to your lessons. This can help you retain a ton of information. By retracing your steps around that house or going around, you can tap into subcategories or some of your past lessons.
Turn to Mnemonics
Translate everything you need to cover in the exam into a secret code language. Only you will get the meaning when you try to recall the information using the mnemonics you set out. A particularly creative phrase will work out well here.
Use Your Memory
Some people have a photographic memory. Meaning, they can bring into focus the image in their head. That’s handy because they only need to read the pages in their head to come up with the answer or remember the right information. To make the most out of this talent, create a spider diagram. Then put the central idea in the middle. Have arrows pointing out of that to sections that indicate subcategories. Drawing a visual map of every concept in your learning materials will help you retain information about most if not all of the topics you need to cover for the test.
Some people remember what they study much better if they use catchy music to remember the facts and figures of a certain war, or lesson. You’d be surprised at how easy it is for you to remember information when they’re rendered in catchy music. You could also use tunes from your favourite songs.
Make Up a Story
You can keep track of every essential information by creating a story that connects all the smaller chunks of data and then links all that to the major ideas you need to cover and understand for the exam. Storytelling is one of the most effective teaching tools out there.
Get Enough Sleep
If you’ve been studying so much for the past few days that you sleep past midnight, you might be doing yourself more harm than good. If you haven’t been getting enough sleep, that could affect your retention levels. You’ll have poor memory and focus if you’re sleepy or lack a decent amount of sleep. You might even feel lightheaded sometimes. With enough sleep and rest, though, by taking the time to recharge yourself, you can remember so much more. Sleep is when the brain revives itself. The more sleep you have, the better your memory skills will be.
Take Frequent Breaks
Studying for days on end isn’t going to help if you haven’t been taking enough breaks in between as well. Breaks help you focus. They also prevent monotony that’s brought on by hours of endless and relentless studying. If you’ve been having a tough time remembering what you’ve read, try taking breaks in between sections. That will improve your memory.
Follow a Healthy Diet
If you’ve been subsisting on a diet of pizza and snacks, that won’t help you with your studying. In fact, the junk food you eat might be compromising your ability to retain information. For instance, if you only eat a lot of sweets, that means you often end up with a sugar high, followed by a lethargic feeling. When you hit that stage, you probably find it hard to study and all you want to do is sleep.
Be ready for your next exam. Follow these tips to help you improve your retention skills and memory.