Memorizing information requires a proper mental setup. To remember information, a person's brain must understand it. The brain understands information easier when a person has an interest in the subject and feels the information has relevance and value. Attitude makes a difference as well, and it helps to have an open, positive frame of mind with the intent to remember. Understanding new material also depends upon what information a person already has in his or her mental file cabinet. Connecting new knowledge to a base of existing knowledge is very effective for memorizing new information.
When getting ready to memorize something, organize the information so the most important parts receive the most attention. In addition, looking for common themes and clumping information into meaningful groups or categories makes it easier to internalize. Drawn out on paper in a diagram fashion, this technique goes by the name of a "mind map."
Using neural connections in a variety of ways makes memorization easy, and maybe even fun. Reciting ideas back to yourself out loud will strengthen the mental connection, especially if you put the ideas in your own words. Invent acronyms for lists of data by taking the first letter of each item and making a word or phrase with it that is easy to remember. Devise an acrostic to recall a series of words. As an example of this, the popular "Every Good Boy Does Fine" works to help you remember the order of notes, EGBDF, on the musical scale. Images work well, as the brain responds very quickly to them and holds onto them the longest. Memorizing information by making mental pictures uses a completely different part of the brain than the area that gets used for reading or listening. Fabricating a story with a list of words or ideas throughout can aid retention. This method works even better when vivid, visual images are imagined that fit with the story, as this cements the story in different areas of the brain.
Associating facts with objects that are already familiar works well for creating new neural connections. Linking ideas or items together visually helps you to remember lists of data. For example, for milk, cherries, and soup, you might visualize a cow eating cherries while sitting in a big bowl of soup. The more entertaining the image, the easier the brain remembers it. Another association trick involves the items that need memorizing, and an association made with things in a room. For example, if you need to remember to buy a new ink pen the next time you go out, you might envision the doorknob on your front door covered in black, gooey ink, so your memory gets prompted the next time you open your front door to leave the house.
The brain requires a certain amount of time to absorb new information and establish a pathway to retrieve that information later. Reviewing notes right after class, for example, helps consolidate and confirm the information that was just heard in the classroom and strengthen the retrieval pathways. Additionally, breaking up study sessions into shorter periods of time spread out over several days works more effectively than a few marathon sessions.