--- title: 5 Secrets to Improve Learning and Memory description: I’ve already posted a research round-up on becoming an expert at anything. That was focused on the big picture of how to master something over... canonical: https://time.com/3117400/how-to-improve-learning-and-memory/ author: Eric Barker article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-08-20T04:01:34.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:43:05.846Z article:section: Ideas og:title: 5 Secrets to Improve Learning and Memory og:description: "...lots of little tips that can help as well: When trying to learn something gesturing can help. Grisly photos and anything emotionally evocative cement things in your head. Talk to yourself. Pause after learning. Before being tested be social and think about smart people. Go for a walk in nature..." og:url: https://time.com/3117400/how-to-improve-learning-and-memory/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt71b7cff1757670d8/69869faf3bc99922661a4ebd/glasses-open-book.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: glasses-open-book og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 5 Secrets to Improve Learning and Memory twitter:description: "...lots of little tips that can help as well: When trying to learn something gesturing can help. Grisly photos and anything emotionally evocative cement things in your head. Talk to yourself. Pause after learning. Before being tested be social and think about smart people. Go for a walk in nature..." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt71b7cff1757670d8/69869faf3bc99922661a4ebd/glasses-open-book.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 5 Secrets to Improve Learning and Memory by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Aug 20, 2014 4:01 AM UTC  Glasses on an open Book Glasses on an open BookGetty Images by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Aug 20, 2014 4:01 AM UTC I’ve already posted a research round-up on [becoming an expert at anything](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-does-it-take-to-become-an-expert-at-anyt). That was focused on the big picture of how to master something over a period of years. This time let’s get less macro and focus more on the nitty-gritty of what you need to do when you sit down, roll up your sleeves and try to learn something new. ## Yeah, It’s Gonna Take Effort No, I’m not going to lecture you like Grandpa about the virtues of hard work, but your brain takes in a lot every day and remembering everything isn’t realistic. Research consistently shows effort is how you let your grey matter know something is worth retaining. The more effort you expend, the [better you learn](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-techniques-are-proven-to-help-students-s): **…undergraduates in the study scored 29 to 63 percentage points higher on tests when they used study techniques like recording complete notes, creating comparative charts, building associations, and crafting practice questions on their screens.** You’re not going to learn much passively. Re-reading material four times was not nearly as effective as [reading it once and writing a summary](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/whats-the-best-way-to-learn-from-a-book). Even just [writing by hand](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/whats-an-easy-way-to-increase-your-learning-a) is beneficial. More effort, better results. There is a system for [developing a near-photographic memory](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-are-the-secrets-of-a-photographic-memory) and it works, but takes some practice. The two key things to remember here are _testing yourself_ and _spacing out learning over time_. * [Testing](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/should-we-study-to-take-tests-or-should-we-ta) yourself is [essential](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/whats-the-best-way-to-learn-faster). Even if you _fail_ the tests [it helps](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-getting-it-wrong-help-you-get-it-right). Even _deliberately screwing up_ [helps](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-deliberately-screwing-up-the-best-way-to-l). * [Spacing learning out over time is key.](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/whats-the-secret-to-improving-your-ability-to) This tells your brain this stuff shouldn’t be discarded. Cramming can help you pass a test but [it’s not the way to really learn anything](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-can-you-learn-about-learning-from-harvar): **In more than two dozen studies published over the past five years, he has demonstrated that spaced repetition works, increasing knowledge retention by up to 50 percent. And Kerfoot’s method is easily adapted by anyone who needs to learn and remember, not just those pursuing MDs.** ### 5 Horrible Habits You Need to Stop Right Now  Do Not Email First Thing in the Morning or Last Thing at Night “The former scrambles your priorities and all your plans for the day and the latter just gives you insomnia,” says Ferriss, who insists “email can wait until 10am” or after you check off at least one substantive to-do list item. Chris Pecoraro—Getty Images  Do Not Agree to Meetings or Calls With No Clear Agenda or End Time “If the desired outcome is defined clearly… and there’s an agenda listing topics–questions to cover–no meeting or call should last more than 30 minutes,” claims Ferriss, so “request them in advance so you can ‘best prepare and make good use of our time together.'” Sam Edwards—Getty Images/Caiaimage  Do Not Check Email Constantly Batch it and check it only periodically at set times (Ferriss goes for twice a day). Your inbox is analogous to a cocaine pellet dispenser, says Ferriss. Don’t be an addict. Tools like strategic use of the auto responder and Boomerang can help. Jetta Productions—Getty Images  Do Not Carry a Digital Leash 24/7 At least one day a week leave you smartphone somewhere where you can’t get easy access to it. If you’re gasping, you’re probably the type of person that most needs to do kick this particular habit. by nacoki ( MEDIA ARC )—Getty Images/Flickr RF  Do Not Let People Ramble Sounds harsh, but it’s necessary, Ferriss believes. “Small talk takes up big time,” he says, so when people start to tell you about their weekends, cut them off politely with something like “I’m in the middle of something, but what’s up?” But be aware, not everyone agrees with this one (and certainly not in every situation), and you may want to pay particularly close attention to norms around chit chat when traveling internationally. Reza Estakhrian—Getty Images ## Get Invested Feeling [a connection to the material](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/are-stories-we-can-relate-to-the-key-to-learn) is powerful. Finding an angle on the subject that makes you [curious](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-being-curious-improve-your-memory) about it is gold. Is it too boring? Get invested by betting on your ability to remember it. Yeah, like [gambling](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/another-way-to-improve-your-memory). Promise yourself a reward before you go to bed and you’ll learn more [as you sleep](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-can-you-improve-learning-while-you-sleep). Don’t just try to drill knowledge in, [connect it to things you already know](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-are-the-rules-your-brain-works-by). Really try to _understand_ it, not just _memorize_ it. This is why [teaching someone else is a great way for helping you learn](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/10-ways-to-improve-your-memory). If you can’t explain it, you don’t know it. ## Steroids For Your Brain Save the healthy eating for another time, [coffee and a donut](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-coffee-and-a-donut-improve-brainpower) is steroids for your brain. Yes, it’s [science](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-to-quickly-and-easily-boost-your-ability). Yes, Red Bull isn’t just for partying, [it’s also for studying](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/whats-a-quick-and-easy-way-to-boost-cognitive). I don’t want to recommend cigarettes to anyone but if you’re already a smoker, light up before you learn. [Nicotine does improve cognitive performance](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/do-coffee-and-cigarettes-make-you-smarter). ## Fundamentals We’re always looking for a [magic bullet](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/are-there-nutritional-supplements-that-can-ma). Truth is that just as with getting in shape, fundamentals like getting enough [sleep](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-are-the-rules-your-brain-works-by) and [regular exercise](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-being-sedentary-make-you-stupid) have far greater effects than well-marketed supplements. Seriously, [naps](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-should-you-do-after-learning-something-t) after [learning](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/whats-the-easiest-way-to-increase-learning-an) [are](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/are-sleep-and-dreams-the-key-to-learning) [powerful](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-there-an-easy-way-to-boost-your-learning-a). You need to [calm down and concentrate](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/whats-the-best-way-to-study). Turn [off](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-background-music-improve-your-ability-to) the [music](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-music-negatively-affect-your-memory). No [group studying](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-group-studying-more-effective). Stop kidding yourself — you can’t [multitask](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-there-a-fun-way-to-get-better-at-multitask). (Guys, when studying stay away from [pretty girls](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/do-attractive-women-really-make-men-stupider). Don’t even [think about them](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-just-thinking-about-dealing-with-women-m).) ## Little Tricks There are lots of [little tips](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-are-science-based-tips-for-increasing-yo) that can help as well: * When trying to learn something [gesturing](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/whats-a-quick-and-easy-way-to-improve-learnin) [can](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-to-easily-improve-your-memory) [help](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-can-you-quickly-and-easily-strengthen-you). Grisly [photos](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/are-grisly-photos-the-key-to-memory) and anything emotionally evocative cement things in your head. [Talk](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-you-improve-your-memory-just-by-saying-th) to [yourself](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/if-talking-to-yourself-improves-performance-w). Pause after [learning](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/whats-a-quick-way-to-improve-your-memory). * Before being tested be [social](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-to-easily-improve-your-memory-and-test-ta) and think about [smart people](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-thinking-about-geniuses-make-you-a-genius). Go for a [walk](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-a-walk-improve-your-memory) in [nature](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-can-improve-your-memory-by-20-in-a-matte). * To improve recall, do you best to create replicate the environment you learned the material in: same [posture](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-how-you-sit-affect-your-memory), same [emotional state](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/another-quick-easy-way-to-improve-your-memory), etc. Close your [eyes](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/another-way-to-quickly-and-easily-improve-you). Lay down to [improve problem solving](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-body-position-affect-problem-solving). Too lazy for all this? Get a good luck charm. Seriously, they [work](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/do-good-luck-charms-work). **Related posts:** * [**_How To Be Resilient: 8 Steps To Success When Life Gets Hard_**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/07/how-to-be-resilient/) * [**_What 10 things should you do every day to improve your life?_**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/05/what-10-things-should-you-do-every-day-to-imp/) * [**_How To Make Your Life Better By Sending Five Simple Emails_**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/07/make-your-life-better/) Join over 90,000 readers and get a free weekly update via email [here](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD). _This piece originally appeared on_ [_Barking_](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/)[ _Up the Wrong Tree_](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3117400/how-to-improve-learning-and-memory/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3117400/how-to-improve-learning-and-memory/"},"headline":"5 Secrets to Improve Learning and Memory","datePublished":"2014-08-20T04:01:34.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:43:05.846Z","description":"I’ve already posted a research round-up on becoming an expert at anything. 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