imafuckingdoctor:

“I CAN’T REMEMBER WHAT I READ”

Let’s face it, we’ve all been there. Hours of “passive” reading and you feel like you’re good to go until you’re sitting in that test not being able to recall anything. Here are some tips to you out help you with that.

Take notes. Duh.

Not only will this make you more alert while reading, you’re more likely to remember stuff if it’s in your own words. This is time consuming but note taking is honestly the best. AND REMEMBER, they don’t have to pretty or look a certain way, they’re YOUR notes and so you should be able to read them and comprehend them, so make sure you keep that in mind. They also don’t have to be conventional bullet point notes, you can write a paragraph, make a mind map or draw a diagram. Literally anything goes.

Quiz yourself

And you can do this in two ways, most textbooks have a “workbook” or an MCQ book or a self assessment book under the same name, so just get that book and after you’re done with a chapter quiz yourself on it. If you can’t do that then after each paragraph cover it with your hands and recall the important points or what exactly this paragraph was about, a better thing to do is to write a little summary which you can go over later. You’re very likely to make mistakes here so don’t be discouraged, your mind learns by making mistakes.

Visualize

This applies to more skill oriented textbooks rather than basic theoretical stuff, but I’ll try to explain it as best I can. For example, if I’m studying surgery, a certain procedure is written down in the book, instead of just memorizing and making sure I know the steps I visualize it, and this consolidates the idea in my head and makes it very easy to recall. Same thing can be applied to self help books, like if it has tips on your posture or communication skills or whatever, visualize that. You’ll definitely remember it. So if this method is applicable to whatever you’re studying (or reading, this post isn’t necessarily about studying exclusively) definitely try it.

Color code

Very basic but can be very effective. This video explains what I try to do very well. I study medicine so for me, I highlight the etiology/pathogenesis of the disease in blue, clinical picture in pink, investigations in purple and treatment in orange. so whatever you’re doing, set up a color code and highlight away!

Discuss the book or explain it to others

I also mentioned this in my how to study smarter post, but this is how you retain the most information. If you have no one to do this with then pretend you’re explaining it to someone. So kinda like quizzing yourself but out loud. I know I’ve said this before but study groups are godsend. Definitely take advantage of them if that’s possible.

Know why you’re reading this book and what you want out of it.

Also know what you’re reading. We tend to get overwhelmed by the little details and literally get “lost” in the book. Have some clear objectives before you read, these can be found in your course guide in college or syllabus or whatever, write those down on a piece of paper and make sure you’ve fulfilled everything and the things you feel like aren’t as important just skim through. So this is like two points in one, prioritize the information you must know and don’t exert as much effort in the things that are nice to know but won’t do you any harm if you don’t know them. Finish the basic stuff first and then progress.

STOP when you’re burnt out

I have a whole post on this, but obviously you’re a human being and you need your rest.