How to Remember Things: 12 Proven Memory Techniques | Chapterly Blog
How to Remember Things: 12 Proven Memory Techniques Why We Forget (And What to Do About It) The human brain isn't designed to remember everything. In fact, psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus demonstrated in the 1880s that we forget roughly 70% of new information within 24 hours — a phenomenon known as the forgetting curve. This isn't a flaw. Your brain is constantly triaging what matters and what doesn't. The problem is that the default criteria — emotional intensity, repetition, survival relevance — don't always align with what you want to remember. The good news: you can override these defaults. Decades of cognitive science research have identified specific techniques that dramatically improve how well you retain information, whether you're studying for an exam, reading a non-fiction book, or trying to retain things from a lecture. Here are 12 proven techniques for how to remember things better, ordered from most to least impactful. 1. Spaced Repetition Spaced repetition is the single most powerful memory technique available. Instead of cramming information in one session, you review it at gradually increasing intervals — after 1 day, then 3 days, then a week, then a month. This works because each time you successfully recall something at...