Before finding a cure, let’s try to figure out what the cause of the problem might be

If you suffer from reading a passage, a page, or an exciting blog post and after a couple of minutes, you might wonder: How do I stop forgetting what I’ve just read? Below you will find precise steps into how you can stop forgetting what you just read.

Possible problems for forgetting what you read:

Lack of sleep – Sleep is very very important for your cognitive skills and plays a huge role in your focus & memory. Lately, you might be getting less sleep than you should have. We all know how hard it is to focus when we are sleepy. So, before reading go take a quick nap. Or just go to bed earlier 😉

Occupied mind – Sometimes we have too many daily troubles. Even if we think that we are focusing on the material in front of us, our minds might wander off. Try practicing relaxation methods like meditation or breath exercises.

I find headspace incredibly useful, especially their short sessions which can be 3-10 minutes. They won’t make your problems go away but will create a window of calmness so you can focus on your book. Taking a 10 minute off of your troubles might boost your attention significantly.

Boring – Our minds hate boring stuff and we try to ignore them. Which one is easier to remember: The day you got your raise last month, or what you had for lunch for dinner on September 12? Unless it is a special day of course :).

Remembering the information on a boring book is just as hard, it’s not you, it’s your brain. One of my friends is excellent at tricking himself that the book is very interesting. I don’t know how he does it, but if you can pull it off, that is GREAT!

Possible solutions to stop forgetting what you read:

Summarize – This one is my favorite remedy for forgetting material. Whatever you are reading, it is always possible to forget it at some point. So, do your future self a favor and summarize the pages or chapters which you have just read.

I prefer taking a mini note of “the message of the page or chapter”. When I forget something I can just look at the top of the page and find what I was looking for. Summarizing the information forces you to think about the information. You distill it and work with it. You identify the important parts and ignore the useless fluff.

Information sticks if your brain thinks it is relevant. When you try to summarize, you are allocating attention and time to this topic. Therefore, your brain thinks it is significant and records it.

Simplify – This one goes with the summarize. Try to keep your summary as simple and understandable as possible. The simpler you can get, the better it is understood. Einstein once said “if you can’t explain it simply you don’t understand it well enough“

Talk about it – To stop forgetting what you just read on your new book, find someone, and talk about the book. If it is a novel, tell the story to a friend. If it is a non-fiction, talk about what you think about the subject. Talking to others about the book is awesome. You not only recall the information but also now you have made an exchange on the subject, which will support your memory.

Imagine you are a teacher – Imagine that you are a teacher and this chapter is your subject. How would you make it so that, a student who has no idea about the topic would understand exactly what you are trying to teach them? This one goes hand in hand with the summary and simplify solutions.

If you’d like to learn more about memory tips and tricks check out my post on How to Memorize Faster?