Tips

Our brains are amazing, capable of countless thoughts and instructions. However with so much information we have to take in during our day to day life, we can help our brains remember things by organising our thoughts using various methods.

Have a look at the different methods below and see which can help you.

Why use

It's best to use colour in your notes – simply because colour makes things interesting!

Colour both stimulates your creative thinking process and also helps the brain make associations in terms of location, relevance and position on the page. For research about how colours improve memory, see our section on “Research” by clicking on the link.

Why use images

When you read a novel the author helps you to make mental pictures. It is natural for us to form images in our heads to make sense of things. Training materials used by the USA federal government cite studies that suggest 83% of learning occurs visually [1].

It is natural for us to remember things as images, as this is how we think. For example, when someone says to you "house", your brain doesn't visualise the word "house" - instead it conjures up an image of a house. The more images you use when trying to remember something, the more successful you will be.

[1] (May 1996) Presenting Effective Presentations with Visual Aids, U.S. Dept. of Labor, OSHA Office of Training and Education