Reading was the “secret” of success to so many people, from Bill Gates reading 50 books a year to Elon Musk claiming to have read more than 10 hours a day when he was younger. Unfortunately, whether you’re reading to expand your imagination or put yourself on the road to a promotion, it’s difficult to find more time to read in our already chaotic times. Especially when so much content comes to us every day.
But reading more doesn’t mean anything if you don’t remember what you read. The problem is that your brain can’t store everything and therefore you have to make decisions about what’s important and you have to use it later. The reading act activates a symphony of brain activity, involving not only visual and auditory systems, but also neural circuits that build meaning, evoke emotions and encode memory.
When you read, your brain does so much more than simply understand the words in front of you: it allows you to empathize with people you’ve never met, engage in ideas that challenge and inspire you, imagine other worlds. Readers involved constantly make associations between what they read and what they already know, observing how the material matches their past experiences, trying to decide whether they believe or agree with what they are reading.
Ways to retain more information
Whether it’s Facebook content, Bill Gates’ favorite book, or the latest business critical report, most of us find pleasure in reading. But in the rush to do everything in less time, you may miss a few ways to transfer more content to memory.
- Turn around and give yourself some time to reflect on what you just read: mentally identify the main points or concepts, write down some ideas, think about how the content connects to your personal preferences, your personality, and your experiences;
- Know your purpose – identifying your purpose should be easy if you freely choose what to read. Just ask yourself, “Why am I reading this?”
- Think in pictures – creating mental images for the content you read will help you remember the content better. Create mental images of important events, concepts or people.
- Read aloud – the act of speaking and hearing the material will allow you to remember the material better. Read, in particular, the important information you have highlighted, as well as the answers to questions aloud.
- Discuss the material with someone – after reading something, discuss the new information with a friend, family member or classmate. The act of discussing the content will create new associations in your memory. It will also help you see what information you understand and can remember and what information you don’t.
- Read in short segments. Reading when you can’t concentrate is a waste of time. Therefore, to maximize your concentration, read in short segments. For example, read only one section or only 10 to 15 minutes at a time. After reading the section, repeat, in your mind, what you just read.
- Reread the material. Repeating is essential for remembering any type of information. Once you’ve read something, go back to the important concepts and ideas you’ve highlighted. Also, reread the paragraph in which concepts and ideas are incorporated. After 1 or 2 days, return to the content. Read important concepts and ideas again and find yourself.
To remember what you read, you need to become a critical and active reader. You become a critical reader, knowing your purpose of reading the material, creating mental images with important concepts and ideas, and asking questions as you read the material. Finally, store the information in the long-term memory bank by discussing the material with others, reformulating the material in your own words and rereading important concepts and ideas.