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10 Golden Tips to Boost Your Memory for Cracking UPSC Exams
Unfortunately, we humans are born with limited memory space in our brains unlike smartphones these days. Moreover, we can't attach an external memory card. Well, that's a matter of fantasy but yeah! that's true that it is difficult for us to remember each and everything, especially when you are going to appear the toughest civil service exams i.e. UPSC.
10 Golden Tips to Boost Your Memory for Cracking UPSC Exams
Unfortunately, we humans are born with limited memory space in our brains unlike smartphones these days. Moreover, we can't attach an external memory card. Well, that's a matter of fantasy but yeah! that's true that it is difficult for us to remember each and everything, especially when you are going to appear the toughest civil service exams i.e. UPSC.
UPSC syllabus is like an ocean and students memory are like a pond to grasp it but since nothing is impossible, there are various ways using which UPSC students can boost their memory, learning power and retention ability. We have here some helpful tips for UPSC students to boost their memory to fit the vast UPSC syllabus in their brain.
1) Learn Like You are Talking
Don't be a bookworm. Read and learn as if you are talking to someone because interactive learning has a high probability to retain for a longer period than memorizing things like a parrot. You can discuss with your fellows and friends because discussion often leads to open a new perspective and dimension to see things better.
2) Revise Regularly
Moving ahead is good but forgetting what you have read before could be creepy. So, the only key to unlock the high retain is to revise daily. You can make a schedule like before starting any new topic, you will revise one topic daily which you already finished off. Doing this daily, you can continue doing new topics as well as keep revising new topics.
3) Don't Just Read
Reading and learning is not the only way to gain knowledge. There are many other ways to learn say through preparing charts, graphics, diagrams, videos, and tables. Summarizing study material through tables and charts helps in easy and quick learning. It's human psychology that we can remember those things longer which we visualize rather than just reading the text.
4) Adopt Learn by Fun
Learning always sounds boring thing to do but it can be fun too. You can make groups of students who are preparing for the same topics. Engage with them in discussions and debates. Discuss syllabus and related topics. This method is very effective, especially for preparing subjects like current affairs where you can learn many things while just discussing them. This is also preferred because it is a fun way of learning rather than sticking to books. You can also bring creativity into your learning.
5) Teach & learn
Teaching is another way of learning. When you teach something, you learn it too. Well, we are not saying that you become a teacher but you can teach your UPSC friends those subjects in which they are weak and you hold a good grip on it. In this way, you can polish your knowledge and impart it to others also. There is a famous saying in the Sanskrit which in English translates as “knowledge increases when distributed". The same thing applies here. Teach and boost your knowledge and memory. It also increases the level of self-confidence which works like a magic wand in facing exam pressure.
6) Try Mnemonics
Mnemonic is a trick to write and make notes quickly making use of abbreviations and acronyms. It is a very proven useful technique to note down things faster and retain them longer.
7) Test Yourself
The test is an essential part of learning. You have to evaluate what you think you have learnt and check if you actually remember it or not. By taking regular tests and self-quizzing, you can get double benefits. One is that you find out your mistakes and the other is that you can correct them plus retain them longer because it is human behaviour that we don't easily forget our mistakes.
8) Keep Short Study Sessions
Usually, parents and teachers emphasize to learn for long hours but that's a bad idea. The best thing is to keep your study sessions short because when you study beyond your capacity, the retention power losses. Take breaks in between and resume every time with a fresh mind. Make sure you have a shorter but quality study session that whatever you read, you are 100% clear on those topics.
9) Adopt Right Routine
Internet, Social Media & Youtube have spoiled our routine. The world before the internet revolution is far more organized than today. Well, we are not at all saying that the internet is bad, of course, it is a useful and useful thing but it is a double-edged sword. Research have revealed that around 75% of Indians check their mobile phones before and after they sleep. Now you must be thinking that how it is related to UPSC and memory-boosting in any way but what if we tell you that it is spoiling your routine which should be on track for cracking exams like UPSC and keep your memory alive. Wake up early in the morning, go to bed on time and have complete sleep of at least 7 - 8 hours, eat on time, eat healthy food and be a bit spiritual.
10) Keep Your Personal Tensions Away
We all are not perfectly happy, we are managed to be happy with our own personal hardships. But if you're visualizing to be a civil servant and want to see yourself an IAS, forget about everything and just remember 3 things to do every day - eat, sleep, study, and repeat. When you let your problems overcome your passion of becoming and IAS, you lost your effective memory and fill it with disappointments and grief. Throw them away and just remember that everything is ok and everything will be ok if you become an IAS. Well, this point may not be relatable with everyone but most of you can relate it.
So, these are some tips and suggestions to boost your memory and focus on getting well prepared for your UPSC exams.
