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3. Use rhymes.

Rhymes are powerful memory devices. Create a rhyme, and you’ll dramatically

improve your recall.
4. Use mnemonic devices.

Acronyms like HOMES and sentences like Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally
help you remember things like the names of the Great Lakes

(Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior) and the mathematical order of operations
(Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition and Subtraction).
5. Don't multitask.

Concentration is incredibly important for retaining your memory. You need to keep

things simple. This is why you enter a room and forget why you came in. It's because you
were probably planning your party at the same time, or thinking about the TV episode
that you just watched and you weren't concentrating.

6. Avoid external distractions.

Get away from your typical surroundings that make demands on your time, when
you need to study. This means leaving your house, your family, your friends, your pets,
your TV while you're studying.

7. Avoid internal distractions.

Sometimes the distractions don't come from your friends or family, but come from
your own brain. Often when you're reading something for school you find that your brain
hasn't been on the material, but instead has been thinking about that party you're going to
or wondering whether you've paid your electricity bill.

8. Study in the afternoon.

Studies have shown that the time of day correlates strongly to how well people
remember things when they're studying. Even if you think of yourself as a morning
person or a night person, try to do the most important of your studying in the afternoon.
You'll recall the information better.

9 Summarize each paragraph in the margins.

If you're reading something that you need to remember, write a short summary of
each paragraph in the margins. Writing things over again not only helps keep things in

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