I. Introduction
Do you find studying boring? Do you not remember facts even after studying a lot? Do you have problem in concentrating on any topic? Do you ever find it difficult to remember classification of Pharmacology or long tables of pharmaceutics? No matter how much effort you make, something or the other always gets missed?”
If you also feel like this, then do not worry! For smarter learning you do not just have to study by rote but you have to unlock the full potential of your brain by using memory techniques. These memory techniques teach us to use our eye memory.
Scientists believe that we can remember what we see for a long time as compared to what we hear because the nerves from our eyes to the brain are comparatively strong as compared to the ear. So, most of the memory techniques are based on this concept. In this blog, we will tell you about 9 such memory hacks which will not only help you to remember faster but will also help you in retaining it for a longer time.
II. The 9 Memory Hacks
1. What is Mnemonics?
Mnemonics means converting complex information into simple acronyms, rhymes, or phrases.
A. Tips to Make Mnemonics
1. Use Acronyms:
Combine the first letters of tough topics to make an easy acronym.
2. Add Funny Stories:
The more funny or relatable the mnemonics are, the easier they will be to remember.
3. Personalize:
Connect mnemonics with your daily life experiences or preferences.
4. Add Visuals:
Make colorful diagrams or doodles with mnemonics.
B. How to use?
- Suppose if you want to remember the first line Antitubercular drugs in Pharmacology then you can remember them like this:
- “PERIS” (P = Pyrazinamide, E =Ethambutol, R = Rifampicin, I = Isoniazid, S= Streptomycin )
- Let us take another example like in Pharmacognosy subject you want to remember which are those drugs in which Calcium Oxalate crystals are absent. For this we can make a trick “OVEN Digit” Let us imagine that you have an OVEN which operates with some digits and is burning and some calcium is putting on it (O= Opium, V= Vinca, E= Ergot, N= Nux Vomica, Digit = Digitalis)
- A common mnemonic used to remember the sequence of the electromagnetic spectrum is: Mnemonic: “Red Monkeys In Velvet Underwear eXcite Gorilla”
- R = Radio waves
- M = Microwaves
- I = Infrared
- V = Visible light
- U = Ultraviolet
- X = X-rays
- G = Gamma rays
2. Visualization
A. What is Visualization?
Visualization means converting information into vivid and colorful mental images. Our mind remembers photos and pictures more effectively than words. When you see a topic in your imagination like a “movie”, it becomes easier to remember and recall it.
B. How to do visualization?
For this you have to remember this formula.
[IBMC]
I- I means associate with you because nothing is more important for you than you
B- Big, big things are always remembered well by us
M- Moving, that is why we remember the whole movie
C- Colourful, scientists say that we remember the colour for a long time and well
Example: Noncompetitive blocking of Alpha receptor by Phenoxybenzamine (Pharmacology)
To remember the MOA of Phenoxybenzamine :
• Imagine the Alpha receptor like a chair in which two sisters Phentolamine and Tolazoline are fighting and competing to sit, but as soon as father i.e. Phenoxybenzamine comes, he sits on the chair, now there is no competition here, means Phenoxybenzamine can be said here that it is the father of all competitive alpha blockers.
This mental image visually explains the mechanism of Phenoxybenzamine, which makes remembering it easy.
C. Why Visualization Works?
Through visualization you can turn a boring topic into an engaging and interesting experience. With this technique you remember more effectively, and the concepts stay in the mind for longer.
“Make difficult concepts a part of an animated movie and see how your mind works like a cinema hall!”😊
3. Chunking
A. What is Chunking?
Chunking means breaking up large and complex information into smaller, systematic and manageable categories. This technique reduces the cognitive load of the brain and makes learning more efficient. When information is logically grouped, it becomes easier to recall.
B. How to do chunking?
This is a long paragraph about Myasthenia Gravis.
[ Myasthenia gravis is an autoimmune disorder affecting about 1 in 10,000 population, due to development of antibodies directed to the nicotinic receptors (NR) at the muscle endplate. The number of free NM cholinoceptors may be reduced to 1/3 of normal or less. and structural damage to the neuromuscular junction. This results in weakness and easy fatigability on repeated activity, with recovery after rest. The eyelid, external ocular, facial and pharyngeal muscles are generally involved first. Later, limb and respiratory muscles get affected. Neostigmine and its congeners are the first line drugs used to restore muscle strength. They improve muscle contraction by allowing ACh released from prejunctional endings to accumulate and act on the receptors over a larger area, as well as by directly depolarizing the endplate.]
We can convert it into chunks
Chunk 1: Definition and Cause
Myasthenia gravis: Autoimmune disorder affecting 1 in 10,000.
Cause: Antibodies against nicotinic receptors (NR) at the muscle endplate.
Chunk 2: Impact on NMJ (Neuromuscular Junction)
Reduction in NM cholinoceptors: Reduced to 1/3 of normal or less.
Structural damage: Affects the neuromuscular junction.
Chunk 3: Symptoms
Main symptoms:
Weakness and fatigability on repeated activity.
Recovery after rest.
Affected muscles (sequence):
Eyelid, external ocular, facial, and pharyngeal muscles (initially).
Limb and respiratory muscles (later).
Chunk 4: Treatment
First-line drugs: Neostigmine and its congeners.
Mechanism of action:
Allow ACh accumulation → more receptors activated.
Direct depolarization of the endplate.
C. Tips for Effective Chunking
o One Chunk at a Time: Focus on one group at a time. Don’t try to memorize the whole chapter at once.
o Group Similar Information: Put related topics into one chunk, such as drugs with similar mechanisms into one category.
o Use Flowcharts: Use flowcharts or diagrams to visually represent chunks.
D. Why Chunking Works?
o Chunking provides an organized approach that is natural and easy for the mind. This technique breaks up boring and tedious information into small, interesting groups, making learning fun and efficient. “Chunk and remember concepts by linking them like a story!”
4. Spaced Repetition
A. What is Spaced Repetition?
Spaced repetition is a scientifically proven learning technique that helps retain information for a long time by using the brain’s forgetting curve. In this technique, the material is revised at regular intervals, when your brain is about to forget it. This repetitive revision strengthens the neural pathways, which is important for long-term retention.
B. How to do Spaced Repetition?
Use a scientific revision plan, first within 24 hours, within one week and then within one month
C. Benefits of Spaced Repetition
1. Counteract the Forgetting Curve: Revision intervals minimize the brain’s tendency to forget.
2. Time-Efficient: Instead of revising the entire syllabus every time, the focus is on remembering the critical points only.
3. Stress-Free Learning: Revising at regular intervals eliminates the need for cramming.
4. Managing a vast syllabus is easy
D. Tips for Effective Spaced Repetition
1. Use Digital Tools: Apps like Anki and Quizlet help you to practice efficient spaced repetition.
2. Allot Time Daily: Dedicate some time everyday for spaced repetition.
3. Prioritize Difficult Topics: Revise topics whose concepts are weak more frequently.
4. Combine with Flashcards: The impact of spaced repetition becomes even more powerful with Flashcards.
“Try the magic of spaced repetition and make your learning smarter!”
5. Storytelling or Memory Palace Technique or Location method
A. What is Storytelling or Memory Palace Technique?
The storytelling technique means remembering a concept through an engaging story. In the memory palace technique, you use a familiar place (such as your home or a classroom) to visualize information as if it were stored in different locations. These techniques use the brain’s spatial memory and storytelling ability, which are very helpful in remembering complex information. I have explained this method in detail in one of my videos, you can watch it by going there.
B. Practical Tips for Using Storytelling and Memory Palace Technique
1. Choose Familiar Spaces: Use home, college, or any other place for your memory palace that you remember well.
2. Create Creative Stories: Add funny or exaggerated details that make the concepts memorable.
3. Follow Sequential Order: Arrange information in logical order, such as the flow from one room of the house to another.
4. Practice Visualization Daily: Take a mental tour of your memory palace daily and refresh the information.
Example : Drug Synthesis Steps
To remember the sequential steps of drug synthesis, take a mental tour of your home and assign a place to each step:
1. Living Room: Reactants (raw materials) arrive here, like a courier delivery.
2. Kitchen: Mixing and heating takes place here, which plays the role of the reaction vessel. Imagine reactants are being mixed in a bowl.
3. Bathroom: Purification takes place here, like washing away impurities. Picture that you are filtering a drug solution.
4. Garden: Here the final product (drug) is being packaged and labelled, just like in a company’s packaging unit.
C. Benefits of Storytelling and Memory Palace Technique
1. Engaging Learning Experience: Concepts do not seem boring through a story or a familiar space.
2. Enhanced Recall: Memory palace technique helps you remember complex information in a logical order.
3. Long-Term Retention: Stories and visualizations stay in your memory for a long time because they are linked to your imagination.
4. Stress-Free Revision: Recall becomes easy even during exam time, just take a quick tour of your memory palace.
6. Association and Linking
A. What is Association and Linking Technique?
Association and linking means connecting new concepts with things that you already know. When you mentally link new information with familiar items or relatable things, then it is easily and quickly remembered. Association is such a feature of our brain that we can make it our strength as well as our weakness. Like when you are watching a movie, then you associate the characters of that movie with yourself.
B. How to use Association and Linking Technique?
1. Choose Relatable Items: Use things that are common in your daily life, like fruits, colors, or household items.
2. Exaggerate for Fun: Create over-the-top images in the visualization that stick out, like imagining a large, glowing face of a tomato for redness.
3. Create Personal Associations: Use things that relate to your personal interests. If you like cooking, relate kitchen items to drug features.
4. Practice Regularly: Associations are effective when you revise and practice them.
Example: Drug Side Effects
Drug side effects are difficult to remember, but through association it becomes quite easy:
i. Red Man syndrome: Imagine a friend of yours whom you do not like, his whole body has turned red and associate all the symptoms with him. See all the symptoms in him.
ii. Diplopia: You can associate it with an alcoholic person who is showing two visions of one.
C. Benefits of Association and Linking
1. Enhanced Understanding: When new concepts are linked with familiar things, they seem more logical and relatable.
2. Improved Recall: Mental images of association are easily stored in the brain and are quickly remembered at exam time.
3. Creative Learning: Linking makes boring information creative and fun.
4. Simplified Complexities: Complex terminologies can be simplified by linking them with simple relatable objects.
7. Peg System (Memory Anchors)
A. What is the Peg System?
The Peg System is a powerful technique that uses numbers, objects, or pre-learned sequences as “pegs” or memory anchors. This method allows us to remember complex information sequentially, linking each piece of information with a specific peg (anchor). This makes it easier to recall information in sequence or order.
B. How to Use the Peg System?
1. Choose Memorable Pegs: Make the objects or images that are most memorable to you your pegs. For example, if you like the kitchen, a chef’s hat, blender, and weighing scale could be your pegs.
2. Use Visuals: Use objects or images that you strongly visualize in your mind. If you like bright colors or shapes, use them.
3. Create a Story: When you are remembering a sequence or process, make a short story out of it. For example, remember the process of tablet manufacturing by thinking of it as a kitchen task.
4. Review Regularly: The Peg System is only effective when you review it regularly to create a strong connection in your memory.
Example: Cranial Nerves (First Five)
Remembering the cranial nerves is very important, especially for exams, and the Peg System makes it easy to remember this sequence:
1.1 = Olfactory (Sense of Smell): Imagine a bouquet of roses in front of you that you are smelling.
2. 2 = Optic (Vision): Visualize a pair of glasses for your eyes.
3. 3 = Oculomotor (Eye Movement): Picture a camera lens adjusting focus that symbolizes eye movement.
4. 4 = Trochlear (Rotational Eye Movement): Think of a pulley system representing the rotation of the eyes.
5. 5 = Trigeminal (Three Branches): Imagine three forks, which represent the three branches of the trigeminal nerve.
Linking numbers to objects in this way makes remembering the cranial nerves much easier.
C. Benefits of the Peg System
1. Efficient Recall: When you link each item to a specific peg, remembering the information in sequence becomes easier.
2. Engaging Learning: Using the Peg System with visual images and relatable objects makes learning interactive and engaging.
3. Organized Structure: Organizing large chunks of information in a systematic way provides a structured approach to remembering.
4. Memory Enhancement: By linking each piece of information to a specific object, the brain remembers the sequence more effectively.
The Peg System is a simple and effective technique that makes it easier to remember complex and lengthy information in a sequence. By using this technique, students can efficiently manage their syllabus and make difficult topics engaging and memorable!
8. Mind Mapping
A. What is Mind Mapping?
Mind Mapping is a creative and visual method of organizing information. It involves branches emanating from a central idea that connect subtopics, so students can easily understand topics and visually see the relationships between them. Mind maps are an effective way to make complex topics simple and structured.
B. How to use Mind Mapping?
1. Focus on the central idea: When creating a mind map, first define the central topic or concept, then logically connect related subtopics.
2. Keep the structure simple & clear: Don’t overcomplicate. Keep the mind map simple and clean so that you can easily understand the concepts.
3. Use colors and visuals: To make mind maps more engaging, use colors, symbols, and images that help the brain to easily recall information.
4. Revise regularly: Once you have created a mind map, revise it frequently. Revising visual information has a strong impact on memory.
Example: Drug Classifications
When visualizing drug classifications, create a central bubble “Classification of Antihypertensive drugs” and then show subcategories as branches around it:
Visualizing examples of antihypertensive drugs categorized in this way in a mind map helps in remembering.
C. Benefits of Mind Mapping
1. Clear Visualization: Mind maps organize topics in a clear and visual form, which makes learning structured and systematic.
2. Improved Recall: When you see connections visually, it is easier to recall information, especially when you have to revise for an exam.
3. Linking Concepts: Mind maps show relationships between complex ideas, which helps to easily link concepts.
4. Creative Learning: Mind mapping is a creative method that makes studying engaging and interactive.
Mind Mapping is a powerful and engaging technique that organizes complex concepts in a simple and structured way. It helps students understand topics, makes the relationship between them clear, and makes revision easier for exam preparation. By using mind maps, students can boost their learning!
9. Feynman Technique
A. What is Feynman Technique?
Feynman Technique is a learning method in which you explain what you are learning to another person. This method of explaining should be so simple that you can explain it to a 5-year-old child. This technique helps in clarifying your understanding because when you explain complex concepts in simple terms, you are able to deepen your understanding.
B. How to use Feynman Technique?
1. Teach a Peer or Friend: Whenever you learn a topic, try to explain it to your friend. This is a powerful way to clarify your understanding.
2. Keep It Simple: When you are teaching, use very simple language. You have to simplify every concept to the level of a 5-year-old.
3. Review and Refine: If you are not able to simplify your explanation, review and refine your learning.
4. Use Analogies: Use analogies to explain complex concepts. For example, the absorption of medicine is explained using the example of a sponge.
Example : Digitalis
Digitalis has many adverse effects, it is contraindicated with many conditions and many drugs, despite that it is widely used in short term management of congestive heart failure. You can understand it like a boy proposing to a girl “I have a million evils but there is no one better than me for your heart. Dear I am like Digitalis.
In this way, when you explain by giving simple examples, you make your concepts very clear.
C. Benefits of Feynman Technique
1. Clarity of Understanding: When you explain a topic to someone else, you clarify your understanding. If you fail to explain in a simple way, you realize that there is a gap in your knowledge.
2. Better Retention: Teaching is the best form of learning. When you try to teach someone else, your brain remembers that information better.
3. Identifying Knowledge Gaps: When you explain to others, you can easily identify which concepts you need to understand more clearly.
4. Simplified Learning: This technique makes complex concepts simple and easy-to-remember
III. Tools and Resources
In addition to memory techniques, using the right tools and resources can greatly improve your ability to memorize and recall information. Here are some recommended tools and offline techniques that will help you study smarter:
1. Quizlet
A. What It Is:
Quizlet is an online tool where you can create flashcards, quizzes, and study games for any subject. It is very useful in study for memorizing drug classifications, definitions, and lists.
B. How It Helps:
• Create personalized flashcards for drug names, mechanisms, and side effects.
• Practice spaced repetition using Learn Mode, which ensures better retention over time.
• Save your time and focus on practice by searching pre-made sets.
2. Anki
A. What It Is:
Anki is a powerful spaced repetition app that helps you memorize large volumes of information. It is ideal for complex subjects like Pharmacology, Pharmacognosy, and Pharmaceutics.
B. How It Helps:
• Create digital flashcards and set spaced repetition intervals.
• Use pre-made Anki decks for Pharmacy topics such as drug classes, adverse drug reactions, and pharmacokinetics.
• The spaced repetition algorithm ensures that you review information at optimal intervals, which makes learning efficient.
A. What It Is:
MindMeister is a mind mapping tool that helps you visually organize your thoughts and information.
B. How It Helps:
• Create interactive mind maps for complex topics such as drug classifications, pharmacodynamics, or pharmaceutics tables.
• Simplify complicated information by using color coding and visual associations.
• Mind maps can be accessed online, giving you the option to review them on-the-go.
4. Evernote
A. What It Is:
Evernote is a note-taking and organization app that helps you store and organize your study materials.
B. How It Helps:
• Create categorized notes for each Pharmacy subject (e.g., Pharmacology, Pharmaceutics, etc.).
• Attach images, links, and documents to enhance your study resources.
• Create checklists and set reminders for spaced repetition.
5. Google Keep
A. What It Is:
Google Keep is a note-taking and reminder app that lets you quickly jot down ideas and information.
B. How It Helps:
• Memorize drug interactions or classifications using voice notes and quick reminders.
• Organize notes for each subject or topic by color-coding them.
6. Offline Techniques
A. Whiteboard Practice
Practice writing drug classifications, reaction mechanisms, or pharmaceutics formulas using a whiteboard or chalkboard.
• Repeatedly visualizing and writing complex topics engages your visual and motor memory, which reinforces learning.
B. Creating Diagrams
Draw structures of molecules, plant morphology, or metabolic pathways.
• Create diagrams of processes (e.g., drug synthesis steps) to visualize and understand each stage.
• Use colored pens or markers to differentiate different stages or components.
C. Flashcards (Physical)
Use traditional flashcards for offline learning to memorize drug names, classifications, and their side effects.
• Write the drug name on one side and its properties (class, MOA, adverse effects) on the other side.
• Quiz yourself by shuffling regularly.
D. Group Study Sessions
Arrange study groups with peers where you teach each other using the Feynman technique.
• Discuss complex topics and quiz yourself on drug names, classifications, and details. This active learning reinforces your memory.
By integrating these tools and techniques into your study routine you can improve your ability to learn, memorize, and recall information quite efficiently. Whether you prefer digital resources like Quizlet and Anki or hands-on offline practices like whiteboard work and mind mapping, the key to success is consistency and variety in your study methods.
Conclusion
Memory techniques do not mean that you have to work harder, but that you have to work smarter. By applying these techniques to your studies, you can significantly improve your ability to remember complex concepts, long lists, and intricate tables without getting overwhelmed.
The key is consistency. The more you practice these techniques, the easier it will be to recall information when you need to. Whether you’re memorizing drug classifications, mastering morphology and microscopy in pharmacognosy, or any other subject, these memory hacks can make your study routine more effective and enjoyable.
So remember, with consistent practice, these techniques will not only make your studies more manageable, but also more enjoyable. Adopt these tools and see how your learning journey can become smarter and more fun!
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Now that you’ve learned these 9 memory techniques, it’s time to apply them to your study routine! Incorporate these techniques into your routine and see how they work for you. Share your experiences and any other tips you have in the comments—let’s all learn from each other!
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