With the sheer volume of product info, company background, and pay plan details, there sure is a LOT of stuff to learn when you join a new company. Unfortunately, school told us WHAT to learn but not HOW to learn it. So, it’s no surprise that many people get to be adults and still struggle when attempting to study new information.

YOU ARE NOT ALONE

Did you ever get to the bottom of a page and then can’t remember anything you just read?  Or have you studied for what seems like hours, only to find that the next day you recall very little of what you read?  Frustrating and annoying isn’t it? But don’t worry I’ve got a surprisingly simple solution for you. Here’s how to remember more of what you read with something called “The Production Effect” The best part is that you’ll be amazed at how easy it is and how fast it works.

MOM WAS RIGHT

Hey, there smart people, your favorite Uncle Matt is back with you and in this article, we’re going to uncover a few simple strategies to being able to RETAIN more of what you read. The weirdest thing about these tactics is how rarely they are taught.  You would think that every single teacher would make sure you were doing this stuff because it works so darn well. At some point, your mother probably wagged her finger at you saying something like “You can only remember what you WANT to remember.”  She said it to scold you.

But guess what? MOM WAS RIGHT. You can only remember what you WANT to remember. So even if you think you’re bored with a subject, you need to find a way to get interested in it.

ESP versus MSP

You’ve heard of ESP – Extra Sensory Perception. I want to introduce you to MSP: Multi-Sensory Perception. What that means is that the more senses you use when you’re learning something, the better it will stick inside your head.

If all you do is read, then you’re only using the sense of vision. However, if you take handwritten notes, then you’re also using your sense of touch.  The things you should write down as you’re reading are: new words with their meanings, the names of people, places, and things, and important numerical data. Don’t underline or highlight with a marker. It’s a waste of your time.

And handwriting notes is far superior to typing into APPS or a computer.

THE PRODUCTION EFFECT

Now let me give you some SUPER SAUCE.  Here’s something that’s been heavily researched and studied but very few people teach it. It’s called THE PRODUCTION EFFECT.

What you’re going to do is READ OUT LOUD to yourself, but you’re going to do it in a special way. You are not going to just read a chapter out loud and let it go at just that.

No… instead do this. After reading out loud alone, put your book aside and then have a conversation with yourself. Talk to yourself as if you hanging out with a friend. Your intention here is to recall out loud what you just read.

You might imagine you’re with a friend or a group of people. Of course, it’s even better if you have a study buddy or a study group who is like-minded and supportive. Put what you just read into your own words. You want to simplify it as much as possible. Pretend you’re teaching someone who doesn’t know anything about the topic.

THE REAL MAGIC HAPPENS WHEN YOU DO THIS

Let’s go back to my point about MSP: Multi-Sensory Perception. When you read out loud, the information goes into your eyes, then comes out of your mouth, and then goes back in through your ears.  When you add handwritten notes to this process the results will amaze you. You’re using vision, speech, hearing, and when you write, the sense of touch.

But here’s the thing, the real magic happens when you TEACH IT. Even if you’re just talking to yourself, you want to explain what you just read. This forces your mind to process the information in a completely new way.

HERE IS WHEN LEARNING HAPPENS

Learning doesn’t happen when information goes IN to you. It happens when you get the information to come OUT of you.

It goes IN when you’re reading, or listening to a training session, or watching a video. It comes OUT when you take handwritten notes. When you talk out loud to yourself or with your study buddies.

It works best when you attempt to TEACH it. There’s an old expression you may have heard before… “The Best Way To Learn Is To Teach.” And now you know why.

Once again, the idea is to PRODUCE a result. You’ll learn everything better when you deal with it ACTIVELY rather than PASSIVELY. That’s why it’s called The Production Effect.  Go figure. LOL

ONE MORE SUPER-SIMPLE THING

Here’s one more super simple thing that’s really easy to do that will help solidify the information in your mind.

When you are finished with your study session, TAKE A BREAK. Go for a walk. Hit the gym. Play a game. Or take a nap. You want to give all that new information time to SINK IN.

There’s something called “The Sleep Sandwich” that’s very effective. Here’s how it works. You study for a while. Then go to bed or just take a nap. As soon as you wake up review what you studied earlier.  It’s like a sandwich. The slices of bread on the top and bottom are your study sessions. Sleep is in the middle. When you sleep, your subconscious internalizes and files what you studied.
When you wake up and review what you studied, you’ll be absolutely amazing with your results. Once again, taking any kind of a break helps. You’ll be very pleased with just how well taking a break will help you retain everything you want to learn.