Memorizing dates is very essential not just for history lessons, but also for remembering birthdays of family and friends, and for many other purposes. Nevertheless, people do find it difficult to memorize strings of numbers and clusters of dates. By creating strong, vivid associations with the dates as numbers, you’ll have a better chance of remembering them. If you keep repeating and practicing what you learn, you’ll be able to make the dates a part of your permanent memory.
Five Easy And Effective Ways To Remember Dates:
- Create Powerful Associations: One has to learn to create strong and clear images to associate with a date. Eg. John Key invented the Flying Machine in 1733. So, you can think of a 17 year old boy John who eats 3 cookies in the morning and evening. Funny? Yes! The more ridiculous, unusual and strange you make the association, the easier it is to remember. A year earlier, in 1732, USA’s first President, George Washington was born. The best way to remember this is: A young 17 year old boy sitting around 32 trees. Here, you have memorized it!
- Use Your Body: You can create very strong associations by actively using your body when trying to memorize dates. Pacing while you study, creating hand motions to learn along with certain dates, and even singing out dates can all improve your memory. Memorize dates by singing them to the melody of the songs that you love.
- Current Month Scenario: We are in April at the moment. A very important date in history, pertaining to the month of April is ‘13th April, 1919’, a day when the ‘Jallianwala Bagh Massacre’, also known as the Amritsar Massacre took place. But how many know one week before that 6th April, 1919 was the day Gandhiji undertook a strike against the British. Recollecting an historic event that had occurred in each month and relating it to the happenings that took place before and after the said date, can be a good memory stimulant.
- Focus On The Dates You Need To Learn: We often forget a lot of what we are studying, so it is very important to concentrate and focus totally while memorizing dates. You can begin, by simply reminding yourself that you want to remember the dates. This can help you remember lot more information.
To be able to study with concentration, reduce distractions, study in a quiet, stress-free environment. Intentionally focus your eyes on a written date that you are trying to memorize. ‘Trace’ the date with your eyes. When you come across a date you need to learn, take a moment and carefully write it out, thinking, ‘I need to remember this’, as you do. Visualize yourself writing the number any time you think of it. Eg. Imagine yourself writing the date on a paper in your mind. Make it a habit to write some historic dates and remember it through some number-crunching exercise: Eg. 1536- Dissolution of Monasteries Act. Therefore, you remember it as 15 X 2 = 30 and add 6. Here you are: 1536.
If you need to learn a set of dates for an exam or other purpose, go over them as frequently as you can, spending at least a few minutes each day reviewing the information. And the more you use the dates you need to learn, the more likely you are to remember them. Talk about the dates you are learning with family; friends and colleagues and think about them to yourself, and write about them whenever you can as writing can help you to make that information go in your permanent memory.
- How To Remember History Dates - 16 April2017
- Befriending Mathematics! - 9 April2017
- Be Stress-Free Before Exams! - 12 March2017
