Govt job exams are some of the most competitive and hard exams to crack. Each year, exams like SSC attract +50 lakh applications from job seekers who are preparing for the job and want to give their best attempt this year. So you can imagine the intensity of the competition and how important it is to score well in govt job exams. That’s why you need memory techniques to give your best.
Need for memory
Most students already know that exams require good and sharp memory, as we have been trained for this for our whole lives. However, this game is slightly different. A govt job exam – unlike school exams – has a very wide syllabus. Often the GS/GK part is extensive and there’s no way you can fully prepare it from a book or two.
As you know, there are often many books you need to study and sometimes you need to also study magazines or newspapers on a daily basis – this is apart from subject matter or writing practice for leadership positions like Bank PO or Civil Services. That’s the reason you need better memory.
Reading vs studying
There’s a famous story about young Abraham Lincoln. Once his employer was searching for him and finally found him in a corner reading a book. He shouted at him and asked what was he reading. To this, the young Abraham Lincoln replied he was not reading but studying. The point is if you want to memorize anything – mostly facts – then you need to engage with the data or the books. There’s no way you can remember so many dry facts. If you want to remember history or static GK or constitution – then you need to engage with the material.
Probably the best way to engage with the books is to ask questions about topics, discuss them, or write about them.
You may ask that I don’t have a big friends circle and there’s no way I can study in a group or I live in a lonely place. I understand you as I used to face the same problem. And one of the ways I improved my retention was by writing. Yes, whatever you read and want to remember – try to put that in your words. Think about the good points or negative points, or the lessons you can draw out from the concept. Think about how the concept can impact your life. When you write you create connections in your brain which will help you remember for a long.
Art of creating notes
Let’s agree that there’s no running away from repetition. The more you repeat something, the more you remember. So the fact is you need to revisit the material at regular intervals – like after a week or a month – to prevent your mind from forgetting something. Now the point is how to make this process faster. When you are in school you can revise your book in a few days. But when it comes to govt exams there’s no limit to the amount of information or books.
So there’s no way you can revise it all in a day or two. So the best way to revise quickly is to create short notes strategically.
You can make use of visualization and Mnemonics too. For example, to remember the order of the planets, you might use the phrase, “My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Noodles.”
Now you might be wondering what if you read someone else’s notes? Will that help you make good progress quickly? Take this with a pinch of salt but reading someone else’s notes might not help you. You miss a lot of contextual details and stories, and it’s just very hard to remember just the facts. Whereas when you prepare notes you know your strengths and weaknesses so you prepare them in a way that best serves you.
Take care of your health
It’s about both your physical and mental health. Having a good memory for something basically means your neurons for that image or sound are firing faster. So in order to let your brain store information in an organized way to retrieve it faster you need to give it some good fuel, right? What’s the brain fuel? First, take care of your physical health. You can try light yoga or running so as not to overwork yourself and at the same time let nutrients and oxygen reach every single part of your body.
Then taking care of your mental health means taking enough rest, slowing down, and staying away from the ups and downs of social media.
Apart from these, you can try to teach others what you have learned. When you teach something to others that’s when you yourself learn so much more about the topic itself and also yourself as to how or in what ways you remember something.
How to remember what you have just read?
It’s a meta question – and I think just by asking this question you’re in a better position to remember anything. Because now you need to find a way to take action on what you have just read. Can you think, discuss, or write in a comment what you read and share how you are going to implement this?
Did you notice how these techniques are effective at improving your memory?
FAQs for Enhancing Memory for Government Job Exams
Why is good memory important for government job exams?
Government job exams, such as SSC, cover a wide range of subjects and often have an extensive syllabus, especially in the General Studies (GS) and General Knowledge (GK) sections. A strong memory helps in retaining and recalling the vast amount of information required to perform well in these competitive exams.
How can I engage with study material to improve memory?
Engaging with study material is crucial for retention. Rather than just reading, you should actively study by asking questions, discussing topics, or writing about them. This deeper engagement helps create stronger connections in your brain, making it easier to remember the information.
Is group study beneficial for memory enhancement?
Group study can be helpful as discussing topics with others can provide different perspectives and reinforce learning. However, if you don’t have access to a study group, you can still benefit by writing, summarizing, and teaching the material to others, even if it’s just to yourself.
How does physical and mental health affect memory?
Good physical health ensures that your brain receives adequate nutrients and oxygen, which are essential for cognitive functions. Engaging in light exercise like yoga or running can improve blood flow to the brain. Mental health is equally important; as lower stress levels are crucial for maintaining a sharp memory.
