Remembering dates can help you in many ways, such as making it easier for you to keep up with history lessons, remembering birthdays, having fun, and many other things. However, many people have trouble remembering strings of numbers and parts of dates. By making strong and clear associations with dates, you can remember dates better. If you keep repeating and practicing what you've learned, the dates you need to remember will stick in your memory.
Step
Part 1 of 2: Making Associations
Step 1. Create sharp visualizations
If you can create a clear picture to associate with the date, it will be easier for you to remember it. The more whimsical and ridiculous the image you create, the better it will be for you.
- For example, you want to remember 1909 as the birth year of Wage Rudolf Supratman (author of the song “Indonesia Raya”). Whenever you think about that year, just imagine a man playing the violin and playing the song “Indonesia Raya”.
- As an alternative, you can also imagine a hundred thousand rupiah banknote. Even though the shard has Soekarno-Hatta on the front, it has a watermark with Wage Rudolf Supratman (or at least the first presidential-vice-presidential pair may remind you of Indonesia's independence day and the song "Indonesia Raya").
Step 2. Use your body
Make very sharp associations by actively using your body when trying to memorize dates. Walking while studying (memorizing), making hand movements while learning certain dates, and even singing dates can improve your memory. For example, you can try:
- Raise your hands and salute (such as during a flag ceremony) when trying to remember 1945, the year of independence of the Republic of Indonesia.
- Remember the date by singing it to the melody of your favorite song.
Step 3. Manage existing information
If you can group the dates you need to study in an interesting way, it will be easier for you to memorize them. This is done because of how difficult it is to memorize pieces of information that are not connected to each other. As you practice remembering dates every day, find ways to group them and manage them. As an example:
- If you are studying a series of historical dates, create a timeline as you try to memorize them. It helps you find the relationship between one date and another, and shows the logical relationship between the dates. The more proficient you become at contextualizing the dates, the more visible the meaning of the dates will be. The more dominant the meaning of the dates, the more likely you are to remember them.
- If you're trying to memorize the birth dates of each member of your family, map those dates in a family tree. While practicing memorizing these dates, imagine that you are 'climbing' the family tree to remember the desired date.
Step 4. Assign one letter to each number in the date
You can improve memory by making associations, such as associations between letters and numbers. For example, you can memorize the year “1901” (the year President Soekarno was born), the year “1928” (the year the Second Youth Congress was held), or the year “1946” (the year the capital moved to Yogyakarta temporarily) by linking it to a series of letters “IgOI.”/”IbOI”, “IgNB”/”IbNB”, and “IgAG”/”IbAG”, based on the following scheme:
- 0 = O, because the number "0" is shaped like the letter "O"
- 1 = I, because the number "1" is shaped like the letter "I"
- 2 = N, because if the number "2" is rotated to the right by 90 degrees, the shape resembles the letter "N"
- 3 = M, because if the number "3" is rotated to the right by 90 degrees, the shape resembles the letter "M"
- 4 = A, because the number "4" is shaped like the letter "A" (in addition, there are some teenagers who tend to use the number "4" instead of the letter "A" when typing short messages or posts on social media)
- 5 = S, because the number "5" is shaped like the letter "S"
- 6 = G, because the number "6" is shaped like the letter "G" (like the number 4 and some other numbers, some teenagers often use the number "6" instead of the letter "G" when typing short messages or social media posts)
- 7 = T, because the lift "7" resembles the letter "T", although only one end is visible (alternatively, you can associate the number "7" with the letter "L" because if the lift "7" is reversed 180 degrees, the shape is resembling the letter "L")
- 8 = B, because the number "8" is shaped like the letter "B"
- 9 = g, because the number “9” is shaped like the letter “g” (alternatively, you can also associate it with the letter “b” because if the number “9” is reversed by 180 degrees, it looks like the letter “b”)
Step 5. Make detailed associations
You can remember dates better if you can make associations that are more detailed and illustrative. One technique is to use a series of letters (as described earlier) to create funny and memorable sentences. For example, try to imagine:
- You want to memorize the year “1945”, the independence year of the Republic of Indonesia.
- Form the “IbAS” letter string using the steps previously described.
- After that, you can make sentences from these letters. The initial letter of each word in the sentence must match the sequence of letters made. For example, you can make the series “IbAS” into a sentence like “Indonesia is free, I am happy”.
- Sentences or phrases made up of these letters help you remember the date because they include the letters associated with the year "1945". In addition, the sentence shows the freedom of Indonesia from the hands of the invaders, which makes all Indonesians happy.
Part 2 of 2: Train Your Memory
Step 1. Concentrate on the dates you need to remember or study
Often we forget 50% of the material studied so it is very important for you to concentrate when learning about certain dates. You can start reminding yourself that you want and/or need to remember these dates. By concentrating like this, you can remember 20% to 60% more information that needs to be learned. There are several practical ways you can concentrate while studying. As an example:
- Reduce distractions. Try to study in a quiet, stress-free place.
- Focus your eyes intentionally on the date you need to memorize. Observe and “follow” the date with your eyes.
- When you find a date that needs to be memorized, take a moment to relax and write the date down on a note while thinking or saying to yourself "I need to memorize it."
- Imagine that you are writing down the date every time you try to think about or remember the date. For example, imagine that you are writing the date on the board.
Step 2. Read or practice remembering the date over and over again
The more often you repeat the information that needs to be memorized, the better chance you have of memorizing it. Since we tend to forget most of the information we learn within 24 hours, it is important that you not only immediately repeat the information that needs to be memorized, but also memorize and practice it often. If you keep practicing and revisit the dates you need to memorize every day, you can improve your memory; if you keep training your memory for thirty days, chances are you'll be able to remember that date for years.
If you need to study some dates for exams or other matters, study them as often as possible. Take at least a few seconds each day to review and relearn these dates
Step 3. Use a media card
Cards are the right medium or method for practicing memorizing information. If used properly, the use of cards will really help you in memorizing.
- Using a card set (or an e-card program), write each date you need to memorize on one side of the card, and the significance or description of the date on the other side.
- Challenge yourself by shuffling the cards, looking at each date, and guessing the significance or description that corresponds to that date. You can also turn the card over and look at the side of the card that contains the date information, then guess the date that matches that description.
- While doing a card exercise like this, take cards with information (both dates and captions) that you remember well, and repeat the exercise with information you don't remember until you can remember all the dates on the cards.
- Practice using cards often but do the exercises quickly (only a few minutes at a time). If you try to remember too much information at the same time, the information will not stick firmly in your memory.
Step 4. Use or apply information about the date you remember
The more often you use (in this case, apply them in chat) the dates you need to learn, the more likely you are to remember them. Talk about the dates with family members or friends, think about them, and write down things about them whenever you can. Keep doing this until you can finally memorize all the dates.
