I learned a system for remembering everything

Huge thanks to Ryan Holiday for taking the time to chat! I’d def recommend adding Courage Is Calling to the top of your reading list! 👍 amzn.to/3K207XF

I feel like this quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson fits perfectly here:
“I cannot remember the books I’ve read any more than the meals I have eaten; even so they have made me.”

“Imperfect Action is better than Perfect Inaction” Most important takeaway is to just get started, make it a regular habit, and you will discover what works for you well, whether it be highlighting stuff, keep a journal, or just re reading those books again 🙂✌🏼

“You are better off starting imperfectly than being paralysed by the hope or delusion of perfection”
Loved this statement and it hit deep

I learned a fast way to improve my memory of books in college. Instead of highlighting phrases, sentences or paragraphs I would highlight only one word in an important section. The key was to highlight a word that would make me question why I had underlined that word. For example, in the sentence "Studies show aspirin use to be associated with reduced risk for a number of cancers including prostate, pancreatic, and rectal" (Source: "Surviving Cancer Covid-19 & Disease, The Repurposed Drug Revolution" by Justus R. Hope, M.D.) I would highlight one word like "risk" so that when I scan through the book later my curiosity makes me ask "What's this about risk?", or I might underline "aspirin" so that when I see it later I think "What's this about aspirin?"
This way I can quickly reinforce the key points by scanning the book several times until I can recall all the important points.

Memory is derivative of necessity. It's similar to learning a language (either your first or a foreign language) -- we don't learn by passively absorbing what others say, but by feeling a need to speak in a way that's understood by others. Same with retaining information in books. Memory is created not when you passively receive some idea, but when you feel a need to explain it to someone else.
Read every book as though you intend to be able to teach the same ideas to others.

Great video:
1. Read a book. Analog is better than digital.
2. Don’t be scared to take notes in the book, Highlight, book mark. You’ll have to build a system.
3. When you’re done, go through all the notes that stood out to you and write them on flash cards.
4. Digest the information, think of ways to use it.
5. Enjoy the process!! Take your time.
6. ORGANIZE ALL YOUR NOTES. File them in separate boxes.

When I was a kid I was to be able to read any book and summarize almost everything in it. My teacher ask me to summarize all the points we read yesterday for a student who missed class. Almost word for word I said everything that happened and finished exactly where we left off, my teacher accidently blurted out you so smart. I laughed because I though see was over exaggerating but turns out to be very hard for most adults to do this . After a decade of tik- tok I find myself finding it hard to remember what I did this morning let alone a book I read I month ago. I'm hoping after a social media detox I get my brain back to that exact point.

When you want to retain what you learn while you're learning:
1.) Take conscious time in taking down key notes you want to remember.
2.) When done, Review your notes, revise when necessary.
3.) Apply what you have learned in the real world (In this case, its the organizing and categorizing into a box).
4.) Repeat. You get better at it and can develop a system that suits better for you.

"You better off starting imperfectly than being paralyzed by the hope or delusion of perfection" got me!

'It's better to start off imperfectly rather than be paralysed by the hope or delusion of perfection'.
Thank you Ryan.

"I cannot remember the books I've read any more than the meals I have eaten; even so, they have made me.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

9:58 - 10:04 BEST QUOTE🌟
“You’re better off starting imperfectly, than
being paralyzed by the hope or the delusion of perfection”
--Ryan Holiday

I’m 19 and I honestly feel like a dunbass due to the fact that I can’t simply remember anything I read

The guy remembers all that stuff because he is probably telling people those quotes day in and day out. That's his life. You remember stuff you talk about and think about all the time.

What works for me is to learn or study with the intention of teaching it later on. This gives the brain a real life application to memorize it better.

Recently finished 'Wealth's Loyal Companion: The Uncharted Path to Prosperity,' and it's an eye-opener. It brilliantly goes beyond finances, offering insights into a well-rounded life. The book's blend of true success stories and actionable advice is fantastic. It really drives home the importance of discipline and continuous growth. Highly recommended for anyone looking to enhance their life in a meaningful way!

As any university student knows, using Holiday's technique is definitely the most effective route but by far the longest. I tried his technique a year ago in university, and it worked great. By the mid-semester test, I nailed it - a 50% increase in grade from all previous tests for my courses. However, come the end of semester test, not only was I unprepared but my knowledge and notes were five whole weeks behind. Obviously this is a skill worth practicing, but just be aware that it's not easy to develop straight away. I still find myself over-highlighting and taking too many notes because almost every sentence has value. A 30 page anthropology reading quickly turns into a 3 hour expedition, and there goes my day. It's far better to accept prior to reading that, when time is on your shoulder, you won't remember everything.
I'd say that it's more about reading less books but with more intention. There's often more knowledge to be learnt in a single book than the knowledge gained by reading 100 books without intention.

Until I was twenty, I hated reading, and I thought I was stupid. I started reading at the age of 21, when I started studying psychology at University. In the past 4 years, I have read about 200 books. My recall of the books I read is very good; I can usually remember not just the main points, but also the arguments, stories, case studies and jokes. When someone talks about a psychological theory, I can usually remember the name of the theory, the name of the author and the name of the books or articles.
I think the most important things that work for me are (1) I only read something when im really interested in it. If I'm not interested in it, I try to get back my curiosity by reminding myself why I wanted to read the book in the first place. If the emotion is not there, there's no point in reading, so I do something else until the desire is back. (2) I highlight everything I find interesting. Not just the interesting facts or theories, but also interesting stories or funny jokes. (3) I make sure that there is some kind of output; I write papers (for myself), I talk about it with others, or I teach workshops about it. Recall is like a muscle, you can train it, and get better at it. Now, I can read for hours without pause and remember everything that I read. But interest and curiosity are always driving the learning process.
(Also, I have a book instagram called mind.readr, where I review and summarize books on psychology, philosophy and psychotherapy)

A wise saying once said, “Repetition is the mother of learning”
The way our brains & neurons work are very similar. By learning new things, we establish new neural links in our brain, & with repetition we consolidate these neural links to become stronger & and easier to remember when we want to retrieve what we learned.
This doesn’t apply just to things we read, but to almost every activity we have ever done or learned since birth. By repetition over and over again, we consolidated it to become a part of us.

I think the best way to recall what you learn is to use the data as soon as possible, even if its just jotting stuff down and discussing it with friends...playing around with it in as many ways you can think of, so you create "doingnesses", which solidify things in your mind.

I used to also think I have forgotten everything I have read from the self-improvement books, but then I realized that my brain have kept them and is using the informations that I need according to the situations I go through in life, so yes if someone asks me what did you learn from a specific book I cannot tell them, but I know that my brain retains and uses the information from the books in my life🥰

My favourite is the Feynman technique, named after the physicist Richard Feynman. To summarise, when you come across a quote you like, close your eyes for 30 seconds and try to recall what you've just read as many times you can. You'll find that you may not be able to recall every single word accurately but you'll get the gist of what the author was saying.

This has been a subject that really interests me and in general could be considered a part of metacognition as a whole. There are several different types of strategies that work really well for reading and remembering information from books. My personal favorite is the combination of: a specific type of note taking(basically something like "chunking"), then mind mapping(Tony Buzan style), memory palace for storage of the mind map, and then spaced repetition to drill it into long term regular memory from the memory palace. I see the memory palace technique as being like a notebook for notes but it is stored in my head instead of written on paper somewhere. This process of compression, transformation from one medium to another and then recall makes what I call "sticky memories" which are memories that are unlikely to ever be lost.

5:12-Heuristic memory processing
Prioritise info:
1.Frequently used
2.Recently used
3.Likely to be needed to make decisions

“You’re better off starting imperfectly than being paralyzed by the hope or delusion of perfection” well said and great advice for just about anything goal in life

This is the Zettelkasten Method from the book How to Take Smart Notes by Sonke Ahrens. The purpose is not necessarily to recall but to categorize the individual notes so that they will resurface when you need them. There are several good ways to do this digitally by using Notion or Obsidian.

As someone who can Memorize alot and quickly this is helpful😊

Thank you for putting this video together. What a life-changing concept. Thank you 🙏

Hey I remember the same thing, my father told me once about his friend who was a professor at a university and has an enormous library of cards he has more than 10k or so categorised under different topics, and whenever he has to prepare for a lecture or any public event he just takes the cards he needs with him it has all kind of stuff written in like quotes short stories diagrams of ideas with the name of books to which that idea originally belongs to and he told my father that he never had to refer to thick books again in his life as all the knowledge he gathered throughout his life is in those cards, which are his most prized possession. he did not categories them by books but by general topics.

When I was younger, I devoured pretty much every work of fiction I could get my hands on. Fantasy, sci-fi, action adventure, westerns, whodunnit, romance, it was all good.
As I got older, the idea of escapism held less and less appeal, and I got more into non-fiction. Hard core stuff like computer programming textbooks and history, but also self-help.
Reading non-fiction is a VERY different experience, and to really _benefit_ from it, I found I had to approach it with a different _attitude._ As in, _expect_ to learn something. But more than that.
Whether for real or just in my head, what really helped was diving into the book with the expectation that I'm going to be _teaching_ this stuff. Whether it's a class, a book of my own, or even just a KRplus video about the book doing a review or a synopsis, bottom line is, I'm not just reading it for _me._
Two tools/techniques that have proved to be an _incredible_ resource in that regard... (1) Mind Mapping, and (2) Photoreading.
Plenty of content about Mindmapping already so I won't dive into it here, but basically it's doing an outline, but with pictures and doddles as much as words, and connected not in a structured way we're taught in school, but more like a neural network. You know, how your brain _actually_ works. This really gets the mental juices flowing.
Photoreading, when you just look into it lightly, almost seems like an esoteric occult-like how is this even possible technique, and that's part of why it's probably not gotten as much attention as mindmapping. But regardless of that, the useful technique that can be learned here is the _preparation._ Unlike fiction where you _want_ to be surprised and entertained, with non-fiction it's a good idea to do a thorough _preview_ of what you're about to read. Thoroughly examine and meditate on the table of contents, scan the index and glossary if there is one, do a quick page flip and get an overview of the contents of each chapter _before_ you dive in and read the thing word-for-word. Train your brain on _what to expect_ before you take the deep plunge and bury your nose in the pages.

I read a lot of contentes, but forget many important informations. This video gave me an important key to improve my studies. Thanks for this!!

This is called Reframing. Intellectuals have been doing this since the dawn of time. Reframing ideas in "your own words" (or storage system, with context) is the basis for all learning (just as metaphor is the basis for all thinking.) In fact, the fundamental core for reframing informs many things, from learning/remembering simple facts [from a book], to learning a new language. If you can't make something your own-by reframing it in terms you understand personally-it will be difficult to remember. This is why "immersion" is powerful when learning languages; everything you do-especially if you are forced to speak the new language despite your misgivings-creates personal context for each interaction.
The same applies to reading, except you have to turn "passive reading" into an event-i.e., the "take action" method described in this video that has you retaining the knowledge you've just learned by inserting it into a "personal storage framework". BTW- the tactile "event" (of going analog) is much more powerful (and, I would argue, necessary) in creating personal context. I've also noticed that people who only read digital books simply do not retain anything they've read; the personal attachment to the book and/or ideas is not there. I can look at any book in my library and easily tell you the first words of every chapter, key arguments, ideas, etc. because I have a kinesthetic attachment to the event(s) (active learning) I assumed while reading the book. You simply cannot achieve this with digital reading or "internet research".

1- Take conscious time in taking down notes you want to remember.
2- When done, Review your notes.
3- Apply what you have learned in your life i.e. real world
4- Repeat. You get better at it and can develop a system that suits better for you.
EDIT:Thanks for the likes

“You’re better off starting imperfectly than to be paralyzed by the delusion of perfection.” “Imperfect Action is better than Perfect Inaction”

Omgosh! I highlight the books I read. A temporary experience in college, I would use index cards as well to recall info. Thank you. I'm happy to see this reminder in this channel.

I used his exact system to make it through my undergrad with flying colors. Now I’m in graduate school and I’ve been struggling, well it’s because it’s 100% online! I forgot about index cards!! This is finals week for me and I swear I feel like I hit a gold mine with this video. Going to start making my cards now! Thanks!!

"You're better off starting imperfectly than being paralyzed by the hope or the delusion of perfection"
That line struck me for good, every time I write essays or produce music, I get stuck in the feeling that it sucks and therefore I shouldn't finish the job, when it's better to just continue, finish whatever idea you got and then focus on doing it better next time instead of mourning how amateur your final product is.
This is the first time I hear about Ryan Holiday, but I can tell he carries a lot of wisdom from ancient authors but there's a good chance that his first essays probably weren't really good compared to what he does now, we're only human after all.

Honestly, the information being provided by the fellow viewers in the comments section is no less than a book in itself. Thanks for sharing such good quotes and ideas. I appreciate it. We all appreciate it.

Thanks for this Matt. Rang so true with me. I also find reading books out loud helps me too.

I think this is the best way taking note I gonna do this to myself because I have also this problem whatever I read from the book can’t remember when I need so thank you so much to making this video for us ❤

Matt D’Avella out here doing all the work and putting in the hours so we can watch a 10 minute video and improve our lives. You’re a gem, Matt!

Looks a bit similar to the Zettelkasten method. With Zettelkasten, you capture ideas as singular units and then make connections between them. Originally, this was done witch physical cards. Now I use Obsidian, a Markdown tet-editor which smoothly allows me to quickly capture ideas, expand on them and connect them to similar or opposing ideas. Just gotten started but I'm already becoming a bit more engaged in how I consume books and information, and more selective about what I chose to capture.

Forgetting things might be bad but it's kinda like necessary. Remembering everything is a nightmare. The ability to leave the past behind and not having to worry about it is a gift you've gotta embrace.

"You are better off starting imperfectly than being paralyzed by the hope or the delusion of perfection", that's my takeaway of this video. What a phrase!!!

Way back in the 80's when learning computer languages, I would type my notes into a plain text file. Copying, writing down or in some other way, storing what you feel is important really does help you. Well, at least it helped me. Plus, I got better at typing 🙂
I once worked with a fellow programmer who had not only a photographic memory, but he also tested very high IQ-wise. God, it was so hard working with the guy. New computer language just released? He'd read a couple of books and in just a few hours, was able to do whatever he needed in the new language... much to the dismay of all the rest of us!

Glad to find this video before I become sophomore. I was thinking how could I improve my memory while studying many subjects. This could be a great way to improve my daily studying. Thank you so much! Salute from Japan!

There was a system that allowed me to memorise EVERYTHING!
…unfortunately I’ve forgotten what the system was.

"You're better off starting imperfectly than being paralyzed by the hope or the delusion of perfection". This quote sums up what this video is really about.

Just started reading 3 months ago. After every chapter I read, I like to write 3-5 bullet points on my takeaways from the chapter. I also write in the margins on pages with great info/research. And lastly, I use a sticky note for something really key, and I try to limit it to 5 per book. Maybe I can minimize my process, but it works for me!

Amazing. Thank you.

I also forget alot about the non-fiction books I read. The content of fiction-/fantasy Books, however, stays with me far longer. I feel like a lot of lessons could be more memorable if they are embedded within a captivating fictional story.

your videos not only provide such influential and insightful information but are cinematic masterpieces! I am so inspired to create like you!

Wonderful advice!!! THANK YOU! I'm applying this model to my PhD studies and teaching it to my undergrad students. Keep up the great work!

Thank you for putting this together❤😊

As a writer, I was attracted to the idea of “a book a day,” 5 books a week. But I never did this. Instead I read challenging books, taking notes and underline but most importantly not rushing a book for the sake of pride but engaging with it critically. Inputs to outputs of unconscious is an AMAZING thing. When I’m like “ok recall” it’s “crickets” but when my pen hits the page the recall from the unconscious has been life changing and motivating. VERY rewarding. As I mature I have been much more focused on the substance rather than mere appearances that because you read a ton of books quickly I will somehow be a stronger intellect. “Atta boy” on behalf of pride and ego, no thanks! The notecard filing system is a brilliant nugget to aid this process of recall and critical thinking.

Ryan’s system is the way my high school English teacher taught me to do research for a report (early 2000’s, pre-Google). It really works!

For years, I’ve been taking notes, highlighting, and folding pages. I recall more than I give myself credit for. This system takes it a step further. I’m going to try it. ❤

I watch this video after watching it for the first time in 2022, and i realized i don't remember a single takeaway from this video. Dude, forgetting is scary.

My immediate thought before watching this video: “Every time I learn something new, a little of the old gets pushed out of my brain. Remember that time I took that wine making course and forgot how to drive?” - Homer Simpson

This notecard method is exactly how I was taught to write research papers in high school, but for some reason I never thought to apply it to my personal reading.

thanks man really apreciate the work you put it

This video helped me a lot developing my own study system for my upcoming course. Thank you so much! Subbed ❤

Something which has always been effective for me is teaching someone the material afterward.
The hard part is finding someone able to have a long-form conversation.

For those who like digital, there's a whole world of what's called Personal Knowledge Management (PKM). With apps like Obsidian, you can keep a "second brain" with things you've learned and notes from books you've read. This is even easier if you read digital because there's a plugin to import all your kindle notes. However, like this video mentioned, there's a different between note taking and note making. Note taking consists of things like highlighting and writing in the margins. Note making is putting what you're learning about in your own words and relating it to other knowledge you have. Note making is far more effective for retention. The Linking Your Thinking (LYT) channel has lots of content on both Obsidian and "note making."

what a wonderful episode having a lot of information and tips and tricks really thank you matt💛💛💛💛💛💛

awesome video about this topic.great power point both of yall thanks.

This is a phenomenal way to write a research paper for a college course. It was super easy, but don’t forget to cite your sources/on the notecard.

I do two things:
- assign a why? / use case for when I would use this knowledge
- summarize the core essence + practical takeaways on paper/digital file and file it away in my Obsidian Folder
This works for me - cause frankly over-memorizing and remembering useless things is equally a problem. I don't need to remember how to do one process that I'll use once in 180 days. I wanna remember the important things in life - not books.

There is a simple way to take highliting with rulers to the next level, and its extremely simple.
Add more of them in diffrent colors! Assighn meaning or feeling to each color. This way you have a way easier time sorting the notes afterward. Ive been doing this 20 years already. It works really well.

This was really helpful..... thank you so much🙌

Another tip that works for me is reading out loud. Slowly, calmly, clearly. It improves memory and recall, while also improving speaking.

Spaced repetition (at around weekly intervals) of active recall (answering own questions designed to trigger recall of essential facts). Completed all 3 of my emergency medicine board exams in under 12 months that way.

this is incredibly practical and helpful on my daily readings !!! love this !!!

This is the exact system I created for myself in order to complete my Master's thesis. It's time consuming, but it works. My entire thesis started out as notecards I would carry around with me in a box.

When I use a highlighter I don't highlight entire lines of text. That takes more time and uses up more of the highlighter. Instead I just use parentheses or brackets around the text I want to set apart. And I never use yellow because it fades away over time. I also dog ear very important pages. I don't rewrite that stuff onto cards - that would take forever. I just reread my favorite books more than once, especially the highlighted parts. If I were going to create some kind of system like this I would probably do it on the computer using voice to text software so that I don't have to write or type it all out. Which would save a lot of time. You could then have a different document or file for each topic and save them to the appropriate place. Then you wouldn't have to take up a bunch of space with actual cards and a file system.

Try to relate concepts with each other, and imagine how they interacts with common scenarios in life. Information + emotion = Memory. Be healthy both in your mind and body, and that will allow your body to truly feel the positive emotions without any hindrance. Improve your physical well being because our cognitive abilities greatly depends on the health of our brain and heart. Sleep! Cut the alcohol and caffeine! Exercise! Eat healthy and consistently! Stay positive!

Thank you - This is very helpful

Appreciate your humility and sense of humor.

I have done a similar system, but instead of using notecards I use journals. For instance I have a journal related to mysticism/ spirituality/ Buddhism, and another to more science spiritual readings. I find it a little easier than having notecards everywhere. A key point is to make highlights and notes while going through the book, then going back to re-read and re-write what is important afterwards. Time consuming, yes, but future self is like, "BLESS." Must obliterate short term gratification! One book at a time.

One of the most wonderful aspects of getting old (I'm 74) is that you can read a book and 2 years later read it again without thinking you've read it. I have so many "new" books.

I find it easy to remember unless information, an annoying song, or the words and catchy songs from a tv advert more than information that will benefit my life.
I'm going to try this method. Thank you so much for this video.

I like to write on every page of my books, put a sticky note heading on pages that move me deeply, and then take anywhere between 2-10 pages of notes after completing the book (depending on how valuable I deemed the material). It's a very slow method of reading, but it's active and allows me to practice how I might talk about what I've learned in the writing process.

Brilliant. I am going to do this! I can’t remember anything!!! I even bought a book about how to improve memory-and FORGOT where I put the book!! 😂😂😂 #truestory

“Enjoying the process.” Love that . . . !

I'll try this method. My biggest challenges will be highlighting and taking notes in the margins of books and being patient enough to organize my notes.

I've been thinking of experimenting with this: at the end of each chapter / page / paragraph (depending on the book, of course), put the book down and take out a notepad. Write down everything I can remember from what I just read. That will force my brain to recall the information that it just absorbed. Then, when I'm getting ready for bed, go through those notes on everything I read that day.
I have no idea if it's going to improve my memory, but I'll report back here in a month on how it's working out.

Well this system is what I've used from university and it all came to me all of a sudden, I took notes and then found our my visual memory can always remember my notes, whether I go back to those notes or not I would remember them for a long time but having this system taken to a next level would even help more I guess. There are also ways to take digital notes as well like keep notes from Google :) . Thanks for sharing your experience and knowledge with us Matt :) .

Loved this. I am a physician who also has several business ventures, and I work with mental health. That being said I have a huge library at home, and I tell people I have read half of all those books, “Half of each one!!” This summary of summarizing is perfect, I have tried it to some degree and you have pushed me to really get to it. Thanks!

I tried it. I went at it with a few books - using a pen and a highlighter, and made notes in the margin. The library fined me the replacement cost of the books.

Matt, thanks for this video. The timing couldnt be more impeccable.

I have tons of glossaries and put words in categories in order to learn languages. I speak six languages and have worked as a professional interpreter for 30 years. I have to instantly come up with equivalents for words and expressions while simultaneously interpreting. Knowing lots of synonyms is essential. Through the process of writing words down, finding equivalents in two languages and organizing them into categories, I memorize them. I also try to use them in sentences.

I see your next video is already about it, but for anyone wanting to “study ahead” you should check out either Obsidian or Notion for digital notetaking. Really great digital systems to organize your notes and connect them thematically. Unsure whether its as good for memory retention as physical writing, but some things don’t need to be instantly recallable either. Just having your own encyclopedia of ideas to look up can be extremely valuable.

Thanks for sharing, Matt! And love the simple advice mentioned in the video - to just get started even with an imperfect system than to be paralyzed by trying to find a perfect one.

thank u so much for the information. I'm so exited to reads all my book.

I love the idea of writing notes on flashcards and sorting them!!
I usually journal things that stood out to me after reading but it would be nice to see all of the related ideas together

My only way to remember the book: read it again and again and again. I never get bored of it, and my memories build quickly from it😂😂😂

I found that creating a presentation on google slides of the books I read, helps me retain so much. I still remember most of the books I did projects for in high school and college.

Wow thank YOU for this Video! It feels like such a interesting method to try out for upgrading the remembering!

Time is the most valuable thing in one's life. Things that we spend our time on become valuable thus become important and eventually for brain, they evolve to things to remember. The essence is to spend proper time on those we want to remember. Nice video!