7 Strategies To Help You Remember 80% of Everything You Read

Honestly, each strategy by itself will help you remember at least 60% of everything you read.

Photo by Yiqun Tang on Unsplash

It happens all the time…

You read an amazing book such as Outlive by Peter Attia or Atomic Habits by James Clear. But then when you try to have a conversation about the book with someone, you can’t seem to remember anything about it.

It’s frustrating, right?

Of course, it is! You just spent a whole month reading this book and it turns out that what you thought was an investment in knowledge turned out to be mere entertainment. It feels like you just wasted all that time reading.

And the worst part?

It happens again and again and again.

You start to think that maybe you just have a bad memory. But let me just stop you right there because here’s the thing about memory: Forgetting most of what you read isn’t a character flaw. Instead, it’s the way you read books that’s flawed.

How do I know? I know because I used to feel the same way. I’d read a book, I’d claim it was one of the best books I ever read, and then I’d immediately forget what was in it. It sucked.

However, once I understood how memory works, everything changed for me.

Now…

• I can read a book and easily retain 80% of what was said in it.
• I can explain complex concepts during simple conversations.
• I can recall interesting ideas and include them in my writing.

Finally, I feel like reading is a true investment in my knowledge.

And if I can do it, you can do it too.

So if you want to stop forgetting everything you read, then here are 7 simple strategies that will help you remember at least 80% of everything you read:

1) Stop Allowing Yourself To Be Pulled Away

Have you ever heard of Nelson Dellis? Here’s a picture of him: