You can memorize anything you want

Welcome to Keep What You Learn, where you can learn advanced memory techniques. No, this isn’t another site about making a funny picture to remember someone’s name. That’s important, but you want to learn so much more. Epic poems. Entire books of the Bible. Every possible answer to your next test. You can do it. Learn here.

If you’re new to memory training, start here. This short series of articles will teach you the basic concepts of memory training as quickly and easily as possible. Then you can explore the rest of the site, depending on what you want to learn.

Learn Languages Like an Opera Singer, With Anki (And More)

Opera singer Gabriel Wyner offers a new, four-part method for learning languages amazingly fast. One of those parts is flashcard review with Anki — but only one. Read more »

Reviewing As Thinking

Why memorize? So you can think. But memorizing is thinking. Instead of rushing through my flashcards, what if I can learn to enjoy reviews, as thinking? Read more »

How Flashcards Fail: Confessions of a Tired Memory Guy

You can use flashcards and spaced repetition to memorize almost anything — so why did I come to hate my reviews? Explore the dark side of this amazing memory system. Read more »

What Flashcards Have Done For Me So Far

Flashcards, mnemonics, and rhythm and rhyme may not be the complete solution for my memory goals. But so far, they’ve done a lot. Read more »

more memory blog articles »

Basic

Your Memory's Amazing Already

Your memory is already amazing! Before you can scale that last peak of information you crave, you need to understand and appreciate the mountain of “ordinary” stuff you’ve already mastered. Read more »

Are Bible Rhythms Like Poetry?

“Bible rhythms” can help you learn verses by heart, but they’re not as regular as poetry. You’re looking for rhythms that are more subtle. Read more »

How to Cram for a Test With a Free Memory Program

Even if you only have days or hours to learn a few hundred facts, you can do it. This article will save your grade. Read more »

Learn Morse Code With a Free Anki Deck and Mnemonics

You can learn Morse code really, really fast with a free Anki deck and a few mnemonics. Read more »

more Basic articles »

Intermediate

Ace every test from now on. Seriously.

With the memory techniques on this site, you can ace every test from now on. Read more »

Memorize the Books of the Bible

You can memorize all the books of the Bible with this list of visual mnemonics. Read more »

Remember Numbers

Numbers usually don’t give us a strong mental image. So we use a code, where consonants stand for numbers. Now we can use words to “spell” numbers! Read more »

Remember Months and Letters of the Alphabet

If you have to remember a particular month or letter of the alphabet, have a look at these visual mnemonics. Read more »

Advanced

Glugs Update: A few more loci for a long poem

When you’re memorizing a long poem, you don’t need visual mnemonics for every line. But if the poem is too repetitive, or too random, you may need a few extra loci to keep the stanzas in order. Read more »

Glugs of Gosh (epic poem)

Good epic poems are rare. Funny epic poems are almost non-existent. But what about funny epic poems that also set a whole worldview to memorable rhythm? I’ve only found one so far. But I couldn’t memorize the Glugs of Gosh until I stopped using loci and visual mnemonics. Read more »

Gospel of Mark

The Gospel of Mark has nearly 700 verses, and nearly 15,000 words. I’ve memorized the entire book, by verse. If you ask me for Mark 3:7 or 12:10, I can give it to you. But I tried several techniques before I finally found a combination that worked. And today, I wouldn’t bother with the verse numbers at all. Read more »

Remember Years

When you study history, you have many years to remember. How can you memorize 4-digit years? Here are some options. Read more »