Mind Like a Sieve? No, You’re Probably Not Using the Right Tools

There are a plethora of online options when it comes to studying a new topic, reading more, or learning a new skill. Retaining that information can be a different story.

Maybe you’re burned out or distracted, but for whatever reason, it just doesn’t stick. So how can you better retain what you read and learn? You don’t need to pay for 12 different app subscriptions; every tool we list here has a free version.

Find and Contextualize New Information

Before you can even start learning, you have to find the right resources, and that usually involves a quick Google search. Look for “how to change an electrical outlet” on YouTube, for example, or run a Google News query for relevant articles on the topic you’re researching (provided the source is valid). If you’re looking for a specific textbook or non-fiction title, you can probably find it on the Kindle app or download it to a physical eReader device (sometimes even for free).

Apps like these are particularly helpful for understanding complex topics. In her video “You’re Not Stupid: How to Easily Learn Difficult Things(Opens in a new window),” YouTuber Elizabeth Filips uses researching multiple sclerosis to demonstrate a concept she calls “context broadening.”

Filips explains that she’d probably have trouble learning about this topic since she has no personal connection to it—it’s just a name in a textbook. However, as a medical student, she still needs to learn about it. So Filips looks up news articles related to MS in order to put it into a more familiar context and make it more relatable.

She eventually chooses an interview with the actor Selma Blair, who has MS, on what it’s like living with the disease. This helps take the concept of MS from something in a textbook to something that feels more familiar and can relate to her actual life. That shift in context can help spark real interest in a topic that may otherwise be difficult to break down—it gives us a reason to care about it beyond having to regurgitate facts on the next exam. 

From there, you can drill deeper with resources like Google Scholar or medical journal sites like NIH. If you want to use something other than Google, Flipboard(Opens in a new window) lets you find and curate news stories by topic. 

If you find a YouTube channel with substantial, reliable videos on a topic, you can subscribe to the channel or make a playlist of videos to use as a resource and come back to later. If you want to take it even further, use a third-party plugin like PocketTube(Opens in a new window) to organize your subscriptions by topic so you’ll never lose track of them.

Take Notes and Organize Your Thoughts

Notion

It’s a well-established fact that effective note-taking can increase your chances(Opens in a new window) of retaining new knowledge. An intuitive and easy-to-use notes app can take that to the next level, offering easy access to your notes for review whenever they’re needed, across multiple devices. 

Once you’ve identified your topic and chosen your research material, you’ll need somewhere to organize your notes and thoughts. When choosing which app is best for you, consider your end goal. Are you creating a database to look back on? Do you need to link this app to another system, such as Google Calendar? Or are you just looking for a place to jot everything down that saves paper and is searchable later on?

Apps like Notion and Evernote can help here, and both offer free plans for personal use, though the latter’s free plan has grown more limited in recent years. Still, one big advantage of Evernote is its ability to create searchable notes. If you’re taking a large amount of notes on an ongoing basis, that can be invaluable for finding that one idea you scratched down three months ago and need to come back to now.

If you’re a handwritten note person, Noteshelf(Opens in a new window) can synchronize your handwritten notes on an iPad or tablet to Evernote and let you search them later, so you don’t have to think too much about adding extra data like descriptions and dates—you can just focus on writing. Microsoft’s OneNote is also a good option for taking hand-written notes in class.

Notion’s main advantage is the ability to backlink and crosslink your notes. Tom Solid of Paperless Movement(Opens in a new window) explains how that feature works using a book on Albert Einstein. By using the @ symbol, he links to a note he made about Albert Einstein that has an image and a link to his Wikipedia page (or other relevant resource). He does it right in the app, in the note he’s currently working on, without having to navigate back to his previous note and copy over the link.

Block and Organize Your Time

Google Calendar

Retaining what you learn requires time. Time to study, time to review your notes, and time to practice the concept or skill you’re attempting to learn. So it makes sense to integrate a calendar app (or to-do app) into your routine. You can block time in your schedule to study and practice, complete with reminders, so the knowledge stays fresh. 

Google Calendar is free, easy to use, and super customizable, all of which make it great for managing your time. Plus, you can link note-taking apps like Notion to it for extra functionality. Whether you’re studying a subject or learning a skill, planning things out in advance (and setting up reminders) helps ensure they actually get done. 

You can (and should) also block in time for rest breaks to keep your brain from getting fried—which can seriously affect(Opens in a new window) your ability to think and perform well.

Put It All Together

Used together, these apps let you easily access information, write it down, organize it for better recall, and build the necessary time required to study effectively. Think of them as a framework to build on—but they’re a good place to start. 

Once you’ve become a productivity guru, you can upgrade to paid tiers, or search out other apps that are more appropriate to your specific needs. Experiment, iterate, and enjoy the process.