i feel this compared to my closest friends ive spent so much more time studying certain subjects like philosophy psychology economics im in university theyve been in the workforce full time for years chasing careers and yet they have the bandwidth to retain and repeat information they casually look at one night on wikipedia oh the pain  what has helped me retain information is understanding memory consolidation and retrieval the best practices for me have been the following  1 make the information important beyond the purpose of what youre looking at it for dont just try and remember the wordsnumbers on their own attaching meaning through metaphors rhymes real-life applications attaching emotions and images particularly helps memory consolidation something professional card-counters use  think of a memory like a fish you want to catch from your subconscious and each source of meaning like a hook more hooks make remembering easier 2 practice remembering adhd problem right here we learn something and immediately move onto one or eight new things the science on spaced repetition is strong read something close your book and try to remember it if you do then try to remember it again in 2-3 days the forgetting curve shows that a few sessions actively recalling information 2 days after 5-7 days after with the odd session ever so often increases the stickiness of a memory it takes extra time but that time pays off when you dont have to recheck your notes its also less frustrating in the long run  i  memorized a list of 8 steps to read and remember anything you read the irony the first few times i was good for 4-5 of the steps and usually in the wrong order i would really try and then recheck the list if stumped im proud to say that ive memorized a list of 8 steps to remembering i still forget most of what i read but im getting better i think  also dont compare your memory to others if you can in my experience most people latch onto one or two points that jump out at them and rely on those same points in conversation the same friends who show understanding in subjects they glance at usually tap out if the conversation leaves their comfort zone true understanding takes effort but it is possible and its definitely rewarding