If your desk looks anything like mine after a couple of days, it is covered with piles of paper and documents. It takes me a while to find what I need, so every few days I stop my work and take time to re-organise and file away the documents and papers in places that make sense.
Your brain is the same. When you spend time cramming information into your brain (studying, reading documents, back to back meetings) you need to stop your work and give your brain time to clean up the desk, to file the ideas where they make sense and to throw away anything not of value. Making time to do this makes later recall more effective. Recent studies show that a even a 6 min nap or rest after taking in information improves recall at a later date significantly, and longer naps and overnight ‘filing’ creates even better memorisation and recall.
Top tip: Build awareness about when you are taking in critical information that needs to be recalled at a later date and give your brain some downtime so it can do it’s filing.
