Let’s start with a small disclaimer: everything that will be presented today applies to adults. We’re not talking about children, because that’s a completely different field of brain coding. Children operate in incomprehensible ways — no one really knows how they remember so well, yet they remember brilliantly. So everything we’re talking about here is for adults. For us.
Alright. Welcome to a topic that, two years ago, triggered a very specific question in my head: is it possible to make knowledge stay, even if I’m not using it non-stop in a project?
Table of Contents
Where did this come from?
It started during company standards meetings (internal sessions organized and run by fireup employees). As one of the coordinators of these standards, I noticed something simple: attendance was relatively low at times. So I talked to people. What do you think about the standards?, how’s the format?, what do you get out of it?, what doesn’t work?
And one answer kept coming back like a boomerang:
If the topic of the standards doesn’t match what I currently need in my project, I probably won’t participate. Because if I don’t use it right now, that knowledge won’t stay in my head. And when I need it in the future, it won’t be there. So it’s basically a waste of time.
That pushed me to think: can you “program” the brain so that once knowledge enters it, it stays there, even if it’s not constantly used?
I started searching. By accident, I mentioned it during English classes and things rolled from there. The teacher recommended books to me and opened the door to a completely new world of modern learning methodologies. I selected what worked for me and what I’ve actually tested over the last two years.
Why learn at all, if it’s just knowledge?
So I’m not just talking theory. Here’s what learning has actually given me (besides knowledge itself):
- Reduced stress. According to research I came across in the books, learning new things can significantly lower stress levels.
- Prevention of brain diseases. Dementia and similar issues – the brain is a muscle. When it’s actively used, it functions more efficiently.
- Pure fun. Seriously. It’s joy without cost. After eating sweets, you have that voice in the back of your head saying, “The weight goes up.” After binge-watching series: “I could’ve spent that time better.” After learning? I’ve never once regretted it.
And one more thing, absolutely critical: you have to want it. I studied German longer than English and to this day I can count to three in German. Why? Because I didn’t want to learn it. If you don’t want to learn something, it’s a complete waste of time.
My method: 3 phases that actually do the job
For me, it came down to three stages:
- Information acquisition
- Processing
- Retention
And most people stop at stage one: acquire, pass, forget. We want something different: acquire and keep it for years.
1. Information acquisition: i read to understand
The brain won’t remember something it doesn’t understand. So just skimming through doesn’t work, even if you read a lot. What helps me:
Reading slower and actively
⚫️ I read aloud, because that forces me to focus on every single word.
⚫️ After a sentence, I pause and rephrase it in my own words — plain, simple language, just said differently. If I can say it in another way, it means I actually understand it.
The curious child method
I read and I ask: why?
An example from IT: “JWT is more secure than SWT.” Okay, but why? If the text doesn’t give me a satisfying answer, I go on a detour. I put the article aside, look it up somewhere else and then come back.
And here’s something interesting: the brain loves chaos. Breaks and digressions don’t ruin the process, they often help, because they build cause-and-effect understanding.
Why I don’t take notes in this phase
During the acquisition phase, I don’t take notes. No highlighters, no underlining, no rewriting.
Because it’s a trap: your hand writes, but your brain isn’t really involved. Notes taken on autopilot are just transferring data into a notebook, not into your head.
For me, notes only appear in phase two and they have one purpose: to pull the information out of my brain and onto the outside.
2. Processing: Active Recall — the brain saves on retrieval
Now we do the key thing: I close the book, put the material away, and do active recall (actively pulling the information out).
This is one of the two most important principles:
The brain doesn’t store information best at the moment you “put it in,” but at the moment you retrieve it.
For the IT folks: the first save goes into cache, and only upon retrieval does it get flagged as “worth saving to disk.”
How I pull information out
⚫️ A piece of paper and a pen, or a board (in my case, often a whiteboard).
⚫️ From the head to the outside: notes, speech, gestures.
Sketchnoting (drawing notes)
They don’t have to be pretty drawings. They have to be mine. The point is that I have to translate text into an image and that can’t be done 1:1. So the brain filters, associates, and chooses what’s most important.
Mind mapping
First, a brain dump of concepts. Then connecting them. And connecting facts is exactly what the brain loves most.
We all know this from real life: you walk into a building, smell something, and suddenly you’re back in childhood. Those are connections.
Speech and gestures
I speak out loud because thoughts that stay “inside” escape. When I speak, I force my brain to focus and to build proper sentences.
Gestures are great for languages and sequences (like recipes), and sometimes even for abstract concepts.
Why I throw notes away
After processing, I often throw the notes away (or wipe the board). These aren’t notes for the future. They’re notes to make the brain click.
3. Retention: spaced repetition – review, but in intervals
The second most important principle (right next to active recall) is spaced repetition.
If you want to remember something for years, you need to pull that information out of your head from time to time. But not every single day forever. The intervals should grow.
For example:
- first review: the next day (or depending on difficulty),
- then after a few days,
- then after a week,
- then after a month,
- then once a year.
The key is this: you need to forget a little so there’s some challenge, but not everything.
How I do it: flashcards and the leitner method (the box)
I use flashcards in the “box with compartments” version (the Leitner method).
And this is important: on my flashcards, I have questions, not answers.
On the back nothing. Because I don’t want to check. I want to retrieve.
Example of a technical flashcard: “Explain the CAP theorem.” And then I go to the board, connect the facts, build a mini mind map straight from my head.
Only after I’m done can I look at the source and check where I made mistakes. And one more thing: I don’t cheat myself. There’s no “I know this.”
Say it. Write it. Test it. Otherwise, the brain just pretends.
The Duck: teach others, even if it’s a rubber duck
One of the best learning methods is teaching others. Don’t have anyone to teach? Grab a duck. Yes, the one from rubber duck debugging.
You explain the topic to it like you would to a person who doesn’t understand. Simple, step by step. That forces you to process the information in a very specific way. And if the “duck” asks “why?”. You go back to the curious child method and dig deeper.
4. Fourth Phase (bonus): Making knowledge flexible
This isn’t necessary just for memorizing, but it shows that the topic is actually alive:
- An English word – you use it in conversation.
- JWT – you apply it to secure your application.
- A recipe – you modify it because you understand the principles behind it.
🚀 This is the moment when knowledge stops being a fact and starts becoming a tool.
Two tests that expose whether You really remember something
Test 1: The 100 PLN Banknote
You’ve seen it thousands of times. But do you know which city is on the back? Exactly. Seeing without retrieving = no long-term memory.
Test 2: “Meeting Knowledge”
How many times have you been in a meeting where everything was clear and a week later… nothing Because there was no active recall and no spaced repetition.
How it worked for me after two years
I’m genuinely super happy with the results. My memory has improved. A simple but telling example: an SMS code. One quick glance and I type it in. In the past, I would’ve had to copy it with the phone in my hand. Numbers, dates, different pieces of information, they just pop into my head.
The biggest change? I learn every single day, and it genuinely improves my well-being. In the evening, no screens, just a book and the brain sharpens.
A challenge for you: one simple thing to start with
Try just one thing.
- Take 10 flashcards.
- Write a question on each one (no answers).
- For 3–4 days, do active recall every day (say it out loud, write it down).
- Then switch to spaced repetition (the intervals grow).
- Once a week, explain one thing you’re working on to your “duck.”
And test it on yourself. See what actually works for you. Because everyone is different. There are tons of methods not because someone invented magical modern techniques, but because different things work for different people.
Summary: two things You need to remember
If I had to leave you with just two phrases, they would be:
Active Recall – pull the information out of your head, don’t just “read” it.
Spaced Repetition – spread your reviews over time, with increasing intervals.
Everything else is just tools. Sketchnoting, mind mapping, speaking, gestures, the duck, the Leitner box, Anki, a calendar 👉 pick what works for you.
Recommended books I started with
Make It Stick – the book that kicked this whole thing off for me.
“Włam się do mózgu” (Radek Kotarski) – accessible, written in “our” language, without pretending to have discovered a new planet.
Alright. That’s it. Either everything went in nicely or nobody read it with understanding.
Cheers!
