Wouldn’t it be amazing if we could remember all that we learn for a longer time? Unfortunately, that’s a far-fetched dream for the majority of us. We usually end up forgetting most of the vital information we learn in a short while. If I had to ask you how often your workplace colleagues forget crucial details after a training session, I’m sure most of you would agree to my answer, “Quite frequently!”

We live in a world of information overload; we’re bombarded by 60,000 pieces of information across multiple channels daily. Yet, the average human brain can retain 600-800 ‘chunks’ of information at one time before it becomes too noisy and fatigued to store more information.

But why does that happen? Why do we remember the stark details of our favourite show’s character dialogues but tend to forget our neighbour’s name?

Simple, because our brain doesn’t consider it “important” enough. Fascinating, right? Our brain automatically categorises new work processes or steps to a new tool as unimportant but remembers which breed is your colleague’s dog you met 6 weeks ago, even though it’s quite the opposite in an absolute sense. 

So, the question arises: how can we beat our brain to make the most of it? How can we remember and retain information for long periods? How can we win this fight against forgetfulness for better employee performance and productivity in organisations?

The secret lies in overcoming the “forgetting curve” to convince your mind to believe that absorbing new information is essential. But what exactly is this famous forgetting curve theory, and how can it help us combat forgetfulness?

Let us explore the nuances of our brain with a psychology expert’s well-known experiment.

Exploring the mind with Hermann Ebbinghaus’s ‘forgetting curve’ Theory

Hermann Ebbinghaus presented his forgetting curve formula more than a hundred years ago based on his self-psychological experiment. The theory states that we forget things because of the space in time between recent exposure to new information, how we review that information or practice it, and our learning mood. In addition, he argues that we tend to forget around 50% of what we had learned in a day or two and remember only 20% a month later.

So it is no surprise that many people struggle to learn things they need to know. And it becomes more difficult with every year that goes by as you grow old and your mind reaches its maximum potential.

One of the most popular tactics of fighting this “forgetting curve,” as suggested by various psychological experts around the globe, is through the microlearning process, an innovative approach to tackle this forgetting curve.

Combating the Forgetting Curve with Microlearning

The forgetting curve is about more than just repeating the same thing over and over. You have to space out your revisions at regular intervals to allow your brain to reconstruct that memory.

So what is microlearning? It’s quite simply a way of delivering information using different techniques to improve learning from immediate and short-term memory to long-term memory. It breaks down learning into...