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Posted By: MyDadsJoy Memorization and ADD - 11/06/12 10:42 PM
I have an urgent issue I need advice on. I have been basically offered a position as a mail carrier. Of course I'd love to take the job, but the exam is worrying me. I'm sure I can handle all of it but one part - the coding part. Needing to memorize a series of ranges of addresses in a limited amount of time with good recall is not something my mind does. I've looked around the web for helps but I'm not finding what I need... Any suggestions? Please? Oh please? haha The test will be in a little over a week.... :eek:
That's a tough one! Do you have a sample of what these addresses are like?

There are a few processes that I have found that help me memorize.

First, it helps if it is something familiar. If you know how the addresses are formatted, you could make your own samples to memorize. Practice on them.

Second, it helps to make things relevant to other things that you know. Is there some way that you can relate the addresses. For instance:

124 Ellsworth
274 Virginia
825 Allen
1386 Farrell
9657 Willow

Every Village And Farm Waits.
This mnemonic gives you the first letter of the street names. It's easier to remember than an unrelated series of street names.

Also, when possible chunk the information into small bites. People remember around 7 things at a time. Put items into groups of 5-7 to memorize more effectively.

At the end of the post, I'll give you a link to some memory strategies that I found when I was looking for information.

Having an emotional response is one way to enhance memory. That's why teachers try to incorporate humor into their lectures. Fear works, too, but I think humor is better!

Finally, stress, in limited amounts is your friend. It helps you remember. Overwhelming stress is horrible for memory formation. That's why you need to work to lower your stress level and get plenty of sleep. If you ordinarily drink coffee or tea, do so. If you don't usually do it, then do not do it on the day of the test. Routines help us stay in balance. Follow your routine.

Here's that memory link. Let us know if any of this helps! What do the rest of you think? Do you have any tricks/strategies that can help MyDadsJoy? Please post!

Memory Strategies
Joy, I hope this helps! Be sure to check back to see when other people post. We have very bright readers at this sight. I am sure others have different suggestions that could be helpful.
Posted By: MyDadsJoy Re: Memorization and ADD - 11/07/12 03:01 AM
Thank you Connie for your reply. I will look at it more closely in the morning when I'm fresh. In the meantime, there is a sample on this page. [url]http://postalwork.net/473_exam_questions_2.htm[/url] Ranges of addresses on a table coordinating to A,B,C or D. Approx. 8 minutes to study and memorize. 36 questions with the chart,then 36 questions from memory. There are so many variables in this that it's confusing. There has to be a way.... 7 things at a time? Not this time - there's way more to commit to memory here. I've always avoided memorizing - it's very hard and has rarely been necessary for me. I'm being plunged in - head first! ha! Oh, test is on the 15th. Just learned that in the past hour. So I have my dealine. I can do this. Carla
Carla, I recommend that you get a copy of that book through your library.

Also, unless I am reading it incorrectly, you can use the coding list to work through the problems. I think that it would be very helpful to practice doing that and filling in answers.

Definitely attack this when you are fresh. Also, you can do this, even if memorization is not something that you love. It's obvious that you have given it thought, so I'll bet that puts you ahead of some candidates. Just keep after it for a couple of hours a day, every day. Distributed practice is far more effective than one large practice right before you go in to take the test.

Find out as much as you can. Knowledge truly is power.
Carla, I recommend that you get a copy of that book that is mentioned in the link through your library.

Also, unless I am reading it incorrectly, you can use the coding list to work through the problems. I think that it would be very helpful to practice doing that and filling in answers.

Definitely attack this when you are fresh. Also, you can do this, even if memorization is not something that you love. It's obvious that you have given it thought, so I'll bet that puts you ahead of some candidates. Just keep after it for a couple of hours a day, every day. Distributed practice is far more effective than one large practice right before you go in to take the test.

Find out as much as you can. Knowledge truly is power.
Posted By: MyDadsJoy Re: Memorization and ADD - 11/07/12 10:47 AM
I do have a copy of that book and another. :) You may use the list for the first 36 problems, the second 36 is without the list and fully from memory. I didn't fully read the link that I send you - it might not describe it fully. Memory is most definitely a part of this- and I think what most people freak over. This test has an 80-90% fail rate. They do want to hire me, but I have to jump this hurdle. I have practice tests - working thru them. Sounds like - from your advice - that I am on the right track. I have set aside a couple of hours a day - at the same time as the test - to work on this. I'm a little scared - can ya tell? HA! I've tried substituting $ for the numbers - fruit for the letters... such as "Apples cost between 1.00 - 4.99 on (say) Amherst street. And Bananas cost 5.00 - 7.99." Thus 205 Amherst Street would would be in section A, 732 Amherst in section B. etc. But after the 3rd or 4th series, it begins to get very muddy. Looking for ways to associate things to numbers/street names... that will stick.
I think that working at the same time of day as the test is a great strategy.

Your way of associating numbers is a super idea! I think practice will help you improve. It sounds like you have found something that works. I would suggest sticking with it and practicing a lot, rather than switching from strategy to strategy in hopes of finding a better one. That seems to be a recipe for stressing out.

Sometimes, when you have practiced something, you will start to do things automatically. I got through one college algebra test this way. I disconnected my conscious decision making and just went on rote memory. I passed! While I don't recommend this for everything, it surely helps to be well practiced in a manner of completing a task.

Keep us posted!
How is it going Carla? Just wanted to check in with you.


Does anybody have additional memorization tips for Carla?
Posted By: MyDadsJoy Re: Memorization and ADD - 11/12/12 01:47 PM
Thank you for checking in Connie. It's coming along. I've found a site that lets me practice the exam - timed and online. I'm getting better, but still shaky. The rub is the time constraints. If I could study the numbers/streets/ranges the night before, I'd have no trouble substituting imagery. But the time constraints make it difficult to come up with the imagery and imprint it quickly enough. I'm thinking that unless someone comes up with a brilliant and quickly applied technique, it will be a matter of practice, practice, practice and a whole lot of prayer. On the positive side - well sort of - on one of the tests I scored a (get this) 95, but the next was a 62! haha The differences were in the numbers. Lots of 5's and 0's in the first - random #'s in the second. Hmm. Anyway. That's where I am at the moment. I'll be at it at 10:30-12:00 again today. BRILLIANT ideas anyone? heh
No brilliant ideas, just the thought that you seem to be on the right path. Keep up the good work!
How did it go? Was it as hard as you thought it would be?
Posted By: MyDadsJoy Re: Memorization and ADD - 11/17/12 02:36 AM
Oh goodness, I've been meaning to report! ha! I've been totally slammed with work since the test - stuff I had put off to get thru this. Anyway... yeah, it was tough, but - I passed!!! It was a matter of drill drill drill. I had about 20 different pictures in my head - associations - to draw from. In the end the major system of memorizing numbers helped a bit too. It would have helped more had I trusted that it would work earlier... I didn't have quite enough time to make that stick. By Wednesday afternoon (the day before the test) I was scoring 90-95% consistently on the memory portion! (at home) I'm really quite stunned at that. I know I didn't do quite that well during the real thing - I choked on one of the series - one of those horrible ones with odd numbers, no 0's and 5's - but I was able to make educated guesses. I was worried I'd look at the test and my ADD would kick in and no organization would come. But somehow my brain actually worked and I was able to remember just long enough. Yay! I have lots of tips for anyone who needs to do this - or something like it. I won't bore you now, but if the info is needed I'll share. I'm very excited - and frankly very proud of myself for accomplishing this. See? You can teach an old dog new tricks!! Thank you Connie for your support! It was wonderful to have you pulling for me.
WOOOOOHOOOO! That is good news!

I know that this is a busy week, but when you get some time, please give us information on what you learned. That way, when others are in need, your wisdom can help.

You found what worked for you and worked with it until you were successful. Quite an accomplishment, indeed!
Posted By: MyDadsJoy Re: Memorization and ADD - 11/18/12 07:10 PM
Thank you Connie! I'm still elated that I was able to pull this off! I will share my (baha!!) wisdom (cough) soon. I didn't want to impose my thoughts on others unasked. :) I will say this. The mind is a very very interesting thing. I am the music minister/pianist at my church. I had put practicing on hold while I studied,and frankly hyperfocused on this test this past week. When I sat down at the piano on Friday morning to prepare for Sunday service, I felt like a first-year piano student again. I had the hardest time playing! My fingers simply didn't want to obey what my mind told them to do. This lasted for a few hours - as I played for about 5 minutes an hour for a few hours that morning to get "back in the groove." Honestly, it was as if certain brain cells had been borrowed or disconnected to open new channels or something. Very very odd. And no, I'm not going to donate my brain to science for them to figure out what happened. LOL I'm back to normal now, but that was weird! Now I understand why I can't multitask - at all!
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