Matlin also explains that learning and listening to music, except certain rhythms of classical music, distracts you from your task and therefore interferes with encoding. Perhaps a way to explain this is that rarely will professors allow you to listen to the same music while taking an exam, and as mentioned earlier, context is an important component of recall. A person might think that the music is not distracting him, but studies have shown that in reality it does. Matlin emphasizes the need to test yourself to see how much you are really remembering. Studies have shown that poorer students mistakenly think that they know things that in reality they have not mastered.
Good students test their recall throughout their studying process.
Things like index cards are great tools to test your recall while you are studying if you use them properly. It is suggested that you space the testing process across time, as the information might be in your working memory instead of in your long-term memory. This means that you can recall it for the time you are studying it but have not sent it to your long-term memory to be recalled at testing time. Finally a complete approach to memory involves paying attention to your physical and mental condition. This means getting enough sleep and keeping as positive an attitude as possible.