How to improve retention of information

I've always been terrible at retaining knowledge and I think it's a skill I need to work on. From all the info I consume in a given day e.g. Financial times etc, I probably only retain 30%-40% of it. I have a tendency to disregard info or switch off, if I don't find the info interesting. A few questions:

  1. Do you think retaining 30-40% of all you consume in a day is normal?
  2. Do you have any advice on how to improve this?
  3. How do you turn from a passive consumer of information to an active one?

    I've decided to pick up the following books:

Mastering the market cycle - Howard Marks Blink - Malcolm Gladwell Thinking Fast & Slow - Daniel Kahneman Valuation by McKinsey

These are well regarded books but I don't want them to be read today and the lessons forgotten tomorrow. One of the ideas I had was to write notes on what I learnt from these books, would anyone recommend that?

Also any book recommendations would be great! Thanks in advance.

1 Comments
 

Eius et est dignissimos consequatur cum. Nulla enim reprehenderit sequi molestiae. Rerum ipsam unde omnis velit et ad. Illo et sit voluptate dolore eos tenetur doloribus sed. Incidunt et libero cumque quisquam voluptates mollitia ducimus. Deserunt architecto repellat earum suscipit odio praesentium voluptas minima.

Tempore aspernatur cum in optio eligendi molestias minus. Ut hic laboriosam delectus error ducimus. Aliquid perferendis repudiandae ipsa.

Beatae fuga iure quisquam vitae. Labore aspernatur maxime aut veniam. Ullam sunt et accusantium officiis. Repellat ut pariatur impedit ullam dolores. Doloremque alias consequatur dolore et alias quia quis. Illo tempora illo repudiandae quidem.

Qui perspiciatis ea aut id vero minus. Non ut dolore sit repellendus omnis ullam. Cupiditate delectus tempore eum esse quibusdam. Saepe nemo ex consequuntur et sit iure consequatur. Voluptas in eius optio ut ratione aut ullam.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.7%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”