I wrote last week about the Pomodoro Technique and its potential for fostering productive work. In the eight years I’ve applied the method, its focus-break-focus-break-etc prescription has worked wonders. Despite my best efforts, however, at times I still catch my mind wandering. The question becomes: How can I get the most out of my pomos? I discuss several strategies I’ve incorporated which help me keep distractions to a minimum.
Read MoreThe Pomodoro Technique: Your Key to a Productive Day
Retrieval practice, spacing, the memory palace, and other evidence-based learning strategies will help you achieve your learning goals. However, without a schedule for implementing them in a focused way, you may find your efforts futile. In our age of distractions and socially acceptable multitasking, cutting through the chatter to focus is paramount. Enter the Pomodoro Technique.
Read MoreThe Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up (Your Memory Palace)
Prone to a messy palace? Hop on the bandwagon and use Mari Kondo's method to keep a tidy space.
Read MoreHit the Ground Running: A Quick Guide to Mastering the Memory Palace Before School Starts
We’ve received a few messages recently from people who are starting a professional school this year. While we love the memory palace technique, there can be a significant barrier to use, especially if you're about to enter a high-stakes learning environment. Here's an easy one-month ramp up to mastering the palace technique before you start a new learning adventure.
Read MoreShould I Reserve Special Memory Palaces Like My Home?
Should special memory palaces (like your home) be reserved for more important topics? Alex shares his approach to palace allocation.
Read MoreSilence Is Golden? White Noise, Coffee Shops, and the Learning Boost of Habituation
Do you prefer to work in silence? With music? The jury's still out on the benefits of white noise, but we've got our own preferences. Cathy shares her thoughts from a coffee shop.
Read MoreDrawing Pictures: A Memory Technique That Works?
Alex discusses a recent New York Times article highlighting research on drawing pictures as a memory aid. Recent studies have uncovered that the technique can be surprisingly powerful. But why does it work? And can drawing pictures be sustainably implemented to improve learning?
Read MoreHow Should Medical Students Use Memory Techniques in the Clinical Setting? [Video]
Ever wondered how best to apply memory techniques in the clinical setting? Should I use memory palaces for patient interviews? For presentations? How might practicing physicians make use of memory techniques? In the video below, we give an overview of how we think memory techniques are best applied in clinical practice.
Read MoreSurface Learning Still Matters
By discouraging memorization and drilling, we’ve been implicitly taught that conceptual understanding of a topic is equivalent to learning. A student who memorizes is, therefore, a subpar learner. But without internalization of surface concepts—acquired through surface techniques such as memorization and drilling—deeper ones will continue to evade the learner.
Read MoreHIIT Study Session: Maximize Your Time
We’re big fans of high-intensity interval training or HIIT. Effortful retrieval is actually a well-studied learning technique that can help you "HIIT" your studying.
Read MoreMemory Tips for Medical Students (Live Seminar) [Video]
A short seminar we recently gave to the first year class at our medical school. It covers some science-backed tips we think every learner should know.
Read MoreFighting Palace Fatigue with Interleaved Practice
Interleaved practice is great for keeping things interesting and making sure you can do a quick mental jump to the relevant locus. Research has shown that training this way can improve learners' problem solving abilities.
Read MoreWhy I Never Erase Old Memory Palaces
You might consider making an active effort to erase "ghost images"--images on loci you want to reuse. I never actively clean palaces, whether for memory sports or learning projects. Here's why.
Read MoreHow to Use Memory Palaces to Learn Equations: An Updated Guide
In the case of equations, true understanding should be achievable, so memory techniques should generally take a backseat. That said, I do use memory techniques for specific pieces of equations I find difficult to remember. Here's how.
Read More3 Reasons Why You Should Be Using Memory Palaces (and Not Only Standalone Images)
Standalone mnemonics are also a relatively simpler yet still effective way for, say, an absolute beginner to pick up new foreign language vocab. When it comes to carefully learning structured material, however, I’ve found there to be three main arguments in favor of palaces.
Read MoreWhy You Shouldn't Stress Over Visual Clarity
Here's a question I've gotten a lot recently, in some form or another: How clear should my visualizations be? The visuals themselves aren't that important. Here's why.
Read MoreWhy You Should Learn Memory Techniques, No Matter Who You Are
Back to basics for this week's Question of the Week: What are applications of memory techniques? Why should I learn to use them?
Read MoreMy Home for Spaced Repetition: What My Anki Setup Looks Like
My Anki is broken into three parent decks: Medicine, Languages, and Memory Sports, each with a few subdecks (e.g. Pathology, Chinese). Here's what my day-to-day home for spaced repetition looks like.
Read MoreWhy Double-Encoding Is a Double-Edged Sword
I often run into scenarios in which the same piece of information pops up in different contexts. Here's why encoding info multiple times might not be the great idea it seems.
Read MoreDo Memory Palaces Hinder Learning? Our Top 3 Don't-Miss Tips
If you're someone struggling to apply memory palaces, look no further. Here I discuss my top 3 realizations about memory techniques as they pertain to learning—the ones that took my approach from frustratingly ineffective to invaluable.
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