Learning How to Learn Week 3 Procrastination and Memory

Procrastination

Introduction to Procrastination and Memory

• Procrastination and memory is related to each other. Memory takes time to build.

• Pomodoro helps with procrastination

• Access long term memory systems

• Metaphor: Procrastination is like a zombie. Zombie is like a relaxed state your mind enters when doing common, habitual tasks.

Tackling Procrastination - It is Easier, and More Valuable, Than You Think

• Metaphor - understanding poisons helps to cure them
  • Battle procrastination zombies which can hurt long term learning
  • Example: Take small doses of arsenic is not poisonous and allows build up of tolerance, but repeated small doses will have bad long term effects
• Procrastination is similar to addiction = irrational thoughts that will be unhealthy

Zombies Everywhere - Understanding Habit of Procrastination

• Chunking is related to habits
• Habits save energy, mind can go with regularly used chunks, frees up mind to work on other things
  • Cue - Launch you to automatic mode
  • Routine - Habitual response
    • Like zombie, can be good, bad, neutral
  • Reward - reinforces habit
  • Belief - you must believe in the habit’s effects

Surf is Up: Process Versus Product

• Using mental tools and tricks to motivate
• “Quit wasting time, once you get going, you’ll feel good”
• Focus on process (example: do 20 minutes), not product (outcome)
  • Process = habits, give your best effort on focused time
    • Zombie likes process
    • Create a space to focus
  • Product can trigger the pain causing procrastination
  • Use pomodoro technique
• Surfing the wave and go with the flow of the process

Zombie surfing on a wave

Harnessing Your Zombies to Help You - Using Habits

• Cue - Change your reaction to a cue
  • Analyze what about the cue causes procrastination
    • Location
    • Time
    • How you feel
    • Reactions
• Routine - Plan a new ritual
  • Example: Leave phone behind, start in a comfortable seat at library
• Reward - determine reward based on achievement
  • Example: pleasure sure, gift for large reward, lunch with friend at 12pm
  • Mind re-wiring can take time
• Belief - believe you can do it

Juggling Life and Learning

• Recommendations:
  • weekly list of key tasks
  • daily todo list
    • a zombie without a list is listless
    • a happy zombie has a task list
    • can be mix of small product tasks and process tasks
  • plan quitting time, but be flexible
    • a good standard is 9-5pm, this time can work for students in university programs and workers in jobs
    • get leisure time, you will learn better
  • write journal of tasks

Task list with process and product tasks and a quitting time

• Use pomodoro as process to work on tasks
• In morning, do tougher tasks first: Eat your frogs first

frog, reminder for Eat your frogs first

• Remember: Law of Serendipity: Lady Luck favours those who try

Summing Up Procrastination

• Learning involves regular practice, like exercise

• Keep a planner journal

• Commit to processes and tasks each day

• Give rewards for finished tasks

• Watch for procrastination cues

• Trust in the process and system

• Work on tough tasks first: “Eat your frogs first”

Memory

Diving Deeper into Memory

• Your mind is built to store visual memories - example visiting a new place and you can remember its layout, location, and where things are

Example, Newton's Law image to remember formula

• f = flying, m = mule, a = stands for something up to you like air
  • Can also think smell of mule, wind sounds of air
• An image connects with right side of brain
  • Images is like neural hook to recall information
    • Image can give smell, sounds
  • Use spaced repetition like index cards to help with memory
  • Images are memorable
• Spaced repetition index cards - can draw image, write and say answers to build auditory memory

What is Long Term Memory?

• Memory research: A patient HM had an operation for epilepsy that took out his hippocampus that removed their ability to make new memories
• New memories are formed using reconsolidation
  • False memories can be created with visualization

Memory consolidation and reconsolidation

• Short term memory goes through consolidation to long term memory
• Sleep helps build memories
• Applying to learning, it is better for memory to learn in short sessions over many months rather than studying all at once

Inside the Brain

• In additional to neurons, brains have several types of supporting cells called glial cells:
  • The astrocyte is the most common glial cell in human brain. They are involved in learning.
  • Astrocytes provide nutrients to neurons, maintain extra cellular ion balance, and are involved with repair following injury

Creating Meaningful Groups and the Memory Palace Technique

• Create meaningful groups of words:
  • Example: remember plants to ward vampires
    • Garlic, rose, hawthorn, mustard = GRHM with first letters, imagine a Graham cracker
• Associate things to personal things/ideas, memorable phrases
  • Example 11.0 - good time for a 100 meter race, Dr Mrs Vandertramp
  • See if others have come up with memory tricks or make your own
  • Sentences with first letter of words to remember list of items

1. Memory Palace

   • Think of a place you know
   • Associate parts of the place with memories you want to store
   • Example: grocery list pictured in your home
     • Bread on your couch
     • Milk on your coffee table
     • Egg on the floor

   

   Grocery list in your memory palace at home

   • First use of memory palace can take time

   • Palace expands working memory to access long term memory

   • Makes you creative, make connections early in learning, chunks

   • Research support

     • One study showed that a person using the memory palace technique could remember more than 95 percent of a 40 to 50 item list after only one or two practice mental walks where the items were placed on the grounds or the local university
     • People use memory tricks outperform those who don’t
     • Memory tricks speed up learning and creating chunks and big picture templates

Summing Up Memory

• Long term memory - build with repetition on retrieval over time
• Working memory - holds 4 items, each item could connect to complex long term memories
• Use visual systems to remember, use senses - funny, creative images will help
  • Like memory palace
• Memorizing material helps you master what you are learning

Interviews

Interview with 4 Time US Memory Champion Nelson Dellis

• Mental athlete with a diverse background and hobbies
• Example of recalling numbers in sequences
  • Use a picture for every number
• Practice?
  • Competitive: hours / day
  • Every day people: less time / day

1. Memory techniques

   • Visualization:
     • Create a mental picture, attach picture to a memory palace
   • How to remember people you meet?
     • Use a distinguishing feature of them to place them - their location
     • Get their name - associate with something, can be anything
     • Imagine name with the feature
   • How to remember multiple people quickly?
     • It is hard
     • Ask them their name if needed, get to know them
     • Record their feature and name again
   • How to remember people after a long time?
     • Get to know them, listen and pay attention
     • Some people are better than others
     • Space repetition, like index / business cards - like a game
   • How might students memorize concepts, terms, complex systems, theory?
     • In competitions, memory athletes trained on specific items to memorize them
     • Memory exercises help with memory in general, use basics
       • Visualization / picture - can be unrelated to the theory, store it in memory palace
       • Hard part is creating the picture
   • How to memorize long text?
     • Easier to remember concept
     • Word for word memory
     • Find list of key words, memorize list of words - pictures and then memory palace
   • Who to keep memory into old age?
     • Concentrate on brain health
       • Memorize regularly
       • Try challenging items
       • Physical activity
       • Be social
       • Eat healthy
         • Ensure nutrients
     • Remember to play, use imagination, inner child

Interview with Dr. Robert Gamache, an Award-winning Bilingual Scientist

• Professor, researcher

• How does being bilingual French/English help with your work?

  • Studying another language helped my natural language
  • It is good to study a little bit of each course subject each day
    • Usage promotes learning, it is in your mind

• You stumbled in learning techniques while learning, what are they?

  • Now backed with research, for example spaced repetition and practice helps with learning
  • Techniques works for science and humanities - works with learning in all areas
  • While taking breaks, found answers to problems and concepts
    • If you get stuck, it is good to take a break, do a rhythmic exercise or sleep on it

• Balance family and work life?

  • Scientists is like a professional athlete, need to constantly practice and produce
  • Even during relaxation, your mind is always working. Because of breaks, you remain productive.

• How does your dog Newton help your students?

  • Lighten up the learning
  • Create pictures of the dog doing physics
  • Show students examples of how physics or any subject can be useful, something visible and tangible

Keith Devlin from Stanford, the NPR “Math Guy”

• Influential on Math learning

• What is a tip for approaching math problems?

  • Don’t panic - Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
  • Understand what:
    • Achieve
    • What you have
  • Try different numbers, diagrams, approaches, or drawings
  • If failing, take a break, then come back to the problem.
    • You need to try something different to make progress

• Tips for math solutions?

  • Allow time for problem solving, don’t think about timed tests and speed
  • Math is a difficult problem. Compare them to life/physical/family problems and apply a similar mind to math problems. Visualize the math problem like a life problem.

• How does exercise help?

  • Mind is focused on the physical activity, then work on a problem, then activity
  • Thinking, doing, thinking, doing pattern

• How to beat procrastination?

  • Avoid multi-tasking. Between tasks, I do procrastinate
  • Do serial tasking, focused time on task. Then move to next task until needing a break

See Also

Resources

• Introduction to Procrastination and Memory