Spaced Repetition

Let’s talk about spaced repetition.

This is probably one of the best most repeatedly proven way to improve learning and we will actually

revisit this during the technique section as well because it’s so important and the idea is that revisiting

and practicing what you learn is important because research shows that spaced repetition which is repeating

things after a few days is the best way to build and strengthen the synaptic connections in our neurons

to improve memory.

That’s why we want to avoid cramming which doesn’t build solid neural structures.

The idea is to put just as much time as you would have cramming but instead spacing it over a long period

of time.

For example if this was a graph of our learning we learn something and then as time passes we start

to forget it but then we do spaced repetition.

We spend another day remembering and practicing that skill while that improves our learning.

And then again as time passes we forget a little bit and then we learn it again and then again and then

again eventually our learning although it’s always constantly in a dip it improves with each repetition

that we do because each time we’re strengthening our connections in our neurons.

The main takeaway on this point is not to spend too much time in one sitting going over the same material

over and over and over again the law of diminishing return applies here.

It’s the idea that you don’t need 12 hours a day to learn a topic.

Your time can be better used efficiently when learning when it’s spread out over many sessions and even

over many different modes of learning you will notice that I placed these lessons not completely in

sequential order or an order that may make sense to you and I’m trying to take advantage of spaced repetition

here.

I’ve mentioned the topic of space repetition now a few times in this course.

So it should trigger something in your brain.

We also talked about focus and diffuse mode several times in different lectures.

Again improving your understanding of focused and diffused mode of thinking.

By this point we should have talked enough about diffuse and focused mode that it almost becomes natural

to you.

You can explain this concept you can use the Feynman technique to explain this to a friend.

That’s what spaced repetition is the idea that cramming is not a good strategy but repeating things

doing things over and over taking each day to do one thing well or each week once a week to do something

over long term really help you build those neural connections to create those long term memories.