Improve our
own retention? Boots up 50 to 60%
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| Improve our own retention? |
Here’s how.
1 LABEL: Name what you want your brain to do. “Let’s
learn this new habit,” or “Tonight, we’ll master three conjugations.” This
primes your brain’s attention and directs it toward a task. It also prepares it
to connect with existing knowledge or action maps. Labels warm your brain up
and prepare it to fire, so it’s ready to wire.
2 ENCOURAGE: Imagine a positive result your new habit
or knowledge will lead to, then talk about it in positive terms.
Visualize it: top athletes do this as they train to
reach audacious goals. Coach yourself toward that goal the way you would a
close friend. And give yourself credit as you get a bit closer to it every day.
Want to take this to the next level? Invite the Watcher to join in. Having that
higher self-reinforce the encouragement increases your brain’s sense of the
experience. It may even add to maps in your PFC if you associate your progress
with higher-order, mindful goals you’re working on.
3 ASSOCIATES: Build mental bridges between new
information or activity and maps your brain has already established. If it’s
new habit, do what Stanford behavioral researcher B. j. Fogg recommends: start small,
and bridge the new things to something you already do. Want to get more
organized? Jot down daily priorities after you press “brew” on your coffee
maker. Want to break the unending tech habit? Shut down your electron try gadgets
before you floss at night.
Once your new tiny habits
are established, you can add to them, building new maps step-by-step until you
have a whole new habit.
If it’s new knowledge you’re
after, take a page from Foer’s memory book. Associate the thought with visual
images or recruit from other brain centers. Moving while visualizing, coming up
with rhymes (we can all still sing the alphabet song, right?), or identifying
related memories and intentionally connecting the dots: each of these
strengthens the maps between established knowledge and new learning.
4 REPEATS: Repetition speeds learning. In fact, it can
even convince our brains to replace known facts with known falsehoods (the
“illusory fact effect”). If you want to learn faster, extend repetition across
different modes. Take what you want to learn, and write it down. Narrate it to
a friend, to yourself, even to your dog. Sing about it. Put a reminder in a
place you visit every day. If you slip or skip, don’t worry. Start again, and
your brain will bridge back to the maps you’ve started and continue building.
Stick with it. .repetition is the glue.
5 NIGHTTIME: Your brain prunes while you’re sleeping.
It preserves information you’re actively using and tends to let go—slowly but
surely—of the stuff you’re not.
If you
want to retain something, make sure it doesn’t get pruned at night. Bring it to
mind as part of your evening routine. Visualize it as you prepare for sleep. If
other thoughts come up, replace them with the things you want to remember. Try
using your final moments of wakefulness to remember three things: your main
goal for the next day, a longer-term plan you’re working on, and what you
appreciated most about your day. These thoughts can override the usual
nighttime brain chatter. They bring a sense of peace and purpose. And they may
be waiting for you the next morning, priming you to focus on what matters and
anticipate what you’ll appreciate most in the day ahead.
Learning is one of those brain activities that sparks
a range of happy chemicals. But it can also cause stress. Remember to be
patient with yourself as you convert “New” to “Familiar and easy.” Stress
chemicals like cortisol can limit activity in certain brain areas, reducing the
use of multisensory maps. So be a friend to yourself, like a helpful coach.
Invite the Watcher in to join the pep talk. With time and commitment, not only
will you have mastered what you wanted to learn, you’ll also have built a new
map for how to L*E*A*R*N* the next thing.
This article is taken from The Happiness Hack
Written by Arshad. A
