This exercise improved my memory by 500%

Summary

This video script introduces 'active recall', a memory enhancement technique that promises to significantly improve retention without extensive memorization. The narrator shares personal experiences and insights from Cal Newport and Andrew Huberman, emphasizing the importance of understanding concepts rather than rote memorization. The script details how to practice active recall through self-teaching and suggests a 5-minute daily exercise to solidify new information into long-term memory. The goal is to transform studying habits, making learning more efficient and less about memorizing, but about truly understanding and recalling information.

Takeaways

• 📚 Active recall is a memory technique that can significantly enhance one's ability to remember information.
• 🧠 The method involves actively explaining newly learned information in one's own words, which aids in better understanding and retention.
• 👨‍🏫 Cal Newport, a best-selling author, introduced this technique during a podcast, emphasizing its effectiveness for students.
• 🎓 Active recall contrasts with traditional memorization by focusing on understanding and applying knowledge rather than just repeating facts.
• 🤔 The script illustrates active recall with an example about attention and its sub-processes, demonstrating how to apply the technique.
• 📈 The speaker's personal experience shows a transformation from a student with average memory to achieving top grades through active recall.
• 🕒 A 5-minute daily exercise is suggested to practice active recall, which involves explaining or teaching a concept to solidify memory.
• 🗣️ Speaking out loud while practicing active recall can be beneficial, as it simulates the act of teaching and reinforces learning.
• 🔁 The importance of repetition is highlighted; practicing active recall multiple times helps in locking new information into memory.
• 📈 The script suggests that with consistent practice, one can develop a pseudo-photographic memory, making it easier to recall information during tests or in daily life.

Q & A

What is the main issue the speaker was facing with their memory before discovering the new technique?

The speaker was struggling with retaining information after reading a book or studying, experiencing a lack of retention and understanding.

What is the term for the memory-enhancing technique introduced by the speaker?

The technique is called 'active recall'.

How does active recall differ from traditional memorization according to the script?

Active recall involves explaining newly learned information in one's own words, focusing on understanding and retrieval, rather than simply memorizing facts.

Who are Cal Newport and Andrew Huberman, as mentioned in the script?

Cal Newport is a best-selling author known for helping students excel in their studies, and Andrew Huberman is presumably a co-host or guest in the podcast the speaker was listening to.

What is the purpose of the 5-minute step-by-step exercise mentioned by the speaker?

The exercise is designed to help double or triple one's ability to remember information by practicing active recall.

What does the speaker suggest as an example of using active recall?

The speaker suggests explaining in one's own words what one has just learned, such as concepts from a book or details from a meeting.

What is the significance of understanding in the context of active recall as per the script?

Understanding is crucial because it allows for easier retention of information. Active recall is about weaving new information into the existing fabric of understanding, making it easier to remember.

How does the speaker describe the transformation in their academic performance after adopting active recall?

The speaker describes a miraculous transformation, going from a pretty good student to achieving top grades every quarter.

What is the speaker's recommendation for incorporating active recall into daily life?

The speaker recommends setting aside at least 5 minutes daily to practice active recall, explaining new information as if teaching someone else.

What does the speaker claim about the effectiveness of active recall for memory improvement?

The speaker claims that active recall can significantly improve memory, to the point where it feels like having a pseudo-photographic memory, and that it allows for quick learning without forgetting.

How does the speaker suggest one should approach the 5-minute active recall exercise?

The speaker suggests setting a timer for 5 minutes and acting as if teaching someone about the topic, allowing the information to come naturally without forcing it.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Unlocking the Power of Active Recall 🔑

The speaker introduces a memory-enhancing technique called 'active recall' that can significantly improve one's ability to remember information without the need for extensive memorization. The method involves explaining newly learned information in one's own words, which helps in understanding and retaining the material better than traditional memorization. The speaker shares their personal experience with active recall, which transformed their academic performance and led to the authorship of a book. The paragraph also touches on the importance of attention in memory formation, discussing selective attention, sustained attention, and divided attention, and how these improve during adolescence.

05:04

🚀 Integrating Active Recall into Daily Routine 📅

The speaker provides a practical approach to incorporating active recall into daily life by setting aside five minutes for practicing the technique. They suggest using this time to recall and explain new information out loud, as if teaching someone else, which reinforces the learning process. The speaker emphasizes the importance of consistency in using active recall to build a robust memory. They also encourage viewers to practice active recall on the concept of active recall itself, to solidify the understanding of the technique. The paragraph concludes with a challenge for the audience to actively recall the content of the video to ensure retention.

Keywords

💡Active Recall

Active recall is a learning technique where one actively tries to remember information without looking at the source material. It is central to the video's theme as it is presented as a method to significantly enhance memory. The script illustrates its use by suggesting that after learning something new, one should explain it in their own words to reinforce memory, as opposed to passive rereading or memorization.

💡Memory

Memory is the ability to encode, store, and retrieve information. In the context of the video, it is the ultimate goal to improve through the use of active recall. The script discusses the struggle with memory retention and positions active recall as a solution to increase the ability to remember what one has studied.

💡Cal Newport

Cal Newport is a best-selling author known for his work on helping students excel in their studies. He is mentioned in the script as the source of the active recall technique, lending credibility to the method being discussed and illustrating his influence on the speaker's academic success.

💡Photographic Memory

Photographic memory refers to the ability to recall images, sounds, or objects in memory with extreme accuracy and in detail. The video script uses the term 'pseudo-photographic memory' to describe the effect of using active recall, suggesting that it can lead to a similar level of detailed recollection without the need for a natural photographic memory.

💡Selective Attention

Selective attention is the cognitive process of focusing on one particular object or task while ignoring other stimuli. The script explains it as a subprocess of attention that is crucial for memory formation, and it is used as an example of a concept that can be better understood and remembered through active recall.

💡Sustained Attention

Sustained attention is the ability to maintain focus on a task or stimulus over an extended period. The video script mentions it as another type of attention that, like selective attention, plays a role in memory and can be improved through the practice of active recall.

💡Divided Attention

Divided attention, also known as multitasking, is the ability to switch focus between different tasks or stimuli. The script uses it to illustrate the different aspects of attention that contribute to memory and how active recall can be applied to understand these concepts more deeply.

💡Understand vs. Memorize

The script contrasts understanding with memorization, emphasizing that while memorization can help with recognition, understanding is essential for true learning and long-term retention. Active recall is positioned as a method to achieve understanding, as it requires explaining concepts in one's own words.

💡Academic Success

Academic success is the achievement of high grades or outstanding performance in education. In the script, the speaker attributes their transformation from a 'pretty good student' to achieving 4.0 every quarter to the practice of active recall, highlighting its effectiveness in achieving academic success.

💡Habit Formation

Habit formation is the process of creating a routine or behavior that becomes automatic over time. The video script suggests incorporating active recall into daily life as a habit to ensure the consistent planting and retrieval of information, thereby solidifying memory.

💡5-Minute Exercise

The 5-minute exercise is a specific practice recommended in the script to integrate active recall into one's daily routine. It involves setting aside time to recall and explain new information, which is presented as a practical way to build and maintain memory skills.

Highlights

The video introduces a method to enhance memory without long hours or memorization techniques, claiming it's almost like having a photographic memory.

The method is called 'active recall', which involves explaining learned information in your own words to improve memory.

Cal Newport, a best-selling author, shared his system for remembering what he learns, which includes the active recall technique.

Active recall is different from memorization as it focuses on understanding concepts rather than just recognizing information.

The speaker initially struggled with active recall but persisted due to Cal Newport's advice on its effectiveness in learning and retention.

Selective attention, sustained attention, and divided attention are key subprocesses of attention that contribute to human memory formation.

Selective attention is the ability to focus on a single task while ignoring distractions.

Sustained attention allows one to stay on task for extended periods.

Divided attention or multitasking is the ability to switch focus between tasks or stimuli, which also improves during adolescence.

The speaker experienced a significant improvement in academic performance after adopting active recall.

Active recall can lead to a 'pseudo photographic memory' where ideas come out fully formed during tests.

The speaker used active recall to learn and remember what active recall itself was, highlighting its effectiveness.

A 5-minute step-by-step exercise is provided to integrate active recall into daily life for better memory retention.

The exercise involves setting aside 5 minutes daily to recall and explain new information in your own words.

The speaker suggests using active recall while driving or any other activity to reinforce learning.

The video challenges viewers to practice active recall by explaining concepts from the video in their own words.

The speaker emphasizes that active recall is a skill that can be developed with daily practice, leading to better memory over time.

Transcripts

3 months ago I would read a book set it down and  have no idea what I just read maybe that's you  

maybe you feel like nothing sticks you study  all night but blank on the test but what if  

I told you I found a way to increase your memory  and it doesn't take hours or fancy memorization  

techniques it's almost like you have a pseudo  photographic memory when you study this way if  

you stick around till the end of this video I'll  give you a 5 minute step-by-step exercise that's  

proven to double or even triple your ability  to remember or something this all started about  

3 months ago when I was listening to a podcast  with Cal Newport and Andrew huberman if you're  

not familiar Cal Newport is a best-selling author  and is known for helping students excel in their  

studies the man is no joke so when he started  laying out a system for how he remembers what  

he learns I started paying closer attention  this exercise is called active recall here's  

some examples what outfit did you wear yesterday  what did you discuss in your meeting what are some  

Concepts that you learned from the last book that  you read your ability to pull that information  

out of your brain is active recall so how do  we use active recall to double or even triple  

our memory it's so simple you're probably going  to think I'm an idiot for making a whole video  

about this but people don't do it so here you go  after you learn a piece of information stop and  

explain what you just learned in your own words  you can write it tell it to someone or just tell  

it to yourself the Only Rule is that it must be  in your own words notice how different this is  

from memorization you see memorization is great  for exact things but doesn't necessarily mean  

that we understand it this is where I went totally  wrong as a student I'd be studying for a test and  

review the same information over and over and over  trying to memorize it what I was actually doing  

is building recognition not understanding  the goal is not to memorize that 2 plus  

2 = 4 but to figure out why so you can figure  out the other equations so I found something in  

an article and I'm going to read it to you and  then I'm going to actively recall it so you can  

see kind of what it actually looks like changes in  attention have been described by many as the key  

to changes in human memory however attention  is not a unified function it is comprised of  

subprocesses our ability to focus on a single task  or stimulus while ignoring distracting information  

is called selective attention there is a sharp  Improvement in selective attention from age six  

into adolescence sustained attention is the  ability to stay on task for long periods of  

time the ability to switch our Focus between  tasks or external stimuli is called divided  

attention or multitasking which also improves into  adolescence so what that was basically saying is  

that there are different kinds of attention what  I first mentioned was that changes in attention  

are a large part of the human memory and how it's  formed the first thing it covered was uh selective  

attention which is when we stay focused on  a single task while ignoring other stimuli  

around us the other types of attention that it  talked about was uh sustained attention which is  

very similar to selective attention except for  sustained attention is simply focusing on one  

single task for a very long period of time um and  then um um multitasking or I forget what it called  

it diverse attention or something like that um and  this is when we we switch between tasks so we take  

our attention and we split it up or we we shift  it very quickly between different things and it  

said that all three of these forms of attention  increase into adolescence now I just gave that  

back to you in my own words right if I was trying  to learn this I would actively recall it twice cuz  

the first time I did it like I was able to do it  but there was some hiccups so depending on what it  

is you might have to reread the information or Rec  consume the information and do it again now when I  

first started doing this I was clumsy and bad at  it but I kept trying because of something that Cal  

Newport says you learn very quickly and not only  do you learn very quickly you don't forget it's  

almost like you have a pseudo photographic memory  when you study this way you sit down to do a test  

and you're you're replicating like whole lines  from like what you what you studied I the ideas  

sort of come out fully formed and so I went from  a pretty good student to 40 every single quarter  

it was like this miraculous transformation it  was active recall I did so well academically  

that's why I ended up writing that book the first  way I practiced this was actually by using active  

recall to learn and remember what active recall  was so if you're up for the challenge pause the  

video and explain in your own words some of the  things you've learned in this video this only  

takes one or two times until the new information  is locked into your memory because you're not just  

putting information in in on its own as if you're  memorizing it you're weaving it into the existing  

fabric of your understanding unlike memorization  to do this you have to understand the concept and  

when you understand something it's 10 times  easier to remember it so I want you to I want  

you to think about active recall everything that  I just explained came from a podcast 3 months ago  

when I used this technique on that information  twice also I did it while I was driving since  

that time I've used this on specific information  that I wanted to learn and remember and so I I'm  

telling you these things because 3 months ago  I know for a fact I could not have picked out  

a podcast a book and two YouTube videos that I  watched and tell you about them I couldn't have  

done that it would have been impossible and so  I'm showing you this to show you that an average  

guy like me with a self-proclaimed terrible memory  asking any of my friends can use a technique that  

will improve it and if it works for me it can work  for you so we've learned how active recall Works  

how it's different from memorization and also how  to do it but for something to become a habit we  

have to learn when we're going to do something so  let me give you a 5 minute step-by-step exercise  

that I use to build this straight into my day so  that I can selectively plant information that I  

want to remember every day I set aside at least  5 minutes to spend on remembering something new I  

live by myself so whenever I encounter something  I usually just speak out loud like I'm teaching  

someone now maybe I get to the end of my day and  nothing really jumped out of me that I want to  

remember even so I still take 5 minutes to recall  something could be from my day or information that  

I learned before that I want to make sure that I  still know and like any ability using it every day  

will help it grow now your time is valuable and if  you leave this video and you don't remember what  

you learned I'm going to feel like I wasted your  time so what I would recommend is set a timer for  

5 minutes and act like you're teaching someone  about active recall often it starts with kind  

of a slow Trickle and you remember one thing  and then another thing and then another and  

sometimes it's completely out of order but just  Just Don't Force It just let it come to you and  

explain it and recall it as it comes now if you  do this I can guarantee you that tomorrow you  

will be able to remember more from this video  than any other video that you watch today.