Cavesa wrote:CRAMMING is an important part of this. I am so far behind the ideal plan that I need to cram for months to make up for it.
Thanks for lots of valuable notes, this is one of the posts I will return to several times, it seems.
How much time would you spend on those thousands of cards? How much time were you able to keep putting in every day without burning out?
[perhaps 14 hours a day - but doing other things, childminding mostly, sometimes while eating slowly / waiting for meetings to start, often while watching TV! I just used the phone app (when it was better) and when my attention was needed I switched to child but also at the end of a section, I'd make a fuss, ask some questions. I struggled with the pc/webpage back then. Key was to dip in and out - fill in gaps (adverts, boring bits in films)]I think a part of my "not new" advantage is the fact most subjects are more or less intertwined with the others, some more and some less. And I know a part of almost all the subjects, I get around 30% in the tests for the french exam (I need to get over 80% or ideally 90% to have a good chance of not having a horrible results in the exam week with all the nervosity), I can talk about a lot of stuff at least superficially. I don't have the details. In some areas, I know more. In some, I haven't touched the subject yet. It is really varied.
On MAKING cards. I have a trouble with it, it takes a lot of time. Did you find any way to make it more efficient or less of a torture, or did you just settle for the already made decks instead, to not waste time?
[RDearman, google sheets. I'm a programmer and I wrote some text sifting stuff that went into google sheets and then a mass upload complete with mistakes to memrise. But I mostly used others' decks. Also full of mistakes.]14 hours! wow! and for 3 months. That is a wonderful example, one of the things I had been hoping to read. Experience of others and an idea of what is realistic and what could be the limits. Pomodoro is great, I experimented with the times a bit, but the original 25/5 is probably the best. I somehow don't get enough "immersion" during just 20 minutes, despite the difference not being that huge.
[Depended - did skip a LOT of days, few hours on some days, 14 hours at weekend and sometimes mid week. Told kid and wife what I was up to. Worked late some days, used some work time as it was related to work, otherwise head down for 25 minutes, kettle on, make a fuss of kid, chat to wife/provide tea and back for another 25 minutes. I liked SmallWhite's idea of averaging over 3 days - that sounds excellent. I have little habit/discipline but also littl erestraint when I go a bit mad. VERY inconsistent.]It is hard to ask people about the time they are putting in studying. Most are either exagerrating or trying to look more cool by saying lower numbers. And you cannot ask like "and out of the 8 hours, how much did you spend on facebook and instagram?". When you tell me about Pomodory, I know what you are talking about without further asking. I still don't know how to survive such an intensive plan though
About the video material: there is some in French and in English. In French, it covers just a small part of the curriculum, only some subjects. In English, I get to a similar problem like with the non-French books. But I'll trying playing more with it. The speed idea looks very interesting but I guess it would depend on the kind of video and speech included. Students of IT or maths are very fortunate to have so much video material on youtube. It really looks like both (and also other fields, sure) have a lot of students and teachers who love the subject and love to share.
[I mentioned double speed to a colleague who isn't a native English speaker but has lived here for 25+ years, much to my surprise she said she did 1.25 to 1.5 times speed depending on the presenter / subject. I think everyone should try it - they seem to add frequency modification to prevent it sounding like a mouse (pluralsight, youtube, microsoft).]The overlaps are something I am sure to benefit from too. An example: the hypertension is being treated in the overall intern medicine, in cardiology, in nephrology, and I think also in endocrinology. Also, it is logical most of the subjects overlap, it is still one body they are talking about. But it is even worse, when I cannot remember something that I have seen so many times.
I need more reviews.
[Do you have a map? http://unreasonable.org/Feynman_and_the_map_of_the_cat]
For languages, it is similar. Perhaps instead of fighting it and trying to find a way to make a master list of vocabulary out of all my sources without repetitions, I should just embrace it and make more lists. And if I let something in for the second or third time, I obviously need to see more of it. Thanks for leading me to this thought.
[I like Listening-Reading - one advantage is that the frequently used bits are encountered more often and reinforced. Not just words, but sounds melding together.]
I am not be a newbie crammer. (heh, vast majority of my studies has been cramming. and I remember a lot, considering the cramming attitude). But I need to do it on a scale I could have hardly imagined before. I hate myself for not having been a better student, but there were also valid reasons for it. There is no point in wasting time on regretting the lost time, I need to cram now.
[You are where you are, no regrets, one step at a time. You seem to me to have a vast intellect (compared to me)]
I am lucky I can afford relying on official materials by experts, my dad is supporting me in my studies and providing even for my textbook needs. But still, no expert is likely to know my particular weaknesses better than me, so the cards made by myself are a must this time.
[Everyone's different, I suffer from being lazy/procrastination. Being constructively lazy might mean that I spend 2 days creating a spreadsheet or application so I don't EVER have to do it by hand again.]
Thank you for your good wishes. **during the times of intensive studying, I drink two liters of filtered coffee per day. Or several espressos (cappuccino or latte during the winter or for breakfast). I don't drink the Turkish coffee and I hope the "Czech coffee" is safely buried in the prehistory, with the rest of the 20th century
Tea is awesome, I am more for the black one, but I am considering switching to green. I like it too, I just somehow cannot get myself to it. Is it really good for memory?
[I'm English - we drink tea as a pick-me-up, if we're dehydrated, too hot, too cold, bored. I used to drink instant coffee (quicker to make) - 14 a day when programming, the caffeine didn't affect me greatly, others won't sleep if they have an afternoon tea. No comment on my misspelled Bavorak? Fernet Stock & Tonica.]