Remember everything: Evernote and Anki

I decided to write about the system, which I use to remember almost everything I want, with minimal time and other resources. The word “remember” means any way to find the necessary information - in personal memory or in computer memory, depending on the situation and on the information itself; The main requirements here are time saving and control of what we memorize.

I want to achieve the following goals when using the system:
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• remember all the terms and words that ever decided to remember;
• use facts freely in conversations and discussions;
• to save the accumulated experience: to have information about all current and completed projects, about important meetings and conversations, about the topics studied;
• instantly find any articles that have ever seemed interesting;
• keep the mind free from any fluidity;
• spend it all no more than 20 minutes a day.

Below I will write about the methods and rules that make up this system. The article will consist of several sections:

• My experience on the described issue
• Memorization problems
• Theoretical problem solving
• The practical solution to problems with Evernote
• Practical solution of problems with Anki

Memorization problems

I see the following memory problems from the memorization stage to the information reproduction stage.

Memorizing uncontrollably

The brain at our disposal did not have time to adapt to modern life, but is ideally suited to remember what a predator looks like, poisonous berries, or a relative of its own tribe. In other words, everything that has practical value is remembered, but this value is determined through emotions. We cannot simply memorize what we want, and memorization is often uncontrollable.

Memory resources are limited.

Suppose the information somehow evoked emotions and was remembered. Will it be stored in memory?
As I wrote above, what is of practical use is remembered. The resources of our memory are limited, so if the information is not used for a long time, then the question arises about its practical benefits.

Memories are distorted.

Suppose that the information is still preserved in memory and the brain found it useful. Can you be sure of this information? The answer is no. Practically everything that is stored in our memory is constantly changing. We do not remember video clips or photo-snapshots of situations, but sets of meanings, and when we recall something, we collect the situation from these bricks, completing the missing parts using logic and imagination.
It is not difficult to be convinced of this: practically everyone has happened so that when you remember something, you see yourself from outside. But we perceived information not from the outside, but from the first person.
Another example. Why sometimes disputes arise between people about how things really were? Every time, returning to some kind of memory, we change it a little and then sincerely believe that everything was as we remember.

Playback problem

When we re-encounter information that we have already met, it seems to us that we remember it, but this is not quite so. We can recognize it, but not reproduce it. Take an example from your life. Once, they shared with me a link to an article that spoke about a woman who came from India to Moscow and demonstrated her mathematical abilities.
I recently had to find this article, but as it turned out, I did not remember the name of the woman, or what exactly she was doing - nothing but four key words: “woman”, “Moscow”, “India”, “calculations”. Yandex didn’t give anything, I didn’t get into the correspondence in vk, because it was a long time ago and I didn’t remember with what words I was sent this link. I rescued google, but I spent about 10 minutes searching for that article, instead of 10-15 seconds that could go away, I use the system I’m writing about below.

Theoretical problem solving

All the information that we may need in one way or another can be divided into 2 types:

1. Information that needs to be quickly found if necessary;
2. Information you need to know.

For the first type, a system of notes is needed - more about this in the section about evernote.
Below are the existing methods for working with information of the second type.

Mnemotechnology solves the problem of memorization

A mnemotechnique is a set of techniques that facilitate memorization. Any mnemonics is a way to make target information more emotional (meaningful, important) and logical (understandable, natural).
A good example of the use of mnemonics is memorization through the associations of the number e.

Another method of mnemotechnics is to place visual images on locations. The images evoke many emotions, and the locations are remembered by themselves (historically, any living organism had to process spatial information, so the brain used to work with it). I remembered the Pi number up to 22,528 characters, placing the invented images of numbers in order in Moscow. When I needed to reproduce the number, I mentally walked along the same route and collected the placed images. In the practical sections below, I will show tricks that can be used daily.
More about mnemonics on Habré already had articles - Introduction to mnemonics , Mnemotechnology: you can remember everything . There is a series of articles on the 4brain website.

Interval repeat solves the storage problem.

As already mentioned, the memorized information can not only be forgotten, but also change over time. The only way to solve this problem is repetition. According to some theories, a part of our limbic system, the hippocampus, triggers mechanisms for the automatic repetition of information, if a certain amount of emotion was received during its memorization, or if the information was encountered a certain number of times.
The most effective way to repeat is to repeat at increasing intervals. For example, to increase the time of the next repetition 3 times:
the first repetition is in a day;
second, after 3 days;
the third after 9;
fourth - after 27;
and so on.
In this case, the information will be remembered almost as well as if repeated every day.

A good article is written on this topic - Memory Development: Interval Repetition Method
and there is another article on Habré - Derek Sivers: "The method of interval repetition is the best way to learn programming languages"

The hook method solves the playback problem.

I’ll say quite a bit here, since by the very name it is clear what the discussion will be about, and by and large, the method of hooks is included in the concept of mnemotechnics. For practically any information, we have a set of cluing associations, by which we can either recover information from memory or find it somewhere.
We can also create artificial hooks that allow us to recall something at the right time. Read more - in the section about evernote.

Practical solution of problems with evernote

Evernote solves the designated memorization problems for information that need not be remembered. For those who do not know, evernote is a multiplatform note taking application with smart search.

In a nutshell, I use evernote so that if after 15 years I want to recall some project or conversation, then I could find it in a few seconds and restore all the necessary information.

It is advisable to create notes for anything that may ever be needed. I will give a few examples of which notes I save:


All this does not have to be remembered - even harmful, because memory resources are limited - and the keywords by which you can find the necessary information will be remembered by themselves.

Find a note will be quick and easy.

First, there is a search with the function of leading input, which can recognize text even in pictures. For example, I drove into the search the first four letters of the word “memory” - and found photos that I once did in a bookstore.

Notes can be sorted and searched by change date.
Notes can also be searched through the atlas:

For example, if I suddenly cannot find a note on keywords, but I remember that I created it in Turkey, then Atlas will come to the rescue.

How to remember to create a note

To do this, I usually use two methods of mnemography:

Practical solution of problems with anki

Anki is a multi-platform application for interval repetition. As you already understood, it solves problems with the information that needs to be kept in mind.

Examples of the information I bring to anki:

How to use anki

Download the application . There are versions for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and iPhone. The iPhone version is paid.
Create cards that you want to remember. For example, the height and location of Everest:

You can add pictures, links, sounds.

You can edit the appearance of the cards:


The repetition itself will look like this:


When you click “show answer”, you will be asked when to show the card next time:


By default, the increment ratio of 250% is set — that is, if you answer “just right”, the interval increases 2.5 times. In the settings you can change it.

Video “anki's tips and secrets”

Rules of working with anki

1. Come in anki every single day! This should become a habit: no matter what happens, no matter how little time - you can not skip classes in anki (this will not cause problems, given that on average one session will take 10 minutes a day, and you can pass it on the phone in the subway or in the queue. The most important thing is to realize that this is the only way to effectively memorize and remember for a long time).
2. Create simple cards that can be given an unequivocal answer. As in the example above: the height and location of Everest? - 8848 meters, China. An example of a bad card: “Describe Everest” (at first I created about such cards - and this is the most waste of time).
3. Create cards depending on what you need to remember. For example, you want to remember that Susan Dzheggi and Martin Bushkul conducted a study of working (short-term) memory and noticed the connection between the development of working memory and the level of IQ. The meaning of the study will be remembered by itself, so it will be necessary to repeat the names of scientists (university, year of study, etc.). I limited myself to names and university, and my card looks like this:
4. Be honest. You can not remember the answer - click "I do not remember", even if after viewing it already seems obvious; can not remember the answer instantly - click "difficult."

I have indicated the most basic, in my opinion. There is an article in English with 20 rules for compiling cards .

How to memorize cards

Most often, it is more convenient to apply one or another method of mnemotechnics. For example, remember that the height of Everest is 8848 meters, paying attention to the fact that the first consonant letter in the word “Everest” is “in”, it is also the first consonant letter in the number 8. Approximately imagine that the height is equal to 8800 meters plus 48 more ( monkey chromosomes) meters. Imagine that Everest was conquered by a monkey. Such associations will allow you to easily remember this number.
The names of scientists can be memorized by associating them with the names of people you already know. If not, try to find other associations. Sometimes, of course, it will be easier just to memorize. To memorize the names of Susan Jaggy and Martin Bushkühl, I used only one association: Martin’s name is the same as the main character of the book “Martin Eden”.

Afterword

As a person who has devoted the last two years of his life to the study of practical issues of memory use, I can safely say that it is senseless to rely on one’s own memory, no matter how good it is, a system is needed. However, the system will only work if you use it systematically.
Every day, go to anki to repeat the cards you created, write down and note all the important information, and after a while the quantitative changes in your daily small efforts will turn into the qualitative consequences of having an ideal memory.