[[Notes]] - Topics: [[Learning]], [[Productivity]] - People: Zach Highley - Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeEZJPJO474 --- ## Summary - Plan, preview, view, review, practice, and repeat. - Favour active recall and space repetition, using methods like Anki flash cards. - [[Don't memorize. Understand.]] - [[Spectacular achievement is always proceeded by unspectacular preparation]]. - [[Graduate your understanding by challenging it]]. - [[Convert information to questions to reveal what you truly understand]]. - Cultivate your learning system. [[We build systems to use them, not simply to maintain them.]] - [[Practice a system that exercises the mechanics of that medium]]. - [[Everything is practice]]. ## Notes - Zach is a 2nd year medical student in Philadelphia. - Active recall, space repetition, and practice testing are more effective study techniques. - The Anki flashcard method is key. From Anki, there are 2 techniques: Pomodoro (planned study and break time) and the [[Feynman technique]] (a learning and teaching technique). You can use both everyday. - Zach's entire strategy revolves around active recall, space repetition, and practice testing over more traditional techniques like highlighting, re-reading and summarizing. - In other words... - "Plan, preview, view, review, practice test, repeat". - Plan and review what you're about to study and learn the day before. - Show up (to lectures) prepared and knowledgable about the subject. - [[Spectacular achievement is always proceeded by unspectacular preparation]]. - [[Failing to prepare is preparing to fail]]. - [[Success is when opportunity meets preparation]]. - Learn (understand) better when showing up prepared. Lectures are opportunities to refine; From bad to good, or from [[Say no to good so that you can say yes to great|good to great]]. - When preparing to study, skim over the material to get a sense of what lies ahead. - [[When preparing, create a mental map of what lies ahead]]. When doing, start exploring based on your mental map. - Learn the lingo (terms). That way, you won't feel lost or surprised when jargon is used. - Watch a video or read the chapter just to **get a feel** for what you know and what you don't - what you understood and what you didn't. - Could you explain this topic to a friend? Could you present this topic? ([[Feynman technique]]) - If you were to quiz a friend, **what questions would you ask them**? - Create relevant flash cards from those questions. - [[Convert information to questions to reveal what you truly understand]]. - [[Don't memorize. Understand.]] - Understand the topic and the systems that make up that topic. - The little specific facts are important. But the general understanding is more important. - Create limited and specific Anki flash cards. - Discover what you don't understand by skimming, learning keywords, and reviewing a summary. Use Anki as an intentional technique to start practice testing yourself. - Understand the concepts. Don't just memorize. - Actively engage with the material when viewing (e.g. attending a lecture). - Think about questions that may be asked. Challenge the depth of your current understanding of that material. - Create Anki flash cards based on nay questions you may have. - [[Challenge your understanding by questioning yourself]]. - To challenge is to refine. - Review your Anki flash cards. Refine them to help you graduate your understanding of the material. - [[Graduate your understanding by challenging it]]. - Cultivate your learning system. [[We build systems to use them, not simply to maintain them.]] - Question yourself constantly. Actively space the questions you cannot yet answer apart. Do this so that one day you can answer them with confidence. - [[Everything is practice]]. - [[In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not]]. - When your brain feels like it's working harder, that means that your process is working. - Simplify the concept down to a single line on a post it note. - Cultivate and practice a system designed to prove your understanding through questions. - [[Practice a system that exercises the mechanics of that medium]]. - Develop systems for yourself to make it hard to fail. - [[Make it easier to succeed by making it harder to fail]]. ## Original ![[How I take zero notes in medical school-1.jpg]] ![[How I take zero notes in medical school-2.jpg]] ![[How I take zero notes in medical school-3.jpg]] ![[How I take zero notes in medical school-4.jpg]]