Learning without memory is fruitless

As I’m taking the time to read and write more often, I’m also trying to work on ways to better retain what I’m learning. For years, I’d read books and pick up new ideas, but those ideas would quickly fade in the months after reading the book.

Because of that, when I read books now I often wonder if maybe I’ve read that same book in the past and simply don’t remember it, as I explained about “Essentialism” in this post a while back.

That post about Roam Research is a big part helping me remember what I read, and I outlined it a bit more in the post about my big reading shortcut. In many cases, I’m literally putting more effort into remembering what I read than I actually put into the reading itself.

Anki and Memory Palaces

I’ve mentioned other memory tools that I’ve used, such as Anki, which gives me a handful of flashcards each day to help me recall things that I’ve chosen to remember. I get into more depth about Anki in my post about the Digital Efficiency Framework if you want to see how it fits into my day.

There are also techniques like The Memory Palace that I’ve read about and understand, but really haven’t make much use of. Joe Turner does an excellent job of teaching some of those kinds of techniques, so reach out to him if you need help with learning new…