M2M — Week 2–Card Memorisation
This month my aim is to complete the first two challenges of my Month to Mastery (M2M) accelerated learning program. These are:
- memorise the order of a shuffled deck of playing cards in under four minutes
- complete one continuous set of 100 push ups
In this post, I’ll be breaking down my methodology, learnings and attempts from Week 2 of the card memorisation challenge. In case you missed it, you can view my post from Week 1 here.
Recap — My First Full Deck Memorisation Attempt
So where were we…
On Day 8, I recorded my first full deck memorisation attempt. Here’s the video:
As covered in this post, it took me 12:49 minutes to memorise the deck and a further 21:37 minutes for recall, with 50 out of 52 cards correct. Safe to day there’s still some work to do. Let’s get to it.
09.12.19 — Day 9— Planning ahead
Encouraged by my near-perfect recall attempt yesterday, but also slightly concerned by the amount of time spent on memorising and recalling the deck, I decided to put in place a learning schedule, using Groups-Per-Minute (GPM) milestones to track my progress.
One GPM refers to one 3-card image using the PAO system (covered in Week 1). Here are the milestones I’m aiming for:
Day 11: 1.5 GPM -> 11:20 minutes memorisation
Day 14: 2 GPM -> 8:30 minutes memorisation
Day 19: 3 GPM -> 5:40 minutes memorisation
Day 23: 4 GPM -> 4: 15 minutes memorisation
Day 25: 4.25 GPM -> 4 minutes memorisation
Day 30: 4.5 GPM -> 3:46 minutes memorisation
As you can see, I’m aiming to complete this challenge by the 25th of December. As this is Christmas day, it would be a much appreciated ‘gift’. Also, should I finish the challenge by then, it will free up as much time as possible to spend with family and friends over the new year.
It’s easy to get distracted. Here are some accessories I use to keep me focused:
1. Pro Metronome App
Although I tested a few metronome apps, this one was the only one that simultaneously:
- offers a very low speed BPM option
- is completely free (for our purposes)
- gives users the ability to change beat tones and accents
When memorising at a rate of 1.5 GPM, I set the tempo to the lowest possible value (12 BPM), with a time signature of 8/8. Then, I mute all the beats (from 2–8) except the first one, resulting in a single audible beat every 40 seconds (12/8 = 1.5 BPM). Once I hear the beat, I move on to the next 3-card group.
2. Bose QuietComfort 35 Wireless Headphones (Series I)
Noise cancelling earphones are a must when memorising on public transport, coffee shops — and even at home if you have loud flatmates...
I use the Series I version as I already had a pair and they do a decent job, but if you can, I’d recommend the Series II version which comes with 3 levels of noise cancelation. I’m sure other brands have similar, and cheaper, alternatives.
3. High Quality Card Deck
Don’t underestimate the importance of this. If the cards you use are dirty and torn, you won’t enjoy the process of memorising and will end up distracted more often. Worse even, you might begin associating certain rips or stains to specific cards and fool yourself into believing you’ve actually memorised them.
I‘d recommend these: https://tinyurl.com/usho4js
The pack includes two waterproof decks for under £10. The quality is great, surviving two backpacking trips to India and South America. The card’s only flaw is that, surprisingly, the pack cover is not waterproof — so although the cards do not get damaged, the cover doesn’t last. Seems like a design oversight to me.
10.12.19 — Day 10—Rest Day
My brain, in particular my Mind Palace, was beginning to get crowded. Nothing quite like a day off to reset.
11. 12 .19 — Day 11 — Resolving PAO conflicts
Today, I started using the metronome app. I find it helps me pace myself and focuses the mind.
Here’s my practice log:
- *1.5 GPM — 27 cards* = 11:20 memorisation, 7:06 recall
22/26 correct - *1.75GPM — 27 cards* = 8:20 memorisation
24/26 correct - *1.75 GPM — 52 cards* = 8:20 memorisation: 19:35 recall
50/52 correct
By working at higher speeds, I was able to discover problems with my PAO system that had remained under the radar up until now. For example, I generally struggle to visualise Marcus Aurelius, the Roman emperor (5 of Clubs). However, when I imagine an emperor I conceptualise a commanding person riding a horse into battle, so I changed the card image to a powerful white horse. Majestic and unforgettable.
Also, four different cards in my PAO system corresponded to actions or objects related to fire/smoking. As a result, when it came to recall, I was unable to consistently distinguish between them (e.g. “In my bedroom, was Queen Elizabeth smoking a cigarette or a cigar??”). In such instances I changed conflicting actions and objects to something completely different.
Additionally, my recall time is still way too long. From now on, once 12 minutes of recall have elapsed, I’ll immediately begin comparing the two decks. After all, If I‘m unable to recall it after that period, I haven’t memorised it properly.
12.11.19 — Day 12 — Roast Lamb > Memorising Cards
I (unintentionally) took the day off today, getting caught up in other work. On the bright side, I visited visiting and grabbed lunch at Borough Market (which I had somehow never been to) with my girlfriend — connecting with my greek roots through a delicious roast lamb dish in the process.
Later on, I excitingly returned to football training, after nearly two months away. I always find that playing sports helps to clear any negativity, energise the body and motivate the mind.
13.11.19 — Day 13 — Creating a Visual PAO Matrix
Over the last few days, through several attempts at memorising a full deck, it has become evident that the cards I have the most difficulty recalling belonged to two suits: clubs & spades.
I needed to find a new way of engraining these images in my brain. I tried something radical. For every card belonging to those two suits (26 cards total), I created a visual PAO matrix. My hope is that by having clearly defined the PAO instances in a visual way, memorisation will be quicker and recall easier.
Below you can see the instances for the 2, 3 & 4 of Clubs ♣
And here, the instances for the 10, Jack & Queen of Spades ♠️
Now, whenever I need to visualise 2pac (2 of Clubs ♣️), I’ll automatically think of him wearing a green jacket, white cap and gold chain.
14.11.19 — Day 14 — Taking a step back (to then go two forward?)
I’m getting slightly worried as I don’t feel like I’m getting enough practice in. With each full-deck attempt lasting around 30 minutes (memorisation + recall), I usually only manage a single full attempt and a few PAO run-throughs before my allocated time for the day is up.
Also, I’ve noticed that with all the PAO changes implemented this week, I’m spending more time than I should encoding 3-card groups into a single image. Therefore, I’ve decided to take a step back and focus on high-repetition PAO training today without placing the images in my Mind Palace.
15.11.19 — Day 15 — Video Memorisation Attempt no2
It’s the big day! Time for my second video attempt…
I’ve trimmed it down and sped up the boring parts. Full video (on Youtube) can be found here.
The process can be separated into 3 parts. Timings refer to full-length video
1. Memorisation
starts at 00:45 and ends at 9:58
It took me 9:13 minutes to memorise the deck, an improvement of 3:36 minutes from last week.
The metronome was actually set for 8:30 minutes but I spent an extra 43 seconds at the end checking the first few cards of the deck to jolt my memory. This is still over 2x more than the 4 minute success metric I’m aiming for, and I’m slightly behind on schedule put out on Day 9.
2. Recall
starts at 10:24 and ends at 27:40
It took me 17:16 minutes to recall the order of the deck. I know, I know, I didn’t stick to the 12 minute recall maximum… I’ll keep trying to reduce this over the subsequent attempts.
3. Simultaneously flipping both decks
starts at 28:15 and finishes at 30:58
Crunch time… I managed to get 48/52 cards correct! I incorrectly placed the 3 of Hearts, 9 of Hearts, 2 of Clubs and Jack of Clubs. On a positive note, the new visual PAO matrix seems to have improved my recall for cards belonging to the Spades suit, which had been causing me continuous problems.
That’s a wrap for Week 2. Time to step up the intensity even further as we enter the second half of December. Will I make it?
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