TheFunTheory.com – Rolighetsteorin.se

Forgot something lately? You probably want to rev up on your memorization approach. There are a lot of memorization methods available today and all you have to do is just choose what you think suits you best. Consider trying more than one memorization technique on your pursuit to improving and enhancing your memorization skill and you’ll surely feel a lot better after putting the technique to practice.

Mnemonics is a memorization tool which teaches you how to keep up with the important things that you need to remember or the errands that you need to do. You’ll notice that learning memorization technique such as peg method, loci or journey system and even the linkword technique; just a few to mention the different classifications of mnemonics, could noticeably change the way you’re able to retain information.

But even then, there is no perfect way to maximum memorization skills. It takes a lot of time, effort, motivation and interest for a person to be able to achieve something. And with memorization, the mentioned four are all important. This doesn’t even include yet the special skills like creativity and imagination. If you try to think about it, all of the factors mentioned here, especially the memorization skills are all part of the big picture – enhancing memorization.

Even experts suggests that in order for a person to remember better is for him to take initiative in reading, reflecting about what he has read, reciting it out loud and reviewing it afterwards to complete the process of remembering efficiently. Prior to that, a general view of what you need to memorize (e.i a law book) then backing it up with questions you could possibly ask along the way helps establish an even concrete studying goal.

After this stage, you can then choose a mnemonic technique you desire to help you create a connection of what you have just absorbed according to your own familiarities. You may perceive this to be a lot of work but with constant practice, you’d be picking out important names, words and dates out of your head in no time.

One of the issues that you might experience when learning to speed read, is thinking it takes a lot of time each day to get good.

Well if you do 15 minutes practice a day for 30 days you will start to see good results. To help you get the most out of those 15 mints if that’s all you can do a day, there is a basic one-minute speed reading exercise that you can perform a number of times in those 15 minutes of practice each day.

Ok, here are the basic steps of this one- minute speed reading stretching exercise:

Read for one minute and then count how many lines you have read.

Next read for another minute, this time reading two lines more than you did the first time.

Continue doing this adding 2 lines more each time, (2, 4, 6, 8, 10, etc).

Continue doing this until you are unable to comprehend what you are reading or unable to recall what you have just read.

Then Stick at this level until your comprehension and recall improve. And then speed up again.

One important point about speed reading is this. Speed reading is called speed reading so people seem to think is all about reading as fast as you possibly can, but if you are reading so fast that you are unable to comprehend what you read you are wasting your time. Speed comes in time so just remind yourself of this key principle of speed reading:

“Always read for good comprehension and recall.”

You need to concentrate to speed read well, if you are unable to understand and remember what you read you will find that your concentration will drift and as a result you will become board and want to stop reading.

As you do this exercise regularly over time your concentration ability will improve as it does you can extend this exercise to 2 minutes, then 4, then 6 and so on for as long as you are able and comfortable to do.

Another big piece that is important to work on in order to become a fast speed reader, is to boost your speed reading stamina, your speed reading stamina is the amount of time you are able to read at speed for with good comprehension and recall. Boosting your speed reading stamina will help you to train and recondition your brain to reading at faster speeds and so will allow you to get all of the benefits of speed reading faster.

See or make connections between ideas that seem far apart, look to nature for models and principles to solve problems, make the familiar strange and the strange familiar, cultivate curiosity, ask lots of questions, observe, be a good listener, and read to generate questions. Reading without reflecting is comparable to eating without digesting. These are but some of the many useful bits of advice that Dr. John Adair offers in The Art of Creative Thinking.

Dr. Adair was kind enough to answer some questions that occurred to me as I read his book.

Q: You have written books about time management, team building, strategic leadership, growing leaders, decision making and problem solving, effective leadership and management and many others. What motivated you to write a book about the art of creative thinking?

Dr. Adair: Two reasons. First, on a personal level I am always looking for ways to enhance my own creativity, so this book is a record of my own journey. Secondly, I believe that creative thinking (having ideas) and innovation (bringing them to market) are vital today for any form of human enterprise.

Q: To be a great leader do you have to excel as a creative thinker?

Dr. Adair: You certainly have to be a clear thinker with a good strategic mind. A great leader, in the qualitative rather than historical sense of ‘great’, is creative, simply because excellent leadership and creativity are two sides of the same coin. It’s about inspiring and drawing the greatness out of people, releasing creative talents, building teams and – ultimately – making a better world. What could be more creative than that?

Q: I can’t think of anything that could be more creative than making a better world. What would you recommend to young managers who aspire to gain a reputation in their organization as being capable of generating innovative and creative ideas?

Dr. Adair: Yes, to have a good idea and to make it happen successfully is a sure way to make your name. It depends, of course, on the ethos of the organization. It won’t do you much benefit if you work in that organization I won’t name whose chief executive said the other day: “Change? That is the last thing we want; things are bad enough already.”

Q: In your book you advise your readers to practice serendipity, which your readers may be surprised to learn is a term that originates back to the mid 1700’s. How does one practice serendipity?

Dr. Adair: Serendipity is the happy knack of making discoveries (or having new ideas) when you are least looking for them. Know it can happen and don’t be surprised when it does.

Q: Do you need to have a “prepared mind” in order to be creative?

Dr. Adair: It certainly helps. All sorts of ingredients go into the making of a prepared mind. It isn’t just a matter of being free to be attentive, vital as that attribute is.

Q: Could you please tell me about your concept of the “Depth Mind” and how it relates to creativity?

Dr. Adair: The “Depth Mind”, as I called it, is central to creativity. What it means is that much of our analyzing, synthesizing and valuing goes on at an unconscious level, and in some cases the resulting ‘product’ is a new idea that rises suddenly or gradually into the surface mind. This process is exceptionally well attested in the biodata on creative people, from the talented to gifted. Most people are familiar with the Left Brain and Right Brain distinction. More recently brain research has, I believe, confirmed my “Depth Mind” hypothesis by identifying it in the Rear Brain – it is the Front Brain that does all our conscious thinking.

Q: You wrote that one way to develop your curiosity is to ask more questions when talking with others and when thinking. You called it “talking in your mind to yourself”. Does that mean we need to become more child-like in asking questions, and never cease to ask more questions?

Dr. Adair: Yes, you have hit the nail on the head. Or rather the bolt. For you should think of questions as a set of spanners – hammers are useless- that release the bolts of the Pandora’s Box of creative ideas that are potentially present in every meeting you will ever have. The trick is to open the boxes of other people’s Depth Minds! It’s hard work being a creative thinker – let others do it for you and then build on their ideas.

Q: You advise that one of the best ways to train ourselves in observation is drawing or sketching. Do you recommend that in order to increase our creative thinking abilities we should go to art college or at least take some lessons on how to draw?

Dr. Adair: Drawing teaches you to see things as they really are. It also frees you from the tyranny of fearing other people’s comments on your efforts. It also uses parts of the brain you don’t normally utilize. You may not become an artist like your teacher, but you can pick up a lot of crumbs under the table about what it means to be a creative person.

Q: You point out that creative thinkers are good listeners and also there is a great deal of benefit from reading and reflecting on what we read. Do you think there is a risk of people becoming less creative with increased exposure to mass media and reliance on quick sources of information such as internet search engines?

Dr. Adair: There are no signs of people becoming less creative – it’s amazing how many people are creative today in an enormous variety of ways. Mass media and the internet are sources of information and ideas, so I have nothing against them except as time management hazards. You do need time to think, and over-indulgence in the media or running down Google’s endless ladders may not be cost-effective from the creative thinking perspective.

Q: You said that preconceived ideas, which we all have, are really dangerous when they are below our level of awareness. Does this mean that the most creative thinking will most often be done in collaboration with others, because it is easier to recognize unconscious assumptions in others?

Dr. Adair: As a Chinese proverb says, No man is wise by himself. The same holds true for creative thinking. It is a social activity, although paradoxically you may spend much time on your own – as writers, composers and artists do. You should, with a little practice, soon begin to discern an unconscious assumption that some one else is making. And if anyone points out to you what you are taking for granted unawares, then they are doing you a very good turn and you should thank them.

Creative thinking always involves this sort of team work. A parting word of encouragement, the worst unconscious assumption you can make is that you are not a creative thinker. You may, of course, be right, but you will never know until you put into practice the principles I have outlined in The Art of Creative Thinking. The trouble is that we don’t know ourselves very well in some respects and we tend to be poor judges of our own creative potential. So experiment, have fun, and give yourself a few surprises.

Conclusion: This is a book that should be read by those who wish to develop their ability to generate more creative ideas at work or in their personal life, and therefore be more successful. In case we should become discouraged John Adair reminds us that a lot of our efforts will not be very creative in themselves, but will support future creative thinking as we engage in analyzing, synthesizing, imagining and valuing. Dr. Adair recommends that the aspiring creative thinker keep a commonplace notebook — a necessary tool for creative thinking.  Writing information makes it become a part of you, make entries as they occur to you, do not try to be systematic, record what stimulates, interests or is memorable (let your instincts or intuition decide what is worth writing down), include inspirational quotations, stories and examples, don’t worry whether the idea is right or wrong and, don’t look at your entries very often so when you do they will spark creativity.

Dr. Adair’s website is located at www.johnadair.co.uk/ .

BBQ - Event Plan

Author: Jamie Nast
Idea Mapping is a simple and profound tool that helps individuals improve planning, creativity, thinking and learning while simultaneously creating and producing incredible results. An idea map is a colorful, single-page diagram that visually captures issues we face each day. This technique gives people the increased ability to more competently plan, organize, communicate, remember, innovate, and learn — and accomplish these faster than ever before! By engaging both hemispheres of the brain, this approach frees us to think, see, and understand far more efficiently than when using a multi-page, linear document outlining the same information. The associative process that Idea Mapping uses is easy to learn and mirrors how the brain naturally and freely connects information. This book teaches readers how to create and read idea maps, describes the three keys to developing idea maps, and guides readers in overcoming potential obstacles when initially learning this skill. Idea Mapping includes a wide array of actual maps (and the stories behind them) created and used by 21 business people around the globe. Whether you’re an overwhelmed businessperson, an overworked entrepreneur, or someone who just wants to solve problems better and faster, Idea Mapping is a perfect guide for anyone who wants to work more efficiently—and achieve success in business and life.

The following strategies are offered to help students develop a more efficient and effective memory. This listing is by no means exhaustive, but rather is meant as a place to begin.

1. Take the mystery away.

The first and perhaps most important strategy is to insure that all students understand how memory works and identify their particular profiles of memory strengths and challenges. Then, students should be taught memory management strategies.

2. Give directions in multiple formats.

Students benefit from being given directions in both visual and verbal formats. In addition, their understanding and memorizing of instructions could be checked by encouraging them to repeat the directions given and explain the meaning of these directions. Examples of what needs to be done are also often helpful for enhancing memory of directions.

3. Teach students to over-learn material.

Students should be taught the necessity of “over-learning” new information. Often they practice only until they are able to perform one error-free repetition of the material. However, several error-free repetitions are needed to solidify the information.

4. Teach students to use visual images and other memory strategies.

Another memory strategy that makes use of a cue is one called word substitution. The substitute word system can be used for information that is hard to visualize, for example, for the word occipital. These words can be converted into words that sound familiar that can be visualized. The word occipital can be converted to exhibit hall (because it sounds like exhibit hall). The student can then make a visual image of walking into an art museum and seeing a big painting of a brain with big bulging eyes (occipital is the region of the brain that controls vision). With this system, the vocabulary word the student is trying to remember actually becomes the cue for the visual image that then cues the definition of the word.

5. Give teacher-prepared handouts prior to class lectures.

Class lectures and series of oral directions should be reinforced by teacher-prepared handouts. The handouts for class lectures could consist of a brief outline or a partially completed graphic organizer that the student would complete during the lecture. Having this information both enables students to identify the salient information that is given during the lectures and to correctly organize the information in their notes. Both of these activities enhance memory of the information as well. The use of Post-Its to jot information down on is helpful for remembering directions.

6. Teach students to be active readers.

To enhance short-term memory registration and/or working memory when reading, students should underline, highlight, or jot key words down in the margin when reading chapters. They can then go back and read what is underlined, highlighted, or written in the margins. To consolidate this information in long-term memory, they can make outlines or use graphic organizers. Research has shown that the use of graphic organizers increases academic achievement for all students.

7. Write down steps in math problems.

Students who have a weakness in working memory should not rely on mental computations when solving math problems. For example, if they are performing long division problems, they should write down every step including carrying numbers. When solving word problems, they should always have a scratch piece of paper handy and write down the steps in their calculations. This will help prevent them from loosing their place and forgetting what they are doing.

8. Provide retrieval practice for students.

Research has shown that long-term memory is enhanced when students engage in retrieval practice. Taking a test is a retrieval practice, i.e., the act of recalling information that has been studied from long-term memory. Thus, it can be very helpful for students to take practice tests. When teachers are reviewing information prior to tests and exams, they could ask the students questions or have the students make up questions for everyone to answer rather than just retelling students the to-be-learned information. Also, if students are required or encouraged to make up their own tests and take them, it will give their parents and/or teachers information about whether they know the most important information or are instead focused on details that are less important.

9. Help students develop cues when storing information.

According to the memory research, information is easier retrieved when it is stored using a cue and that cue should be present at the time the information is being retrieved. For example, the acronym HOMES can be used to represent the names of the Great Lakes – Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior. The acronym is a cue that is used when the information is being learned, and recalling the cue when taking a test will help the student recall the information.

10. Prime the memory prior to teaching and learning activities.

Cues that prepare students for the task to be presented are helpful. This is often referred to as priming the memory. For instance, when a reading comprehension task is given, students will get an idea of what is expected by discussing the vocabulary and the overall topic beforehand. This will allow them to focus on the salient information and engage in more effective depth of processing. Advance organizers also serve this purpose. For older students, CliffNotes or other similar study guides for pieces of literature are often helpful aids for priming the memory.

11. Use Post-Its.

The use of Post-Its for jotting down information can be helpful for students who have short-term memory or working memory challenges.

12. Activate prior knowledge.

In order to enhance the likelihood that students will elaborate on new incoming information, teachers should activate their prior knowledge and make the new information meaningful to them. An easy way of accomplishing this task is to ask, “What do you know”, “What do you want to know”.

13. Give extended time.

If students have difficulty with the speed of retrieving information from memory, they should be given extended time for taking tests so that a true picture of what they know may be gained.

14. Use multisensory methods.

When learners, both young and old, experience something through multiple senses, they are much more likely to remember it. Use a Multisensory approach by engaging as many of the senses as possible when teaching (seeing, touching, hearing, smelling, and tasting).

15. Review material before going to sleep.

It should be helpful for students to review material right before going to sleep at night. Research has shown that information studied this way is better remembered. Any other task that is performed after reviewing and prior to sleeping (such as getting a snack, brushing teeth, listening to music) interferes with consolidation of information in memory.

If you want to improve your game then it is not only your physical fitness that counts, you should also have the right mindset. Those people who want to get better at playing golf need to be able to deal with the mental challenge of clearly focusing on what you are trying to achieve. This is true of most sports, when a player loses their mental focus then their game deteriorates, no matter how fit they are. If you want to play golf then you have to teach yourself to focus and concentrate on the job in hand, the minute your concentration slips you will find yourself losing control of the game.

Just think about the top high ranking golfers for a minute, have you ever wondered how they consistently get longer drives and good shots? The secret is in their mental attitude, they refuse to allow thoughts of failure to interfere with their game, for them it is all about winning. Some golfers engage the services of a personal coach to help them develop a positive mental attitude and the ability to ignore any of the other things that might interfere with their game.

Developing the right mental attitudes when you are playing golf is an essential part of becoming a good golfer and improving your game. Taking control of your breathing is one way of becoming a better player, take a deep breath and then breathe out slowly – when you do this you will feel the tension go out of your body and this will impact on the type of shot that you take. Taking control of your thinking can reduce your handicap by half in a very short time – just think of the results you might achieve if you were always in the frame of mind that produces a good swing and drive.

Many new golfers don’t realize how important their mental attitude is to improving their game. They do everything that their instructor tells them, including a good golfing fitness program, but they still have a high handicap and not enough control over their swing. One of the problems that new golfers face is that their mind is on other things when they take their swing. Instead of concentrating on what they want to achieve in their game many new golfers worry about the way they are holding their clubs or the fact that they are being watched by a group of people. Mental training helps golfers to rise above these things and to improve their game.

If your in the senior golf category it gets even tougher. Fatigue and forgetfulness set in and can result in several blow up holes later in the round. Focusing on your mental training can definitely improve this situation, but it does take a concerted effort on your part.

If you are really keen on improving your swing and drive and reducing your handicap then you should make mental golf training as much a part of your routine as your fitness training.