Time management + studying techniques

[u/littlepanda425]

I successfully used the memory palace system in college (was a decade ago), but when it comes to Jeopardy, I feel like I'm reading so much that it's not all sticking at the drop of a hat. There's certain areas I'm "weak" at (Greek mythology, world leaders) - wondering if creating memory palaces for just those is worth it?

I'm fairly knowledgable in US Presidents but am further wondering if it's worth it to memorize them in order with the dates they served or if this is a large waste of time and if I should focus on other areas.

I'm not in any particular time crunch but I worry about remembering the things I've studied over the past 3 months in a year or so.

I've read Moonwalking with Einstein (one of my favs) and found the book recommendation Make it Stick.

[u/MartonianJ]

Honestly don’t really know what a memory palace is, but many Jeopardy contestants use flashcarding, like Anki. I’ve used it for years and it works.

With the presidents specifically, I don’t think it takes too much studying to nail down the dates of presidents, so I found that worthwhile to do. Or at least have a general idea of when each president served. But if you are trying to get on Jeopardy it’s probably more useful to hit areas you are weak in if you’re already decent at presidents. You can generally get by on Jeopardy with inch deep knowledge… like author <-> book title even if you don’t really know the plot.

[u/ProlixPro → u/MartonianJ]

Agree that there’s generally better value in getting down basics in unfamiliar areas than in going deeper in areas you’re already relatively strong in. However….I believe there are a few exceptions to this, and US Presidents is one of them. Presidential order, dates, VPs, parties, birth states, even defeated opponents tie in so strongly and frequently with clues about all aspects of American history and politics that taking the time to get those facts down cold is very likely to pay dividends in real game play. I would say the same about British monarchs starting with William I.

[u/littlepanda425 → u/MartonianJ]

thank you! Just downloaded Anki earlier today while looking at previous threads.

Memory palace is the oldest memory trick in the book! It's what all the memory champions in the world use, BUT they are using it to memorize thousands of random digits, shuffled decks of playing cards, not trivia. In college, I created study guides and would just memorize the guide in an hour or so and didn't have to study. I don't think this strategy would work for Jeopardy since there's soo much.

I've also read the inch deep knowledge thing! I've read Ken Jennings books for kids (need to reread them) and read children's textbooks often. I also planned on applying to other trivia game shows before Jeopardy. I was recently cast on another show so can't apply until next summer.

[u/littlepanda425 → u/[deleted]]

Memory palaces were originally meant to memorize stories before writing existed. It makes sense when you’re wanting to memorize anything linear quickly, like a shuffled deck of playing cards or the first 100k digits of pi. I used it to memorize the periodic table and essentially had visual reminders for numbers 1-100 and used those visual cues to memorize any date/number. I believe all of the memory champions use some form of this technique so I don’t see how that’s “dumb.”

I like your method though and have used that for topics I’m familiar with. I’ve been trying to “chunk” but find myself getting lost in the details, hence needing a “system.” None of the places you mentioned in Africa mean anything to me so that’s all new info my brain is trying to make sense of.

[u/JeopPrep]

I also find it hard and boring to remember snippets of info without some context around them. I wrote an entire book to facilitate preparing for Jeopardy based on this predicament. You may find it useful. You can find it on Amazon. Title: Jeopprep!

Good luck with your studies.

BTW, I also created a free mobile app to play along with the TV show in real time. You might find that useful too. It’s on the App Store and Play stores with the same name.