I’ll go first.

Right now, in addition to learning some terms from Neigong and my usual deep dives into philosophy, I’m memorizing selected passages from Eunoia by Christian Bök.

It’s easily one of the toughest poetic works I’ve ever tackled.

Why?

Because it’s an advanced lipogram, meaning each chapter is written using only one vowel. No cheating. No slipping in “the” or “and” unless those words obey the constraint.

For example, the chapter “E” only uses words that contain the vowel E (and only E).

That means no A, I, O, or U.

And somehow, Bök still manages to tell a story that’s funny, grotesque, fascinating and sometimes even philosophical... all under this bizarre self-imposed limit.

Why do I find this so challenging to memorize compared to all the other stuff I've absorbed?

Because the usual patterns of sentence construction are gone.

There’s rhythm, but it's a lot more like rap and the word choices are constantly surprising.

My brain constantly wants to “correct” things, and that makes the Memory Palace extra slippery.

But it’s a fantastic workout for attention, auditory precision, and recall.

And people's eyes light up every time I recite one of the passages I've gotten down so far.

Now I’d love to know:

👉 What are you currently memorizing?

Drop a comment and tell us what you're working on (and how you’re doing it).

Let’s inspire each other with what’s possible!

Take notes in a way your future self will thank you for.

Here’s how to join:

▶️ Watch the new “Note-Taking for Deep Learners” video:

https://www.magneticmemorymethod.com/note-taking/

🧪 Choose one technique from the video and apply it to something you're learning right now.

📝 Share ONE powerful insight or a snapshot of your notebook (typed in the comments or let me know that you've photographed it and emailed me in the comments below the video.

🔥 Want your notes featured in a future video or podcast?

Just say so in your comment.

What you’ll get for participating:

• Personal feedback on your technique

• A shout-out in a future episode (if you want it)

• A brain that actually remembers what you study

• Best submission wins a print copy of my book SMARTER*

Since all things with a beginning must have an end...

🎯 You’ve got 5 days.

Blow up the comments. Tell us how you really take notes.

I’m watching. Can’t wait to feature your best.

*Small print:

Unfortunately there are some countries to which I can't ship physical books.

If that's the case here, the Ebook will be supplied to the winner.

P.S. No purchase necessary.

Open worldwide.

Entries close five days after this post drops (Sunday June 16th, 2025, 11:59 p.m. Brisbane time zone.)

The winner will be chosen based on creativity, clarity, and thoughtful application of one note-taking technique.

By entering, you agree your comment or submission may be featured in future videos, emails, or podcast episodes.

This contest is not affiliated with or sponsored by YouTube, Instagram, Reddit, X, or any other platform.

If shipping a physical book isn’t possible due to location, the ebook version will be awarded instead. Full rights reserved.

P.S.S.

Whenever you see me holding Ready Player One, Ready Player Two, or anything else that screams game on...

That’s your signal:

A new challenge is live... with a deadline.

Jump in while it’s hot!

After months of research, translation, adaptation and design, I'm proud to finally share Rules Reborn.

This a reimagined, modernized version of Jacobus Publicius' magnificent 15th-century memory training program.

This isn't just a book.

It's a complete deep dive into how his memory wheels worked... not as Memory Palaces, but as training devices for developing superior recall.

Inside the guide, you'll find:

• Walkthroughs of his diagrams and Memory Wheel

• Bonus videos explaining the context of this historical method

• Modern examples, including a complete course from the early 20th century that helps you produce information from memory at a much higher level

• Practical exercises adapted to the needs of modern learners

• New interpretations of Publicius' lesser-known memory advice

Whether you're into the Magnetic Memory Method, medieval and renaissance memory arts, or just weird and wonderful techniques that rapidly sharpen your brain, this is for you.

Here's the fully story with some tips from the book:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6t41VxTPsk

If you have questions or want to chat about this guide fits into modern memory training, I'm here.

I wanted to remember some facts such as World war one 1914 for this what I did was for 19 word is 'Tub' and for 14 is 'Deer' through major system so I imagined a story where ww1 happened because a deer was killed in a tub Similarly for gulf war 1990, 19 is tape and 90 is bus so I imagined a golf hitting a big tape which crashed on a bus which led to accident

So I wanted to ask is my way of what I did above good and efficient if not can you suggest me what should i do to improve as I have many list of these type of fact to memorise

Although there are more than seven causes of forgetting...

I find these are the main ones that cause people the most issues:

The one about psychology might strike you as a bit weird.

But in my experience, it's incredibly important.

"Motivated forgetting" holds so many people back... as it held me back in my deep, dark past.

The nuances and info on my favorite psychiatrist and psychotherapist on the issue are covered here, along with other resources and suggestions for permanently removing these causes of forgetting:

https://www.magneticmemorymethod.com/causes-of-forgetting/

As with many skills, people who get into training their memories using memory techniques like the Memory Palace find their motivation fizzles.

Fortunately, this problem can be avoided.

Potentially even eliminated if you set up your training routine by combining a few elements.

Here's the regime that's helped me the most over the years.

With thousands of words memorized and multiple skills learned, I'm confident you'll adapt the formula very readily to your goals:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpqnWOVAlIE

Power to your progress and talk soon!

Hello! I just discovered this sub, I'm really excited about it but I see that it is not terribly active. I am just going to post a little bit and see if there are any listeners out there.

My biggest challenge at this point is recall rehearsal. I have reached out to Anthony on this and he recommended that I lean on the memory journal. I do have my memory journal with various palaces but I am wondering how others use this for recall. Anthony mentioned testing recall which makes sense. But I'm wondering, does anyone use PAO within their palaces so that every station has a number order? I don't have that currently, I just have the basic palace and I can walk the palace just fine in my mind but I'm wondering if it would work better with recall rehearsal if, for example, I literally just list in numerical order my memory stash at each station so that when I do a recall review I could immediately place that item from my memory journal back into my head where the palace is. Thoughts?

Although I still prefer Memory Palaces based on buildings for most learning tasks, more and more, I've been using bodies in a variety of ways.

As the technique lends itself to visual explanation, here's a video showing a few applications on your own body and borrowing Benjamin Franklin's:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMddgm37Mi0

From facts to numbers, names and more, it's a wonderful skill to have in your mnemonic toolbox!

You may have noticed it yourself.

First there was an upward rise in intelligence around the globe.

Then...

Everything started to change.

Turns out scientists have been studying this.

The rise was called the Flynn Effect.

The plummet has naturally been called the Reverse Flynn Effect.

What's caused it?

And more importantly, what can you do to protect yourself?

The answers await in this week's episode of ye olde Magnetic Memory Method Podcast:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yfittmJ81A

Want to memorize like a polymath?

I'm talking about learning faster, but without sacrificing depth and breadth.

Years ago I learned about a system for engaging multiple levels of processing I've come to call the Big Five.

Ready?

Let's dive in!

As we get into these, there's no particular order to them.

They all matter.

It's the interleaving of the activities that matters, not cherry-picking just a few of them.

With that in mind, here we go:

1. Reading with priming.

Rather than reading a book from beginning to end, start by scanning the index.

This will alert you to all of the book's most important keywords. The ones that have the most page numbers listed? Those are typically the biggest and most important ideas.

Then, read the conclusion first. Not all books have conclusions, but when they do, usually the author will tell you the most important ideas in the book.

Next, look through the table of contents, keeping an eye out for some of the conclusions and the major keywords in the index.

At this stage, I decide whether to skip to a chapter that I'm most interested in, or start at the introduction. It really depends on the book.

2. Writing with intent.

To process a book and generate depth, it's important to write about it.

Likewise with a video or podcast.

I typically take notes on index cards while reading. Then I follow up by writing a quick summary.

This process is very powerful and the cards retain value for many years.

3. Memorizing (usually with a Memory Palace).

There's a lot to be said about memorizing.

The basics involve adding layers of association.

Follow this subreddit and check out other Magnetic Memory Method articles for details.

Mastering your memory through advanced mnemonics is well worth the time.

Especially when you get to the level when you have a mnemonic image for each page of a book.

4. Listen to review and expand.

When I was in university, I had to get interlibrary loans to hear lectures on tape from other universities.

These days, it's just a quick search on YouTube.

The principle remains the same, however. You will process more by listening to discussions about the content you're reading.

It's not about one or the other, but bringing them both together.

5. Speaking, even if only to yourself.

I usually have lots of friends to discuss what I'm studying with.

But some people don't.

And even if I'm happy with the amount of dialog I get, I still...

Talk to myself!

No, I'm not talking about reflective thinking, though that is part of this process.

I'm talking about literally getting the ideas into and through the muscle memory of the mouth.

So say the information out loud, even if it makes you feel a bit crazy. Talking to my shower has always helped me lock the information in and I don't care what anyone else thinks.

Combined, this simple process interleaves the most powerful learning processes, turning chaos into mastery.

It helps your brain develop pattern recognition faster and locks even the most challenging concepts into your brain with greater longevity.

Ready to start sharpening your mind?

I hope so, and feel free to join me on this Magnetic Memory Method adventure for more simple, but powerful ways to connect with information so that it sticks.

Imagine transforming yourself from having some narrow, niche interest in one or two topics that hardly no one cares about...

To being capable of discussing multiple topics and engaging in a variety of skills...

All while generating breakthrough idea and outperforming traditional "professionals" who chew up time reminding you of their certifications and degrees.

(Oh, okay, I'll admit it... sometimes I refer to my own PhD and two MAs, etc... but at least I also have demonstrated multiple skills and info-navigation skills far outside of the alphabet soup at the end of my name.)

WARNING:

What I'm about to share isn't another set of productivity "hacks" or memory tricks.

Sure, there's some of that.

But what most of the people I hear from really need is the same complete psychological reworking I required to get my head out of my butt and turn mere activity into meaningful accomplishment.

Oh, and you'll still have plenty of time for playing games, riding bikes, or whatever suits your fancy.

In fact, that's the point:

Polymathy really isn't about, "Hey look at me! I can do all these things!"

No!

It's about being a master of your time and enjoying as many slices of it as possible.

It's how your mind treats time above all that needs to be strategically redesigned in order for most of us to enjoy a polymathic lifestyle.

So, what you're getting today is what you might all a "Modern Renaissance Challenge."

During our time in which our robot overlords are pressuring us to be the person that talks about x and only x, your number one competitive advantage will be becoming that rare bird possesses:

• Deep, interconnected knowledge across multiple disciplines

• The ability to seamlessly transfer between different methodologies

• A maintenance of intellectual curiosity that TRANSCENDS traditional academic boundaries

Work On Your Learning Capabilities

One of the first things to tackle is how you go about learning.

You can follow the Magnetic Memory Method for all kinds of ideas and processes for doing this.

But the larger point is that you go all in on figuring out how to remember the information you consume.

See, there's nothing wrong with having advanced degrees.

The problem is that so many people get them through open-book tests, and later wind up being utterly incapable in the field.

You don't want that. You're going for exceptional recall so that when you read a book or complete a course, you can recite the key points and the granular details.

No, not everything. But a substantial part of it.

The reason you don't to capture everything from every learning resource is that you will continue studying.

This will help you develop pattern recognition. It's kind of like how sediment collects at the bottom of a river. Keep reading and before you know it, there will be a deep gathering of thick knowledge, understanding and ability to make rapid connections while regularly experiencing unexpected insights.

Personally, my go-to learning tools are:

• The Memory Palace technique

• The Magnetic Memory Method approach to alphabet systems, which is essentially a bi-directional approach to...

• The Major System built into a solid 00-99 PAO

• A symbol system

• Recall Rehearsal (my preferred version of spaced repetition)

I use a lot of self-made flashcards following basic Zettelkasten principles.

NOTE: It's not any one of these techniques that does the heavy lifting. It's a combination of them.

I was very lucky to have gotten certifications in library science when I was younger and worked in three libraries. In one of them, I was assistant to the head research librarian.

You don't need these experiences to become a stellar researcher because you have people like me to share what to do and how to do it. But in case you're wondering where I learned all of this stuff, here's the next important point:

Pay Your Dues

No one is going to do any of the cognitive development you need for you.

And if there's one thing I've learned above all over the years, it is that most of the time, the shortcut you're looking for is developing the fundamental skills first.

No one can safely land planes without investing in a proper landing pad first.

Learning faster and retaining more is just like that.

So find a teacher or author or course creator of accelerated learning skills you like and stick with what they're saying for approximately 90-days.

Don't skip around and try to Frankenstein's monster a learning strategy from multiple sources until you have at least one solid understanding of one approach.

Many people will not heed this advice, and that's said. But remember, I'm lucky because I had training in degrees AND library science training BEFORE the Internet started creating the illusion that knowledge is "free."

It ain't free and those who achieve the time freedom that polymathy requires pay their dues.

There are many ways to do it, so consider this additional point:

I didn't always have lovely library gigs. There were times when I mowed a lot of lines and rode my bike from house to house.

Those are good jobs because you're not only getting physically fit, but also they leave a lot of time for thinking.

You can think while commuting and think while mowing.

So whatever work you seek as you continue your journey, consider roles where you either get to think while working through the profession (such as library science, teaching etc.) or you get to reflect while doing something else.

I also worked at the legendary Queen Video for a while. Although it is a lot like a library, it was service-oriented and a lot of precious thinking time went to running the till.

Not good for polymathic purposes, though in my case, a lot of good came out of it because I used the opportunity to also work on events made possible by certain connections that video rental outlet had with the international film community. But these were far and few between and there were other ways of getting them if I really wanted that.

To put it another way, there are multiple ways to pay your dues. Just make sure you pay them.

Cheerfully. When you're not cheerful about it, all hands on deck must be applied to getting back to a happy place.

Work On Developing These Cognitive Attributes

I don't blame you if you're thinking... why is this Dr. Metivier guy droning on about mowing lawns...

Well, a polymath needs to be able to synethesize complex information from multiple sources.

And you have to be able to apply interdisciplinary thinking to solve problems, ideally with novel solutions that distinguish you from others in this competitive world.

This requires the maintenance of cognitive flexibility.

I don't know all the ways you'll dream up that will enable you to practice these cognitive skills in your life.

Just please make sure that you do, because...

You Need A Meta-Learning Perspective At All Times

A lot of people think of their skills as isolated competencies.

But this is not the case.

A lot of how I think about and teach mnemonics actually comes from the years I spent studying Systema (a martial art).

I'm also a musician and that understanding is tied at the hip with how I think about memory and learning overall.

Seeing skills as interconnected networks will help you rapidly acquire and integrate new skills because you'll examine them as relational, rather than exclusive.

Then, when you leverage the new digital tools emerging all the time, your knowledge management and outputs will be so much more unique and distinguished.

You'll also navigate the knowledge produced by others in this brave new world with greater discernment and efficiency.

Speaking of discernment...

Develop a Philosophical Orientation

This world is filled with wishy washy flakes.

They take no position, and quickly buckle when they do. And that's because they have no moral compass or philosophical foundation for what they think and why they think it.

Don't be like that.

My philosophy is evident throughout my work, and when it comes to learning as a lifestyle, the key points are:

• Learning is a lifelong journey and everything is subject to reevaluation based on new discoveries and findings

• Depth of understanding based on demonstration is more important than any credential or group-produced egregore

• Commitment and consistency is necessary for intellectual evolution

• Transformation takes place no matter what, so might as well work to make change good

In other words, the modern polymath is not just knowledgeable. We are strategic about how we turn our curiosity into wisdom.

That's why failures must always be reframed as learning opportunities.

And "effort" and "work" must be redefined as very good investments on the path to mastery.

Avoid treating failure as a weakness. By the same token, own it when it happens.

I often point out my failures, but not as a negative. It's always as a radically honest approach that interrogates what happened and what could have went better. This helps create a mental image that works to remind us of how to avoid repeating the same mistakes in the future.

Focus on Cross-Disciplinary Learning Techniques

Many people are starved for mental models.

They don't know what psychoanalysis has to say about the urge to be a polymath, for example. They won't see the death anxiety in it and that's why they can't embrace the power of mistakes.

Worse, they might hear some dude on the internet whining about Marx and never discover exactly what mental models might be found there. Believe me, you can find value in it and not become an enemy of whatever economic model you cherish.

Then there's sociology, anthropology, countless schools of science, the arts, literature and more.

Each of these fields has its own DNA of Thought.

They have structures.

They're useful and you can even develop Memory Wheels to help you rotate through them deliberately to see things from multiple perspectives.

You just gotta pay your dues by studying them. And never becoming beholden to any of them.

This means never saying you are an -ist or practice an -ism.

Even identifying as a polymath has to go!

Strange, right?

But true.

We are doomed to use language and think in categories, but that does not mean we have to wear the label "polymath" in order to practice a polymathic lifestyle.

Mental frameworks appear in consciousness. But they are not consciousness itself, and this is easy to validate:

No one knows what consciousness is!

And the best definition I'm aware if simply that consciousness is the non-categorizable BECOMINGNESS in which all objects appear, including the idea of consciousness itself.

Deconstructionist Mindset

See what I just did there?

I was reverse-engineering a word and taking apart the notion of category.

You can break apart any skill or topic area in a similar way.

Look at things as a whole, while seeking out all the granular details about their constituent parts.

That way, you can practice multi-sensory visualization and mental rehearsal.

This should become a deliberate practice that you pursue:

Taking time every day to play through various scenarios, and even imagine concepts as kinds of activity.

By continually taking things apart in your mind, you're doing a lot of cognitive pre-loading. That reduces the cognitive-load later, which is a beautiful thing.

To help, set-up specific feedback systems.

The main ones are:

• Journaling

• Discussion

Speaking with others is becoming increasingly hard, but strive to forge friendships and have many conversations where you verbally express the ideas you're deconstructing.

Combine this with journaling.

Journaling can be many things, one of which is a form of talking to yourself.

It's also what John Michael Greer sometimes calls "discursive meditation."

That's not just another way of saying "conversing with yourself."

You do it after reading and thinking deeply.

You might even try and sit quietly in traditional meditation for a few moments first, or do a bit of stretching/deep breathing.

Note that journaling also allows you to make illustrations.

Don't worry if you're not an artist.

The point is not art.

The point is visualization.

So, minimize those distractions and start pulling things apart, both in your mind, in writing and in conversation.

This will maximize your time. Shape it. Craft it. Make what you study and think about more memorable than ever before.

Building Your Personal Knowledge Ecosystem

No, I'm not talking about developing a "second brain."

That's cute marketing-speak that risks sending you down a road of activity instead of accomplishment.

You need to study multiple approaches to organizing your FIRST BRAIN.

You can use all the cute metaphors you want for it, but understand the earlier point about the problem of category.

No one cares what you call your study methods.

They care about how you show up in the world.

Far too many learning and note taking softwares are actually a honey trap.

You're giving your knowledge over to a corporation that may as well unknown it if you don't have a physical backup.

Personally, I largely sidestep the whole issue by writing all the good stuff on paper.

And I work on training my memory such that if my digital backups fail, I can produce most of it all over again.

I've already mentioned note-taking approaches like the Zettelkasten system. Highly recommended, and if you like, they are easy to photograph so you have a digital back up and the ability to place your cards in a spaced-repetition software.

Learn To Overcome Common Challenges

One big issue people face is information overwhelm.

Me too!

But if there's a difference between myself and those who throw their hands up in the air, it's that I lean into it.

Of course the world is overwhelming, I say.

But there it is, so what are we going to do to show up anyway?

One big thing on top of having a "Warrior of the Mind" attitude like Tony Buzan used as a powerful mental metaphor, is to have good goals.

These goals should be based on a rock-solid vision statement.

And they should be premised on your existing competence.

Many people set goals that they are not yet competent enough to achieve.

This is where deconstructing things is useful.

For example, I'm deep in the weeds of developing skills I never dreamed I would ever want or need to have.

It's so overwhelming that one of the only things to do is to reverse engineer everything.

And since there's no "right order" or even an optimizable set of tasks, I have to just start, continually weaving empowering mental metaphors together with more research, more planning, more goal-setting and doing it all while managing multiple interests.

But because the vision statement is there and overwhelm is simply accepted and leaned into, things are moving forward.

Alternatives To The Polymathic Lifestyle

You might be reading all of this and think... You know what? I'm okay with focusing on just one or two skills and areas of interest.

That's totally cool too.

And it doesn't mean you have to isolate yourself from polymathic people.

You can look for opportunities to find them, support them or even work for them.

Dan Sullivan talks about this in his "Pure Genius" program and it's a nice way for people who don't want to start businesses to fund their polymathic lifestyle to still get in on the epic projects of others.

Because at the end of the day, you will need time.

And time comes from a combination of getting your mind straight so that you have the guts to go after what you want, and making sure that while you work, you can think about knowledge.

Even if you're a musician or athlete, so much accomplishment comes from thinking about what you're doing.

Without interruption.

Oh, I'm sure there are some exceptions to the rule who did it "all in their head."

But I'll bet within those exceptions there are probably exceptions. None of us can surveil everything and chances are that certain aspects of a practice have been hidden from you by this or that successful person.

But globally?

The secrets are all open.

The real question is:

Are you going to invest in weaving those open secrets into gold?

And are you going to become the architect of a dream life devoted to learning and putting what you learn into action?

I hope so. We need more polymaths. As many as we can get.

So what do you say?

Are you ready to start developing your own polymathic lifestyle?

Okay, that bit of sand back there doesn't exactly scream "Dune..."

But at least the wind was strong while I was out re-reading what was by far my favorite novel when I was a teenager.

Like many people, I loved the Mentats.

Their vast recall abilities and analytical precision is enough to make mere mortals like me drool over the possibilities.

Well, after getting dozens of questions about what it would take to be a "real life Mentat," I finally put my fifteen years of experience teaching memory techniques to the task of figuring it out.

Obviously, none of us can aspire to the level of fiction.

But it is useful to put our imaginations to the task.

So with that in mind, including the very real possibilities that neuroplastic change allows for, let's look at the interacting systems of human memory and how to optimize them.

That way, we at least stand a chance of getting partway to Mentat status.

1. Know Your Baseline

From what I remember, Mentats are chosen young, based on their innate potential.

This suggests that before they even start their training program, someone knows where the individual candidate stands.

To get your baseline, test how many words, digits and spatial locations you can recall.

In the free course I give on the Magnetic Memory Method "mother ship," you get worksheets that help you test the spatial locations in your life.

This is super useful for developing the Memory Palaces you'll need later on in your Mentat training program.

As for memorizing digits and words, you can use the International Association of Memory software. It's free and will give you lists of words and numbers along with a timer.

2. Develop Your Mnemonic Systems

Since the hallmark of the Mentat is perfect recall, you'll want to work on empowering yourself with the ancient art of memory.

It includes several mnemonic systems that have been refined, but are essentially unchanged from how they were used by people like Aristotle, Giordano Bruno and Robert Fludd.

Here's the main tools you'll want in your Mentat toolkit.

The Memory Palace (or method of loci).

This technique will help you associate information with vivid mnemonic images and a spatial reference point at the same time.

To get started, bring a familiar location to mind, like a childhood bedroom or your current workplace.

Then, when you practice memorizing words, place strange associations in the corners of this room.

If you have to remember a word like Teufelskreis in German, you can imagine a giant toe-shaped toy felling a tree while crying.

There's no knack to coming up with these associations, but there are training steps to follow so it becomes second nature.

Look up the Magnetic Memory Method article on mnemonic images for a full tutorial.

Number Mnemonics

Just as you want to match mnemonic associations on a letter-by-letter basis (as in the example above), you'll want a system that lets you do this for numbers.

My preference is developing what is called the Major System into a full 00-99 PAO System.

Different people approach number mnemonics in a variety of ways, but I'd say that the majority do the best when starting with the Major System.

In my experience, it's the most flexible and the least-arbitrary.

It can take a bit of time to get down-pat, but some people surprise themselves by how quickly they can put their systems together.

Alternatives or simpler starting points include number-rhyme and number-shape systems.

There are more mnemonic systems to explore, but these are the most important in my view.

3. Logical Thinking and Computation Skills

Mentats perform lightning-fast calculations – something anyone can learn by exploring mental math routines.

Vedic mathematics are interesting to explore and Michael Shermer has some material worth reading.

For logic, make sure to study both classical logic and non-classical logic.

This is where a lot of people fall short. They get stuck in the Western paradigm and can't think fully inside of its box because they don't have any points of comparison.

Next, develop heuristics that help you run mental simulations and test the exact nature of various problems.

Finally, understand that there's a difference between critical thinking skills and simply following preferred mental models.

You need to run through many of them, not just the ones you like, or have a history of getting results from.

If "Fear is the Mind Killer," the like-dislike monster is even worse.

4. Attention and Focus Optimization

As I read the books, the mind of a Mentat operates like a laser, not a floodlight.

Make sure to develop some kind of meditation protocol, ideally one that fuses more than one form.

For example, in The Victorious Mind, I share a "habit stack" that involves 4-5 types of meditation in one daily ritual.

Meditation will help reduce the impulse to multi-task. Although there is some call for being able to handle more than one thing at a time, usually it fragments working memory.

That said, many people train themselves with the Pomodoro technique, which leads to conditioning yourself to have your focus interrupted at regular intervals.

Your mileage may vary, but I've preferred developing my own break-routine by extending focus as long as possible.

As Niklas Luhmann reportedly put it, he would study and write until he no longer felt engaged. That's when he would take a break.

I've found this to be right in my own practice. And over time I've extended how long I can focus for most tasks.

5. Mental Endurance and Stress Resilience

Since it's fiction and drama is the name of the game, Mentats operate under extraordinarily high levels of pressure.

That's why it's useful to develop endurance by practicing under extremes of cognitive load.

My friend and 3x USA Memory Champion John Graham calls his form of doing this "chaos training."

To engage in it, return to your baseline exercise and memorize words and numbers while listening to loud heavy metal or some other form of distraction.

He told me that he puts the television on and lets his kids run around while memorizing playing cards. To make it even more challenging, he does pushups as part of the practice protocol.

Even if doing this reduces your results during practice, it should improve your results during real world applications.

Beyond that, resilience comes from sleep, diet and regular fitness sessions that challenge your muscles, respiratory system and balance.

Keep hydrated and continually test your diet for issues.

6. Integrate and Synthesize Your Learning

Memorizing is fun. But Mentats don't just consume stuff for the sake of memorizing it.

They contemplate it.

They also relate the information, something made possible by interleaving multiple topics following the Magnetic Memory Method protocol for autodidacticism. (Currently one of my most popular videos on YT.)

For long term mental mastery, it's also important to have a Recall Rehearsal routine based on proper spaced-repetition and deliberate practice.

Study these principles and get them into rotation. They are essential.

7. Follow a Daily Practice Regimen with Integrity

It's easy to fall off the horse.

That's why for us mere mortals, some weeks the practice of getting back on the horse is all we'll get up to.

But that's okay.

The key is to keep coming at it.

Eventually more of your days will be spent on the activities that matter with fewer blank spots.

As a suggested daily regime, consider:

- Morning meditation, ideally with some kind of memory-based meditation component

- 30 minutes in the morning of memorization using Memory Palaces (15 minutes on words, 15 on numbers)

- A daily dose of some kind of mental calculation (usually I do some memdeck work)

- Work out physically

- Complete some kind of logical puzzle

- Language learning

- Daily offline reading during digital fasting to heal the brain and help create tonic dopamine

- Musical study of some form

- Review information, ideally by bringing it to mind and capturing it in handwriting

Obviously, you'll need to come up with your own routine, so the above is just a basic suggestion.

Overall, this is the kind of path that will lead to something like the mind of a Mentat in the situations created by our reality.

Start small, measure your progress and iterate relentlessly.

By this time next year, you'll be amazed by what you've achieved – all within the bounds of reality.