Photo by Elisa Ventur on Unsplash

Table of Contents

1. Preface

2. Main Article

3. Stuff

Preface

Last week, we used the long weekend as a good excuse to head out of Boston by car 🚗. Sure, driving takes a bit longer than flying, but it lets us visit places we wouldn't see otherwise.

Plus, it's easy to find cheaper hotels away from the big cities, and we get to see wonderful small towns along the way 🌲.

Our energetic firstborn and secondborn got their share of climbing trees, sliding down ropes, having a go at kiddie cars, and scooping up prizes at amusement parks.

And thirdborn? 👶

Well, he was busy enjoying the finer things in life: eating, grabbing stuff, and taking long naps.

👫 My dear wife and I had a fantastic time, but we're ready for a calmer kind of break now. Luckily, super-grandma is visiting soon 🦸, so we plan a quick getaway with 67% fewer kids. In other words, thirdborn with us, firstborn and secondborn with super-grandma.

We still haven't decided on a place, but you know, it doesn't really matter as long as it will allow us to rest a little bit.

Speaking of older-adult experiences, today we will discuss why it is so hard to learn something new after the age of 35 and what to do to overcome it.

Number 55! Big five-five!

Let's do this!

Main Article

🤔 Remember the days when you were in school or university, and studying seemed more straightforward?

I'm not saying it was a breeze, but during those times, prepping for a test basically meant sitting on a chair and getting it done.

You could have anywhere from 6 to 7 hours on a daily basis, or go for a 12-hour study marathon over the weekend 🔏.

Back then, your main obstacle was having the self-discipline to study. Seriously, how challenging could it be for a vibrant 20-something to absorb new knowledge? 👶

Fast forward a decade or two, and here you are, in your late 30s or perhaps already in your 40s. You sit down to study, and suddenly, it's like facing an uphill battle 🧑‍🚒.

🥱 First of all, you're completely drained.

After a long day at work, you just want to rest. And if you have kids, the daily marathon doesn't end until they are asleep.

So it's 8:30 pm, or even later than that.

You still haven't eaten dinner or showered, and you want to get some studying done.

Then what do you do?

You can either maximize your time and multitask (study while you eat 🍲), or take it easy and wait until after you're done with everything.

But by the time you're done eating and showering, you're sleepy 😴. So sleepy.

All you want is to scroll your phone a little bit or read a book, and fall asleep.

So what do you do?

Either you try studying, and become frustrated because it's late and you're tired, or you give up, and go to bed filled with regret.

Sounds like a nightmare, right? 😩

🤪 Second of all, your brain is not what it used to be.

Picture this: Somehow, you found time to study and are not too tired.

You sit down to study, but it doesn't go well.

Why?

For some reason, around age 35 (sometimes even earlier), the brain becomes more resistant to taking new information.

So what do you do?

Try harder?

But what does “try harder” mean?

With all the stress, responsibilities, and lack of sleep in your 30s or 40s, “try harder” simply doesn't work.

So, let's tackle this.

The problem: You're tired, and your brain is uncooperative.

The solution: The two tools I use on a daily basis to study when I'm in my 40s.

How did I discover these tools?

So, just like you, I was there in the 8:30-9:00 pm hell. You know, the one of falling asleep in front of the computer after an exhausting day and becoming frustrated.

There's no way in the world that I could have done what I did in high school or as a 20-something student.

I had to change my strategy because, honestly, I had no alternatives.

Starting med school at 39 put a lot of stress on my schedule.

Failing tests meant losing time, losing money, and postponing my future plans. I just couldn't afford it.

On top of that, how many years can my dear wife and kids have a student as a husband and father? How long can I earn less because I don't have enough time to work?

My daily schedule was crazy. I had med school until the afternoon, my job as an Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon at the hospital, my private practice, and my role as a scientist.

How can I pass tests under these circumstances?

So I changed my approach. I changed the way I perceive time ⏳, and I changed the way I study 👨‍💻.

And it changed my life 🪄.

Today, I would like to share these two tools with you, so you won't have to go through everything I went through on my way to discovering them.

🔵 Change the way you perceive time

Use your “third-spaced” time.

First, what is “third-spaced time”?

Imagine your day segmented into three types of time. "First-spaced time" for work/study, "second-spaced time" for leisure, and "third-spaced time" of all those moments in between.

Those tiny pockets of time during walks, waiting in line, time between patients, between classes, while walking up the stairs, while you're on hold on the phone.

Now, some of you may prefer to study later in the day. That's all well and good, but it's not working for you anymore, right?

Studying after a hectic day can never beat the productivity attained in the morning. Studying in the morning is more productive and enjoyable.

😠 I can hear the murmurs: “What are you talking about?! I'm at work in the morning!”

Yes. You're at work early in the day. I know. But you can find time.

How much?

Every single minute you can find. EVERY SINGLE MINUTE.

Where can you find these minutes?

In between everything you do. The “third-spaced time” most people ignore.

💡You'll be shocked to see that you can find 1-2 hours of third-spaced time before lunch!

And since taking a break is part of studying, five 1-minute slots will be more productive than one 5-minute slot.

Why? We'll talk about it in the next section (spoiler: it's called spaced repetitions).

🔵 2. Change the way you study

Harness the Power of Flash Cards

I use Anki, which is a flashcard app. This app has changed my life. Plain and simple.

First of all, what is a flashcard? 🗒️

It's a two-sided card. On one side, you have a question. On the other side, you have the answer.

Studying what's on the card involves looking at the question, trying to answer it, and then flipping it to see if you got it right.

In this video, you can see it in action (Skip to 06:33 if you just want to watch the demonstration):

And please hit the "like" button if you like it!   :-)

Anki has enabled me to make the most of my “third-spaced” time. But it's much more than that.

Because of this app, it takes me HALF the time to learn something new.

You heard that right.

Take 20+ year old Shay and 40+ year old Shay, and give them both something to study.

40+ year-old Shay will do it in half the time.

And do you want to hear something crazy?

40+ year-old Shay will remember it for years, while 20+ year-old Shay will forget it after a few weeks.

How is it possible, you ask?

Simple. The Anki app makes you study using the most productive methods: Active recall and spaced repetitions.

What is Active Recall?

Easier to explain what it's not: reading, highlighting, and summarizing. These are passive ways of learning. Quite frankly, they are a waste of your precious time.

Instead, you need to engage your brain in a more rigorous exercise of questioning and retrieving information, like using flashcards. This strategy establishes stronger connections between your brain cells (neurons), so you will study better and retain information longer.

What are Spaced Repetitions?

After establishing a a connection between neurons, you want to solidify this connection by revisiting it over and over again, at progressively longer intervals. Sounds complicated? Just watch the video I made for you, it's straightforward to understand.

Now, you might think - how in the world can I keep track of all this? I don't have time to prepare cards, let alone make a schedule for every single card.

So you don't have to! The Anki app is here to manage everything for you!

I discovered Anki cards WAY too late, in my last year of med school. I wish I could go back and tell younger Shay about it. But instead, I'm telling you about it. Do yourself a huge favor, and start using it for studying.

Stuff

👣 Shoes I wear in the OR - Dansko.

My sister was the first to introduce me to these shoes, and I've been using them for the last 13 years.

Their main advantage for me is not feeling fatigued in the legs and feet or having any back pain in the OR. They also offer a good defense against spills and splashes, a frequent occurrence in my line of work.

Without going into graphic detail, know that they offer excellent protection during messy situations🩸.

As for long walks - I think other shoes will be more comfortable than the Dansko. But if you stand a lot throughout the day and require protection, Dansko can be a great choice.

Epilogue

That's it for this issue.

If you enjoyed this issue and haven't subscribed yet, you can do so by clicking below.

Subscribing is free, and it will be sent to your email every Friday.

Have a great weekend!

Shay