When learning something new, try this trick. Pause on that new or challenging thing and try to remember what you had for dinner last night. Really try to picture it.
- How much time did it take to prepare it?
- What time did you eat?
- When was the last time you had that meal?
- How did it taste?
- Who were you with? If you were with others, what did you talk about?
- If you were alone, what else were you doing? What did you think about?
- How long did it take?
Then return to that new or challenging thing. How does it feel or sound different?
The point of this quirky exercise is to reset your mind. Sometimes when we approach problems, we keep pounding away from one angle. If we take a quick break to completely shift our mental focus, we come up with a novel solution.
Another reason to try this little practice is that it will help you to remember things. This is especially good for recalling melodies if you are learning an instrument. If you take a break from learning a melody and then return to it again, that memory is strengthened a lot more than if you had just practiced it once without that break.
Further learning