It’s cool that you ask since I have actually kept a quite detailed log over this so I can answer the question rather exactly.
According to my log it took me seven days to go from 2:59 to 1:57, but then I had trained quite a lot before I reached the three minute line. The training I did during this period was:
Going through the deck and just trying to see the image for each person, and timing this trying to do it as quick as possible. This I did ten times a day and it was quite fun since the times went steadily downwards.
One to three tries a day to remember a whole deck.
That worked well for me.
Another training tip though, that I started with when I was down at 1:30 but wished I’d came up with earlier, was taking just a part of the deck (to start with 18 cards) and then trying to memorize them as fast as possible. I did this ten times a day to and set a certain time limit to reach. When I’d reached that time limit five times on the same day I went on to 27 cards and set a new limit etc.
I think this is what really broke the ice for me, since I got used to a much faster speed than I had had before (because with as few as 18 cards you can go almost as fast as you can and still have a pretty good chance of remembering the small amount of pictures!). So that I really recommend!
thanks for the tips their precise and simple.you really covered all your bases i remember i couldn’t do ten cards in 25 seconds but by going through the images of the deck i knew the images better and have show improvement.you ca’t plateau because your doing them all.you keep a detailed log.that is so great to look back at how brilliant you become.i just write now what i’m doing on a sheet with a date sometimes but still i can see how much better i have become a number with only a little practise from 2min for 20 digit to 30sec for 20 digits.if you still have your notes maybe you could make a memory journal so people can see what to expect with a certain amount of practise.
I figure I’ll post too. My record is 5:34, and I use a PAO system.
I’m slowly dropping towards the 5 minute barrier. I’ve been trying to do 1 attempt per day at least, but I can rarely do it every day with homework and stuff.
Here is a list of my past few attempts. For the longest time I’d been doing 5 minute times and doing as many cards as possible, but I talked to Nelson about this on twitter and he advised that I start memorizing a deck and lowering my time, rather than memorizing for 5 minutes and increasing my speed, if that makes sense.
(STRONG are PBs, or what was a PB at the time)
8/19/2012 52c/9:49
8/21/2012 52c/8:51
8/24/2012 52c/8:34
9/1/2012 52c/7:38
9/2/2012 52c/5:36
9/3/2012 52c/5:54
9/4/2012 52c/6:24
9/5/2012 52c/5:34
9/7/2012 Fail/5:46 << forgot all sorts of images and who was doing what, etc.
So yeah. Any tips on getting faster other than just practice?
My new best time: 2:57 (iNcredible huLK) broke the three minute barrier!
Method: Less L.
I’ve also made some new development to the Less L. technique which I have used for this PB. I will be posting the details in my Less L. thread shortly.
Using the Journey Method 52 loci, 50 images, I’ve improved to 4:57 this month.
I went to post my new best time on the wiki (Link at Post 120) and was pleased to find that it worked this time. However, I noticed that the guidelines now say that the recall time is 5 minutes. I sort of remember reading somewhere in this thread that the recall time was not limited. Has something changed?
The guidelines say recall time is 5 minutes because that is what the World Championship rules say.
We’re only doing it for fun here so it’s fine if you take more than 5 minutes on recall.
(Although it’s probably a sign you need to practice more.)
Had I known, I would have rehearsed the pack mentally a few more times before proceeding to the recall. With this kind of strengthening, I have no doubt I would have recalled the pack perfectly within five minutes. This is taking advantage of the fact that WMC does not specify exactly the amount of time within which you have to begin the recall but only the duration of the recall. What a loophole!
I will remove my time, just for the fun of breaking the barrier again. For now, I will post this time:
5:12 minutes with one error. Method used Less L. on the first read, a slight touch of linking on the second pass. I have improved with my linking and it is becoming almost automatic some times and it does seem to help with my recall times.
My first perfect pack within the recall time guidelines (no loophole used):
5:28
Method: A first read of Less L. and then a second read with a touch of linking.
I had been working on improving my recall times for about three months. What I did is to limit my overall time (memorization and recall) to 9:59 minutes and attempt to get as many correct cards recalled within that time frame. I found that I was able to increase my average of correct card very steadily over the past few months.
4:58
Method: A first read using Less L. and then a second read with a touch of linking. Recall was under 5 minutes, immediately after the memorization. Straight out calling, no use of a second pack for the recall. It took me five years of steady memorization work to get there.
SL
Personal best: 0:50 min
Consistent performance around 1 min
I’m using a hacked version of Dominic System. I used to practice on mnemocamp but have switched to Memory Ladder Android app. However, the swiping motion often slows me down a bit.
Two of my new pb,
First: 4:17
Less L. Method. I waited till 5:00 to start recalling. All done, all good by 9:42.
One read through only this time. I did a bit of linking with every two images within a loci though.
Second:2:52
Less L. Method. 1h32min total time for that one.
3:50
Again, this time is within WMS time guidelines for Speed Cards.
Less L. method, some linking involved within a loci.
I now think that a toe massage just before memorization does help a bit. Maybe its just superstition.
SL
Firstly I apologise for being probably the least experienced person on this forum, but we all have to start somewhere right!
I am currently trying to learn a deck. To date, the best I have managed is just 34 cards in about 7-8 mins? (wasn’t timed), but then I have only been doing it for two weeks.
I am using the PAO system with 17 Loci. and currently have 3 Journeys stored to memory!
I have read through all 10 pages of the posts on this forum, so won’t waste your time with questions you may have already answered.
I guess what I really want to know is roughly how long it took to get through your first FULL decks (irrespective of times), with no errors,
as I am struggling to visualise the images beyond 34 cards!
Hey Lee, don’t worry about the pacing of it. Really. It took me about a day of practice after I had created my first system to memorise a deck, but it took me, I think, 17 minutes. After that, times started dropping. My advice to you is to power through with the memorisation and don’t be afraid to take a longer time. Focus on getting to a full deck and THEN start focussing on getting a shorter time. I had to stop and review twice during the memorisation to keep it in my head.
The aim right now should be to build up the capacity to memorise all 52 cards. You only have 18 cards to go, that’s 6 images. You’ll be able to do this, just have more confidence in your ability, push through, and don’t be afraid about reviewing and taking a while.
You guys cracked me up