By journal, I mean physical journal which you write about all Mnemonic stuff
For example
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Palaces
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Challenge you want to do
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Well, my iPad is a physical thing, so in a sense I have a physical âjournal.â (Why is it important that itâs âphysicalâ?)
I keep Notes files of all of my memory palaces, all of my journeys/associations through them in a detailed narrative, copies of any original documents Iâve used for memorizing (wiki lists, etc.), and a list of my yet-to-be-used palaces.
Bob
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Yes I do, I use an A5 desk diary , page to a day. As I only started keeping it this summer -after Anthony Metivier had stressed the importance of keeping a journal- I use the current days to record my daily memorisations /card times and the pages from previous Jan to June to record various things /palace ideas.
Infact , never having been a âdiary keeperâ I am surprised to find I also now note down other non-memory related âstuffâ (if only so I know WHY i didnât get my pomodoro in that day) and future appointments that will cut across my learning âdayâ.
Paper gets thrown in the garbage but computer files are forever.
I do like the paper but I find that I can come back to this site year after year and the ideas are all still here.
If Josh turns off the lights I would be sad but still all the thoughts have been saved here far longer than if I had written them down in one of my black ledger books.
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âŚuntil a direct EMP strike, Zombie Apocalypse or Brexit and the lights going out (can I say that on this forum?) 
Nah seriously, I see your point but I find with each advancing year I become more enamored with the analogue technology of my youth and less so with this brave new world we have wrought.
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I understand. I have my straight razor and strop in the bathroom. I also have some nice ink and a dip pen. I can do a proper straight razor shave but I still canât write with a nib ( I blame left handedness ) Anachronisms are a pleasant distraction.
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Iâve gone in just the opposite direction. But, then, technology makes it possible for me to make the living I do and have the lifestyle I do. I have no desire to return to typewriters, submit manuscripts to editors by postal mail, tie myself to a landline, watch TV only when a broadcaster decides to show a program, accept distorted sound from an LP, collect stacks of paper magazines, etc., etc.
Bob
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(and this is meant in no way nastily) Dichotomy much? I mean, you as a mnemonist spend your days training in , if Lynne Kelly be believed (and I do), arguably one of the oldest anachronisms/human endeavours going? It might not be the worldâs oldest profession but the worldâs first âprofessionalâ probably had to have a men-monic system to remember which of her âjohnsâ liked âitâ on bear fell and who was really really into mammoth tusksâŚ
As to the Left handedness , My olâ Dad is , in the saarf Laaandaan inflected speech of his bombsite, hub cap stealing, youth, âkack handedâ and as I teenager I became increasingly aware of his difficulties doing what seemed to me to be everyday tasks. So sign me up for any Campaign For Leftie Rights (pun intended)
20 years ago I said exactly the same thing, indeed even 10 years ago. Now Iâm not so sure. The benefits of technology are indisputable but they, especially the Internet, come at a price. We should at least keep Thamusâ warning in the back of our minds and not just as a Wiki link.
Anthony Metivier said something the other day about trying concentrate /learn from a podcast on your smart phone- a device designed with the sole purpose of distracting or interrupting you.
Most definitely!!! I canât live without Microsoft OneNote - I know it is not physical - but I carry my tablet, my phone, my computer everywhere - so my OneNote is going with me everywhere. I have to collect all the info I want to learn or cool potential memory palaces⌠or memory palaces I am working on. And I never lose it or misplace it, thanks to OneNote.
Câmon⌠and cigarettes are designed with the sole purpose of killing you⌠and the government takes a decent share taxing them. Theyâre not designed for distraction and interruption⌠thatâs just what most teenagers use it for and what the media likes to cover. Theyâre designed to make the company that sells them money.
Every generation the same, computers, before that the tv, the radio before that⌠it gets old. Of course you can use a smartphone for productivity and other things that donât have to do with virtual candy or posting pictures of your food.
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Yes! I actually collect memory palaces on my travels and draw them even though I have heard one should not do that.
I also note my times and general philsophical thoughts about memory, so I use it almost every day.
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Iâve never heard that you should not draw your memory palaces⌠I expect it is very individual. I believe Anthony Metivier actually recommends to write your notes on paper and not the tablet. I love iPad, Samsung note and Microsoft Pro for taking notes, but I just bought paper cards to see if there will be an improvement in retention. However, sometimes it is hard to tell, since the more we are focused to learn something the better we become. I expect that written notes simply slow you down (since a lot of people want to compete and the spread is a requirement to get better), but I absolutely believe it will make your memory journey review much more efficient and even weak images will work much better. Even Lynne Kelly mentioned in her book that it really helps her to draw her images, she took art classes to learn to draw just for this purpose.
I think itâs a good idea to draw things in general, but it might depend on the person.