Got a long list to memorize? Don’t start with memory tricks. Start with letting the list take you to a different world.

I’m learning Spanish by Christmas, and the first step is learning the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). First for English, then for Spanish. The best way to learn the IPA? Anki decks.

Opera singer Gabriel Wyner offers a new, four-part method for learning languages amazingly fast. One of those parts is flashcard review with Anki – but only one.

Why memorize? So you can think. But memorizing is thinking. Instead of rushing through my flashcards, what if I can learn to enjoy reviews, as thinking?

You can use flashcards and spaced repetition to memorize almost anything – so why did I come to hate my reviews? Explore the dark side of this amazing memory system.

Flashcards, mnemonics, and rhythm and rhyme may not be the complete solution for my memory goals. But so far, they’ve done a lot.