Writing cards

A good card is one you could get wrong. Before every card you say how sure you are, and afterwards you score how it went. The gap between the two is what MemGym measures, so a card only tells you something if there's a real chance of a gap.

To write a card, go to Cards → + Add cards.

The new-card screen: the five card types, the Context field, the question box and the optional Comments field

The five kinds of card

Each kind asks a slightly different question before you look, and scores a slightly different thing after.

Q&A

Good for: facts, words, language, formulas, names, anything you want to recall.

Q: Could we have the bill, please?

A: ¿Nos trae la cuenta, por favor?

You answer it in your head, say how sure you are, see the answer, then score Missed, Partial or Nailed.

If–then

Good for: a plan for a specific moment, so you know what you'll do before it happens.

If I sit down to study and reach for my phone, then I put it in another room before I open the book.

You say how wired-in the plan feels, rehearse it once, then score whether you actually ran it the last time that moment came up.

Assertion

Good for: something you want to be true of how you act, written so you can check it.

When I revise for a test, I quiz myself before I reread my notes.

You say how true it feels, then score how true it proved against what you actually did.

Scenario

Good for: a situation with no single right answer: an interview question, a tricky conversation, a moment in a pitch.

Situation: The interviewer asks, "Tell me about a time you failed."

A strong response: A real example, what you learned from it, and what you do differently now, in under two minutes.

You decide your move (you can jot it down), say how well you think you'll handle it, then see a strong response and score how close you were.

Reflection

Good for: a question about yourself that's worth answering honestly more than once.

Which topic did I avoid this week, and why?

You answer it for yourself (you can jot it down), say how clear you think your answer is, then score how clear and useful it turned out to be.

Pictures and sound

The question and the answer each have Add photo, Record sound and Audio file.

  • On the question, a picture or sound is part of what you're asked. It shows before you predict: a plant to name, a word to hear and translate.
  • On the answer, it stays hidden until you've made your prediction: the pronunciation, the diagram that explains it.
  • Photos are shrunk to fit a card (up to 1600 pixels on the long side) before they upload.
  • Recordings use your device's microphone. Your browser asks for permission the first time. A recording can be up to two minutes.
  • Limits: 10 MB per file and 2 GB per account. Only your own signed-in account can fetch your media.

Context tags

The Context field groups your cards by the situation you need them in: exam, spanish, interview, team-meetings. Progress breaks your calibration down by tag, so you can see where your confidence is off. You might be well calibrated on spanish and overconfident on interview. Tags don't change when a card comes up.

Tag for the situation, not the topic. A card about interest rates belongs under exam if that's where you'll need it, and under client-calls if that's where it'll come up.

Start with two or three across your cards. Each card has one tag. A handful of tags gives you a readable breakdown. Dozens of tags with a few cards each won't tell you much.

Drafting cards from your notes

When it's switched on, Paste notes → draft cards turns notes you paste in (lecture notes, a meeting write-up, a journal entry) into draft cards. Read each one and add the ones you want. It isn't available on memgym.com yet.

Checklist

Before you save a card:

  • Could you get it wrong? If you'd always know the answer, the card can't show you a gap.
  • One question, one answer. If the answer runs to a paragraph, split it into two cards.
  • Is it something you'll actually need? For a test, a conversation, your job, a trip.
  • Is the moment specific? "If I'm asked about pricing" works. "If things get tough" is too vague to rehearse.
  • Could you check it? For assertions and if–then plans, picture the next time it comes up. What would "yes, I did that" look like? "I stay calm" can't be checked. "When I'm interrupted, I finish my sentence before I answer" can.
  • Is it in your own words? Starter and imported cards are a fine place to begin. When you write your own, use the words you'd use in the moment.