AidanMontareDotNet

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Daily Learning Exercises

(last updated

In my eternal quest to be better, I thought it would help to improve some higher-level skills that might help me be more productive (and someday get to all the things on my Wishlist). There are also some specific skills that I wish I had (like understanding Morse Code), but never seemed to have the time for formal lessons. Below are the methods I have tried for daily self-improvement, with my comments on the effectiveness of each.

Spending a few minutes on these general skills each day provides a nice break from whatever projects you might be working on. Sometimes even your own personal projects or hobbies can feel like work (especially if you are really dedicated), and it’s nice to do something completely different. Try to enjoy these activities, and don’t force yourself to do them if you don’t want to.

To keep myself going, I decided to come up with a daily routine. I will update this schedule as I evaluate different methods and pursue different goals. You can see my current routine below. Yours will likely be different if you have different areas you want to focus on, but I hope my experimentation might serve as a good starting place.

My Daily Routine

read A.Word.A.Day and complete the SAT Question of the Day (I do this in my RSS reader, which I make a habit of checking each day to see if there is news relating to my website, such as GitLab updates.)
5 minutes vocabulary practice on Free Rice
one daily training session on Elevate
5 minutes Morse Code practice on Morse Elmer
5 minutes handwriting practice – once the book comes

Vocabulary

  • A.Word.A.Day (RSS Feed): One of the many word-a-day services available. I subscribe to the RSS feed, but it doesn’t necessary help you improve your vocabulary unless you practice a bit with the words and try to use them throughout the day. Just reading a new definition will not make the word easy to remember.
  • Free Rice Vocabulary: Help fight hunger while learning vocabulary. Seems pretty good to me! Some of the early levels are a little easy, so you might want to skip ahead a bit. It also seems to repeat words you messed up, which is nice.
  • Vocabulary.com: Vocabulary questions with a little more variety than Free Rice (though not as much altruism). Creating an account lets them track the words you have seen and customize the words you learn. This might be fun for those who like social elements like badges and points to distract them from actually learning. Mobile applications are available, though apparently at a cost. If you can tolerate a little slowness, the web interface works fine on small tablets (try selecting “Request Desktop Site” in Firefox to get rid of the app store banner).

Mental Acuity

  • Mind Games Android Application: A collection of various mentally stimulating games. The graphics look a little cheesy, but the app is overall nice, minus the ads, but you can disable those for 4.99 (or just put the device into airplane mode). I am not sure how much value they actually have, but they are challenging and fun.
  • Elevate Android and iOS Application: Various mental activities on your mobile device. It’s very nicely designed and nice to use. An account is required, but you don’t have to pay anything unless you want some extra features. The free version will give you one training session a day, and doesn’t let you play all the games.
  • Fit Brains: Created by Rosetta Stone, this looks like a neat program. Just as nice as Elevate, and promises to be based upon real studies. There are actually many programs in the series, each focusing on different skills, though only the general Fit Brains Trainer is available on Android. The website is supposed to let you do everything from each of the mobile applications. Like Elevate, some features require a pro account.
  • https://www.lumosity.com/
  • Brain Games book: The first of a series of books full of random thinking problems.
  • SAT Question of the Day (RSS Feed): Students will find this service useful for preparing for the SAT exams in preparation for college. I think it is also good for general problem solving practice. Doing the math questions helps for those who are used to theoretical problems, as this offers mostly word problems. However, you may find the question types (based on SAT questions) a little repetitive.

Morse Code

  • Morse Elmer Application for iOS: A good way to learn to receive Morse Code. By starting at your desired speed (I am at 20 WPM) but with only two letters, this application avoids the classic pitfall of getting stuck at slow speeds. There is also Farnsworth spacing if you are having difficulty.
  • Beginner’s Nets: Many Amateur Radio clubs have slow-speed nets for those who are just learning. Once you are capable of rudimentary sending and receiving, joining one of these nets provides good real-world practice (with hopefully less elders getting mad at you).

Handwriting

I have always wanted to learn to be ambidextrous. Somewhere I got the notion that it would be cool to write with both hands. Since my normal handwriting was never all that great, I hoped to get a fresh start with my right hand (I am naturally left-handed).

  • Copperplate

Programming

  • Codecademy: A really awesome free web service for learning programming. They don’t have a ton of options at the moment, but the ones they do have a very nicely put together. This site is good for first time programmers and might seem a little basic to those who are more experienced. However, learning with the web-based tutorials is really pleasant and easy to use.

Multiple Disciplines

  • iTunes U: Apple’s educational service is pretty cool. It would be cooler if I could use it on my other devices (though I haven’t tried iTunes on Windows). Still, many universities have course materials available for free. This is a good way to learn about a subject area you are interested in without actually having to take a class anywhere. Plus, there are no deadlines for finishing anything (though doing some of the coursework will likely help you learn better). Also, listening to lecture recordings is one of the few things I have found to learn things while giving your eyes a break.
  • Podcasts