Essays
Annual Review (2020)
This year was a weird one. The pandemic was bad and good at the same time. Being at home most of the time meant I had more time to rest and learn compared to other years - where I was often busy with classes and other activities. This is my
Learn faster with active recall
You can learn faster and remember more of what you learn by changing how you learn. I'll walk you through active recall, a simple technique proven to improve what you remember by 50%. What is active recall? Active recall is a learning technique where you test yourself on what you've
Learn better with spaced repetition
Common learning techniques such as re-reading, highlighting, cramming and note-taking are ineffective. So what does work? Spaced repetition is an evidence-based technique that leverages the spacing effect. It is proven to increase the rate of learning. “Your memory is a monster; you forget—it doesn't. It simply files things away.
Make Learning a Game - A Beginner's Guide to Anki
Research proves that standard studying practices like lectures, re-reading, highlighting are ineffective. They're boring and frustrates students daily. So what does work? What if there's a memory card game that allows you to remember anything? I've been playing it for three years since I entered medical school. By playing this
Productivity cheat days
You shouldn’t be productive all the time. You should be able to watch Netflix, and waste time scrolling on Twitter without guilt every now and then. After all, human beings are hardwired as lazy. Our ancient ancestors had to conserve energy to search for food, hunt prey and fight
Why I stopped working hard in medical school
When I was a first-year medical student, I aimed high. I sacrificed my hobbies to study. I spent less time with friends and family, I skipped social events and spent more time in the library. By the end of my first year, I felt burnt out. I got the results
Study Tips for First Year Medical Students
Most of us don't know how to learn. At school, we learnt plenty, but we've never learnt how to study. We've been learning by 'what feels right', instead of 'what's right'. When you enter medical school, there's tons of information to digest and memorise; it’s like drinking out of
What's it Really Like to Study Medicine at University of Malaya
I’m a third-year medical student at the University of Malaya. I’ll walk you through my experience so far. This article is based on my two years reading medicine in UM. I wrote this article because – even in 2018 – there hasn’t been any posts about studying medicine in
How to Make Good Anki Cards
Anki is a very effective method of learning as it is based on the two pillars of effective learning; Active Recall and Spaced Repetition. With that being said, making your own Anki cards can be a bit of a challenge at times. Bad Anki cards can frustrate you over the
How I Use Anki in Medical School
I’d say that one of the best things I’ve done in my 2 years of medical school is using Anki. I’ve been using it since my first year of medical school with great success. Anki has allowed me to spend less time on studying, and yet I’
