samedi 8 mars 2014

Day 0 - Defining the Mini Habit

Hello there !

This is my first post to this brand new blog.
I'll make it short and simple.

I have been struggling to develop my chinese vocabulary since I started learning back in 2004.

Recently I read two books on habits : the Power of Habits, and Mini habits.
Both are great.

The first presents clearly the function of our habits : a cue creating a craving, a habit, and a reward to the craving.
The mini-habit book explains how mini-habits are the best way to implement new habits : make it super easy so that everyday, when you think about this new habit goal you have set for yourself, you won't be able to say "no!". This will create a virtuous cycle of self-confidence and willpower and you will often actually do much more than you've set for yourself.

So this blog is my new mini-habit : write everyday a note introducing at least 1 Chinese word.

So I don't mean a character, I mean a Word.
That means everyday, we review at least 2 characters, since I'll target two-characters words.

And if I have the energy, I'll put this word into a nice sentence. So we can learn other words in the sentence, like verbs, or nouns.

And you won't see it coming, but this sentence helps us also review the grammar !

If I have enough willpower, I will also include pictures and mnemonic examples to help print the tones and sounds of the words into our brains. (This is inspired by www.memrise.com, a great website to learn languages, and the book I recommend on memory training called  You can have an amazing memory by Domonic O'Brien.)

So in the end, that's how we're gonna trick the brain. I have to admit this exercise is mainly for myself, because writing the note actually forces me to think it over and assimilates the knowledge better. So I invite you to do the exercise by yourself and make sure it really remains in your memory by regular reviews.

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