Ask HN: How can you measure your own mental performance?
21–22 of 22 posts
Re: Ask HN: How can you measure your own mental performance?
#22Keep notebooks/journals. Sleep isn't an exact science, so don't expect an exact answer. Some people can live on 6 hours of sleep and be fully alert. Some people need 9. Personally, I fluctuate. I keep notebooks on subjects I'm learning and use journals to reflect on my overall progress. This self-assessment helps me to not only retain what I learn, but to give me a pulse on my progress: am I in a slow month or am I o…
That's an interesting one. Do you think it helps spot not only declines in processing speed or memory but also any potential loss in the "magic spark" part of intelligence where you make breakthroughs/have great ideas? I'm most worried that if I lost that I wouldn't notice...
It helps make you more consistent. The self-awareness it takes to honestly assess yourself and be interested in your own improvement helps you to address your own weaknesses. Over time you'll find that you'll have periods of high mental activity and low periods, but over time as you begin to record them and alter your strategies that they will even out into a pretty consistent cycle.
Personally, I don't think that the "magic spark" is something I can train for or seek to attain. It's a random event IMO, and will only lead to disappointment if I stake my entire life's work on waiting for it to happen. I'm not a person who enjoys uncertainties if I can avoid them.