A few days ago i broke through the n = 6 barrier with a average n back score of 6.05.
The thing that still fascinates me about this is that I’m still seeing slow continuous improvement in my scores. It hasn’t been easy or rapid but steady and pretty continuous. I have felt and seen the difference that clearer thinking can make in day to day and professional life.
It’s really remarkable to reach a max average n back greater than 6… and now i can do 5′s almost without thinking… that just freaks me out.
I’ve been keeping track of my scores in a spreadsheet which enables me to look back on my progress several different ways: number of training days vs progress, number of training sessions vs progress and calendar time vs progress. I’ve completed 303 sessions along the way over the past 9 months.
The most positive and consistent correlate seems to be number of training days with n=back progress. The graph correlating calendar days to training progress is fascinating in showing a long plateau around n=5 last summer.
Thanks to all who have posted in this blog for inspiration and motivation to keep going.
The key learning from this, for me, is that continuous if not rapid improvement in your working memory is possible whether you start out as a genius or not. Hard work can pay off just stick with it. Benefits correlated with improvement in working memory are available to all of us.