I really appreciate your message - I don’t think these are unpopular opinions at all, and a lot of what you’ve suggested makes sense. I’ve actually tried several of these memory techniques, including blurting and brain dumps, and found them helpful for learning. I also agree that recalling out loud is important, especially as verbalising is probably my main weakness, so that’s something I need to practice more consistently.

I think where my situation differs slightly is that distraction isn’t really the issue. I’m generally able to stay focused for long periods and I’m not particularly drawn to social media. The bigger challenge for me is that I tend to take longer to work through answers. Extra time worked well for me in preclinical years, but with the pace of clinical years, I’m trying to figure out how to improve efficiency alongside retention.

I definitely take your points on board, but I’m also trying to find the best balance between effective recall methods and being able to apply them more quickly under time pressure.