Remember more between study sessions
Each topic comes back for review after 1, 3, 7 and 14 days. Spacing reviews out and quizzing yourself are two of the seven recommendations in the US Department of Education study guide linked below.
Why it works is a little uncomfortable: each time you come back, it’s harder to remember, and that effort is the point.
A review lands on your next study day on or after its date. In the example, Monday’s topic is reviewed on Wednesday and Saturday, a day or two late. That beats asking for a Tuesday you don’t have.
Reviews that would fall after your last week are dropped, not squeezed in. Set the example to 2 weeks, and the 14-day reviews disappear. One topic no longer fits, and the page tells you.
How to do a review
Answer from memory, then check. For a conversation topic, hide your side, say the lines, then reveal them. Rereading feels like progress, but it isn’t.
In the example, the last new topic starts on Wednesday, October 7, and the final week is all reviews. That’s the shape you want before an exam or a real conversation: nothing new in the last week.
What to do when you miss a session
Do the missed reviews in your next session, and let the new topic wait. Reviews are the part that fades; the new topic keeps.
If you keep missing a day, uncheck it and make the schedule again. Keep the default spacing unless you have an exam within three weeks; then switch to Dense.
Twenty minutes is short on purpose. A 20-minute session on Wednesday beats a 60-minute one you skip.
Download the calendar file to add the sessions to Google or Apple Calendar, next to everything that will compete with them.
Sources
- IES: Organizing Instruction and Study to Improve Student Learning
Released September 2007
