Spaced Repetition
Review at the right moment, not every day
Cramming works for a day, then fades. Spaced repetition schedules reviews just before you forget, turning short-term memory into long-term knowledge.
Podcast version
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Transcript
The forgetting curve
Our brains forget new information quickly at first, then more slowly over time. If you review once, the curve drops more gently. If you review again at the right moment, it drops even more. Spaced repetition is the art of catching each memory just before it fades, which makes each review far more efficient.
The right interval matters more than repetition
Reviewing the same material every day is not efficient. Reviewing it too late is also wasteful, you have to relearn it. The ideal interval is the longest gap where you can still retrieve the answer. Apps like Anki or Quizlet use algorithms to schedule these intervals, but you can also do it manually: review after one day, three days, one week, two weeks, and then one month.
Pair spacing with active recall
Spaced repetition is most powerful when each review is also an active recall attempt. Instead of passively scanning notes, test yourself. A flashcard with a question on the front and the answer on the back forces retrieval at each interval. That combination, spacing plus retrieval, is one of the most evidence-backed ways to learn.
Your 10-minute practice
Build tomorrow’s review deck in the time it takes to make a coffee.
- 10:00 – 2:00
Choose 5 facts
From this week’s notes, pick five facts you keep forgetting.
- 22:00 – 5:00
Make flashcards
Write each as a question on one side, answer on the other. One idea per card.
- 35:00 – 7:00
First pass
Test yourself once. Mark each card easy, medium, or hard.
- 47:00 – 9:00
Schedule intervals
Easy → 3 days. Medium → 1 day. Hard → later today. Add reminders.
- 59:00 – 10:00
Book the next review
Put a 10-minute review slot in your calendar for tomorrow.
Reflection prompt
“Which card felt hardest, and what does that tell you about how you first learned it?”