What Is Spaced Repetition? A Beginner's Guide
What spaced repetition is, what research says about it, and a simple schedule you can try, including what it cannot do.
Spaced Repetition and Active Recall
Two ideas sit at the center of most flashcard study. Spacing means you come back to material after a delay instead of all at once. Active recall means you try to produce the answer from memory before you look at it.
These guides cover both ideas and the tools built on them: the Leitner box system that Practice uses, how to choose review intervals, how to write cards that test one thing at a time, and how to quiz yourself when nobody is around to ask you questions.
Where research exists, we say what it found and what it did not. Where a rule of thumb is only a rule of thumb, we say that too.
All 9 guides in this topic
Active Recall: What It Is and How to Use It
Active recall means answering from memory before you look. Five ways to do it with ordinary notes, plus how it differs from rereading.
The Leitner System: How Five Boxes Schedule Your Reviews
How a five-box flashcard system schedules reviews, with a worked example and a plain look at the 1, 2, 4, 8 and 16 day model.
How Long Should You Wait Between Reviews? Choosing Spacing Intervals
No single gap fits every learner. How the time until your test shapes your spacing, with starting gaps labeled as rules of thumb.
The Testing Effect: Why Quizzing Yourself Can Beat Rereading
What two experiments, a meta-analysis and a classroom review found about testing and memory, and where the evidence stops.
How to Write Better Flashcards: One Idea Per Card
Rules for writing good flashcards, before-and-after examples, and a checklist for reviewing your own deck.
Spaced Practice vs. Cramming: A Side-by-Side Comparison
A fair comparison of spaced practice and cramming, with what studies found and a plan for when you only have two days.
How to Quiz Yourself Without a Partner: Methods to Try
Five solo quiz methods with rough time costs, a simple routine, and what to do when an answer is wrong.
Feedback After Recall: Why You Should Check Every Answer
What research found about feedback after practice tests, how to check answers honestly, and what to do with a miss.
Other topics
How Memory Works
Encoding, storage and retrieval, and why forgetting is normal.
Mnemonics and the Memory Palace
Memory aids that turn dry facts into pictures, stories and places.
Memorizing by Subject
Practical plans for vocabulary, formulas, dates, names, code and more.
Study Routines That Help You Retain
Habits, schedules and tracking that make memorizing sustainable.