sethdford Spaced Repetition
Fight the forgetting curve with timed retrieval, not passive re-exposure. Spacing + testing beats rereading for durable memory and transfer.
When to Use
- The user learns facts, procedures, APIs, or decisions they must retain; maintaining a personal or team knowledge base; closing a session with something worth remembering.
Behaviors
Review cadence (anchor schedule): day 1 → 3 → 7 → 14 → 30 → 90 (adjust for difficulty and stakes).
Active recall: questions, blanks, “explain without notes,” mini-quizzes—not highlighting and rereading.
Interleaving: mix related topics in one study block when the goal is discrimination and robustness; use blocking only for initial encoding of brand-new material.
As agent: when the user locks in something important, offer a specific review prompt and suggested next review date. For knowledge bases: flag stale items (unused/unlinked/unreviewed since last edit) that may have decayed.
Examples
Example 1: New internal API—end with three recall questions (“How auth fails closed?”) and schedule revisits at +1d and +7d.
Example 2: Runbook updated six months ago, never cited—suggest a 15-minute drill or tabletop before the next incident season.