Method

Spaced repetition: why it works and how to stick with it

Spaced repetition works with how memory forgets rather than against it. The core insight is over a century old: we forget on a predictable curve, and reviewing an item just before it fades resets that curve far more efficiently than reviewing it too early or too late.

Working with how you forget

Spaced repetition works with how memory forgets. We forget on a predictable curve, and reviewing an item just before it fades resets that curve far more efficiently than reviewing too early or too late.

The forgetting curve

After you learn something, recall drops quickly at first, then levels off. Each successful review flattens the curve, so the memory lasts longer before the next one is due. The same total study time, spaced out, retains far more than the same time crammed together.

Pull the answer from memory

Retrieving an answer from memory is what strengthens it, more than reading it ever does. Trying to produce a verb form and then checking it beats re-reading the form ten times. Good practice runs on active recall, not passive recognition.

Tuned difficulty, kept habit

The ideal review is desirably difficult: hard enough that recall takes effort, easy enough that you usually succeed. A scheduler pushes what you know far out and brings shaky items back soon, so almost every card sits near your edge.

Most people quit because the habit breaks, not because the method fails. A small daily minimum and a load that stays manageable keep a missed day from turning into a crushing backlog.

Verboteca gives every verb form and word its own level and schedule. Nothing asks you to review everything, only what is due, so ten minutes covers exactly what is about to slip. A small daily load is what keeps the habit alive long enough for the language to settle in.

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