You spend hours making beautiful notes... then forget everything by exam time. Sound familiar? The problem isn't your memory—it's your review strategy. Enter spaced repetition.
The forgetting curve
German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus discovered that we forget 70% of new information within 24 hours—unless we actively review it. Each review extends how long you remember.
How spaced repetition works
Instead of reviewing everything at once, you space out your reviews at increasing intervals:
- First review: 1 day after learning
- Second review: 3 days later
- Third review: 1 week later
- Fourth review: 2 weeks later
- Fifth review: 1 month later
Applying spaced repetition to IB
For IB, this means you should start reviewing content months before exams, not weeks. Here's how:
- After each lesson, spend 5 minutes reviewing key points
- Add important concepts to flashcards or a spaced repetition app
- Let the algorithm tell you when to review
- By exam time, everything is in long-term memory
Best tools for spaced repetition
- Anki: Free, powerful, works on all devices
- Quizlet: Great for shared decks and collaboration
- Aimnova: Free IB ESS flashcards with built-in spaced repetition — adapts to what you still need to review
"Spaced repetition is the closest thing to a study cheat code. It's not about studying more—it's about studying at the right time."
Start now, not later
The beauty of spaced repetition is that starting earlier actually means less total study time. Your future self will thank you when exam season arrives and you're calmly reviewing while others are frantically cramming.