How to Build a Spaced Repetition Revision Timetable

A spaced repetition revision timetable schedules repeat attempts at previously learned material on different days. Make each review an active recall task, check the result, and use that result to choose when to return. A topic you cannot recall needs repair sooner than one you can explain and apply correctly.

Download the revision tracker CSV to record topics, prompts, results and review dates. The intervals below are examples you can adapt, not a universal optimum.

What is the difference between spacing and active recall?

Spacing concerns when you practise: revisiting material across separate sessions. Active recall concerns what you do: trying to produce an answer before checking your notes. They can be combined, but they are not interchangeable. Reading the same page every Tuesday is spaced reading; solving a problem without notes every Tuesday adds retrieval.

Dunlosky and colleagues' review rated practice testing and distributed practice highly for their usefulness across learning situations. It does not imply every topic needs the same number of reviews.

Is the 1–3–7–14-day schedule scientifically optimal?

No single sequence is optimal for every learner, task and exam date. Cepeda and colleagues' meta-analysis found that the relationship between spacing and later retention depends on both the gap between study sessions and the time until the final test.

You can use reviews roughly one, three, seven and fourteen days after learning as an initial calendar prompt. Treat those numbers as a convenient example. If you fail the first recall attempt, waiting another week without repairing the misunderstanding is unlikely to be a sensible use of that schedule.

A worked example: reverse percentages

Suppose you learn how to recover an original price after a percentage increase. Your recall prompt is: “A price after a 20% increase is 600. Find the original price and explain the method.”

The progression changes the task as well as the date. Recognising yesterday's identical worked answer is weaker evidence than solving a new problem and explaining your choice of method.

Use three recall outcomes

After an attempt, record one of these outcomes in the tracker:

• Again: you could not produce a correct answer. Identify the gap, revisit the explanation and schedule another attempt soon.
• Hard: the answer was correct but depended on a hint or uncertain reasoning. Use another example and a relatively short gap.
• Good: the answer was correct and you can explain it without hints. Consider a longer gap, while keeping the exam date in view.

These labels are a practical recording system. They are not an automated memory model. Dates in the downloadable CSV are entered by you; the file does not calculate intervals.

How much of a study session should be revision?

Start by looking at how many topics are due and how long meaningful attempts take. In a two-hour session, you might reserve 20 minutes for recall and 20 for correcting practice errors. That is a sample allocation, not a research-prescribed ratio.

When too many reviews pile up, combine related prompts and prioritise failed recall over topics you answer reliably. Do not silently move every overdue review to the night before the exam. The backlog recovery guide shows how to compare pending work with remaining time.

Can mock tests count as revision?

Yes, if you attempt the questions and review the result. A mixed test can reveal whether you can retrieve the right method without knowing the topic in advance. Roediger and Karpicke's study found benefits of retrieval practice for delayed retention in the learning tasks studied. That is evidence about testing as a learning activity, not proof of a guaranteed competitive-exam score increase.

Use the mock-test error log to feed mistakes back into your review list. For an overall weekly structure, see the two-hour daily plan.

Where MyStudyPlanner fits

MyStudyPlanner includes scheduling, revision and task tracking. Use those features to organise your preparation, but judge understanding through recall and question performance rather than completion ticks alone. You can begin with the free templates if a spreadsheet is enough for your workflow.