Spaced repetition
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Spaced repetition spreads your reviews over time. Cards you know confidently come back rarely; cards that are hard for you come back much more often. That way your study time goes into what you are about to forget — instead of what you already know.
What the schedule does for you
Section titled “What the schedule does for you”Without a schedule you either review too much or too little. Spaced repetition takes that decision away from you:
- Every card has a next due date.
- Cards due today come first.
- Cards that are not due yet do not appear — even if they sit in the folder.
So you do not have to decide what to study today. You open the round and work through what is due.
When a card comes back
Section titled “When a card comes back”After every rating the app sets the next due date. If the card was easy, that date lies further in the future; if it was hard, the card comes back soon. With each successful review the interval grows.
A card moves through roughly three states:
- New – the card has never been reviewed.
- Learning or relearning – the card is still fresh, or you did not know it last time.
- Mature – the card has several successful reviews behind it and long intervals.
Due, overdue, new cards
Section titled “Due, overdue, new cards”In a round you meet these groups:
- Due – scheduled for today. They come first.
- Overdue – the due date lies in the past. They take priority over everything else.
- New – never reviewed. They join within your daily allowance.
- Relearning – cards you did not know last time and which are therefore checked again soon.
Before you start a Spaced Repetition round you see a preview: how many cards are due, how many are overdue, how many are new, and how large the round is likely to be.
How to rate
Section titled “How to rate”After revealing, you rate with four levels:
| Rating | Meaning | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Again | Did not know it | The card comes back soon in this round. |
| Hard | Recalled with effort | Short interval, the card stays close. |
| Good | Recalled confidently | Normal extension of the interval. |
| Easy | Knew it effortlessly | Larger interval, the card steps back. |
The most important advice: be honest. A rating that is too generous means the card reappears too late — you then believe you know it and only find out in the exam. A rating that is too strict only costs you time.
A rule of thumb: if you pieced the answer together after long deliberation, it is not Easy.
The interval preview
Section titled “The interval preview”In Settings you can turn on the interval preview. Then the four buttons themselves show when the card will come back depending on your rating. That makes the effect of your rating immediately visible.
How much lands on your plate
Section titled “How much lands on your plate”Three settings determine how much a round covers — all in Settings under Learning:
- New cards per day – how many untouched cards are introduced into the schedule at all. A low value keeps your daily load small; a high value builds up a collection faster but can bury you in reviews.
- Default session size – how many cards a round covers when you do not choose your own size.
- Daily goals – reviews, new cards and backlog reduction. A value of 0 switches a goal off.
If your daily load gets too heavy, turn down new cards per day first. That is the lever that limits your collection and therefore all future reviews.
Working off a backlog
Section titled “Working off a backlog”Sometimes things pile up: you were ill, on holiday, or did not study for a week. Overdue cards then collect as a backlog.
- Do not panic and clear everything. A full evening with hundreds of cards achieves little, because by the end you are just clicking through.
- Do a bit regularly instead. A manageable round per day works the backlog off reliably.
- No new cards while the backlog presses. Set new cards per day to 0 temporarily — then the round focuses on catching up.
- Set a goal. The daily backlog reduction goal shows you whether you are making progress.
How to recognise progress
Section titled “How to recognise progress”Spaced repetition rewards patience. Good signs:
- More mature cards. The share of cards with long intervals grows.
- A stable success rate. You keep rating honestly and still hit reliably.
- A small backlog. Overdue stays the exception, not the rule.
- Shorter rounds for the same material. You need fewer cards per day for the same knowledge.
How to read these values is described in Learning progress.
Common questions
Section titled “Common questions”Why does a card come back that I already knew? Because remembering is not a state but a curve. Intervals get longer, but they never become infinite — that is exactly what keeps your knowledge retrievable.
Why do I see no new cards today? Because your daily allowance for new cards is used up. How many you allow per day is set in the settings.
Why is my round much longer than usual? Usually because of a backlog: overdue cards collect and get caught up. Check your backlog and, if needed, set new cards per day to 0 temporarily.
What happens if I skip a day? The cards are not deleted. They become overdue and come first next time.
Can I correct a rating? Yes, via Undo during the round. If you misclicked, simply rate the card again.
Is that not the same as classic mode? No. Classic mode works through your material without changing the schedule. Only in Spaced Repetition does your rating set the card’s next due date.