Quick reference guide
Which to use when?
You've got loads of techniques to choose from. Which one do you reach for? This page is your quick guide. Don't try to memorise it. Come back when you're not sure.
Quick ratings
How good is each technique at each job? Here's the quick chart.
| Technique | Best for | Speed |
|---|---|---|
| Test First | Finding out what you don't know | Fast |
| Test Yourself | Remembering anything | Medium |
| Space It Out (Anki) | Long-term memory | Slow build, huge payoff |
| Teach a Teddy | Understanding tricky concepts | Slow but powerful |
| Memory Tricks | Lists, dates, sequences | Fast |
| Reading That Sticks | Textbook chapters | Slow |
| Notes That Work | Catching information | Medium |
| Split-Page Notes | Lessons and videos | Fast |
| 5 Ws + Why-Why-Why | Essays and writing | Medium |
Which to use for which problem
When you're stuck on what to do, find your situation here.
🎯 Match your situation to a method
- Have a test next week? → Test First → Test Yourself → Space It Out (Anki)
- Have a spelling test or vocab list? → Memory Tricks + Anki
- Have to read a textbook chapter? → Reading That Sticks (SQ3R)
- In a lesson right now? → Split-Page Notes
- A concept you can't get your head around? → Teach a Teddy
- Need to remember the planets, the kings, or any boring list? → Memory Tricks
- Have an essay to write? → 5 Ws + Why-Why-Why
- Just learned something new today? → Make Anki cards
- Got a test tomorrow and feel panicked? → Test First (find what you don't know) → Test Yourself on those bits
What NOT to do
These are the moves that waste your time. Spot them. Avoid them.
🚫 The traps
- Don't just re-read your notes. It feels productive. It isn't.
- Don't highlight everything. If everything's important, nothing is.
- Don't cram the night before. Space it out instead.
- Don't make pretty notes you never look at again. Notes you don't turn into flashcards are wasted.
- Don't try every technique at once. Pick one. Use it for a week. Add another.
- Don't skip the Recite step in SQ3R. That's the bit that makes it work.
⭐ The one-line summary
If you remember one thing from this whole site, remember this:
Your brain remembers what it pulls out, not what it sees go in.
Every technique on this site is just a different way to pull stuff out of your brain. Pre-tests, flashcards, blank-page recall, teaching a teddy — they're all the same trick in different shapes. Pull things out. Often. In different ways. That's the whole game.