Tier 4

spaced_repetition

Design and implement spaced repetition systems for durable long-term retention of knowledge

Usage in Claude Code: /spaced_repetition your question here

Spaced Repetition

Overview

Design and implement spaced repetition systems for durable long-term retention of knowledge

Steps

Step 1: Define retention scope

Clarify exactly what you need to retain and why:

  1. What knowledge needs to be recallable without lookup?
  2. In what contexts will you need to recall it?
  3. What’s the required precision (exact vs. approximate)?
  4. How long do you need to retain this (months, years, lifetime)?
  5. What’s the cost of not remembering vs. looking it up?

Red flags that suggest flashcards aren’t the answer:

  • “I want to learn everything about X” (too broad)
  • “I want to understand X deeply” (use academic_mastery)
  • “I need to be able to do X” (use skill_acquisition)

Step 2: Audit existing knowledge

Assess what you already know to avoid wasting time on known material:

  1. List major topics/categories in the domain
  2. For each, rate: unknown, vague, solid, automatic
  3. Identify gaps between current and required knowledge
  4. Prioritize what’s most important to learn first
  5. Note connections to existing knowledge (aids encoding)

Priority considerations:

  • Foundational knowledge that other facts build on
  • High-frequency information used often
  • Information with high cost of forgetting
  • Material for upcoming deadlines (exams, projects)

Step 3: Design card templates

Create consistent templates for your card types:

  1. Identify the types of information you’ll be memorizing
  2. For each type, design a template following card design principles
  3. Ensure cues match real retrieval contexts
  4. Include fields for sources, dates, personal notes
  5. Test templates with sample cards before mass creation

Common template types:

  • Fact: Q: [question/cue] → A: [answer]
  • Definition: Term: [term] → Definition: [definition]
  • Cloze: [sentence with {{c1::hidden}} portion]
  • Image: [image with question] → [answer about image]
  • Procedure: Context: [situation] → Action: [what to do]

Step 4: Structure deck organization

Design deck hierarchy for your domain:

  1. Create logical groupings (by topic, source, or use case)
  2. Decide on deck vs. tag organization
  3. Plan for growth - structure should scale
  4. Consider filtered decks for focused study
  5. Set up deck options (new cards/day, review limits)

Organization principles:

  • Deck per major subject area
  • Tags for cross-cutting categories
  • Subdecks only if you need different settings
  • Don’t over-organize - simpler is better

Recommended deck settings (Anki):

  • New cards/day: 10-20 (sustainable pace)
  • Maximum reviews/day: Start unlimited, adjust if overwhelming
  • New card order: Random or sequential based on material
  • Graduating interval: 1 day
  • Easy interval: 4 days

Step 5: Create initial cards

Build your initial card set following the templates:

  1. Start with highest-priority material
  2. Create cards in batches (by topic or source)
  3. Apply card design principles rigorously
  4. Include sources and dates for verification
  5. Review cards before adding (catch errors early)

Quality control:

  • One fact per card (atomic)
  • Answer should be unambiguous
  • Cue should prompt recall, not recognition
  • No unnecessary information
  • Consistent formatting within type

Volume guidance:

  • Better to have 100 excellent cards than 1000 mediocre ones
  • Start with core material, add edge cases later
  • Create cards as you learn, not after

Step 6: Establish review habit

Build sustainable daily review practice:

  1. Choose consistent daily review time
  2. Start with low new card rate (5-10/day)
  3. Do all due reviews every day (non-negotiable)
  4. Track streak to build momentum
  5. Plan for catch-up after missed days

Habit design (apply habit_formation principles):

  • Cue: Same time every day (morning recommended)
  • Craving: Completion, streak maintenance
  • Response: Review all due cards
  • Reward: Streak counter, knowledge confidence

Time estimation:

  • New cards: ~30 seconds each
  • Reviews: ~10 seconds each (shorter over time)
  • Mature deck: 100 reviews ≈ 15-20 minutes

Step 7: Maintain and refine

Ongoing deck health and card improvement:

  1. Monitor leech cards (repeatedly failed)
    • Rewrite unclear cards
    • Break complex cards into simpler ones
    • Add mnemonics or context
    • Suspend truly problematic cards
  2. Update or retire outdated information
  3. Add cards as you encounter new material
  4. Periodically review deck for quality
  5. Adjust settings based on performance

Card lifecycle:

  • New → Learning → Young → Mature → (Suspended if problematic)
  • Aim for 90%+ retention rate on mature cards
  • Below 85%: intervals may be too aggressive
  • Above 95%: could extend intervals

Common maintenance tasks:

  • Weekly: Handle leeches, add new cards
  • Monthly: Review statistics, adjust settings
  • Quarterly: Audit deck quality, retire obsolete content

When to Use

  • Learning vocabulary for language acquisition
  • Memorizing facts, formulas, or procedures needed long-term
  • Medical, legal, or technical knowledge requiring precise recall
  • Building foundational knowledge that other learning builds on
  • Maintaining knowledge from completed courses or projects
  • Preparing for exams requiring recall under pressure
  • Learning names, faces, and personal details professionally
  • Any situation where you need to recall without looking it up

Verification

  • Retention scope is clear with specific recall contexts defined
  • Cards follow atomic, cued recall principles
  • Templates are consistent and match retrieval needs
  • Daily review habit is established and sustainable
  • Leech cards are identified and addressed
  • Deck is maintained with outdated content retired
  • Retention rate is tracked and above 85%

Input: $ARGUMENTS

Apply this procedure to the input provided.