(This is a work-in-progress! Please don't share yet.
Let me know your honest feedback, thanks!)

(Also, this is CHAPTER 2 of my prototype. You might wanna play CHAPTER 1 first, if you haven't already.) You don't have to use a shoebox for Spaced Repetition, but it's funnier if you do. (Later, we'll look at some Spaced Repetition apps, like Anki & Tinycards) This setup is called The Leitner Box. It's like a card game you play against yourself! First, divide your box up into seven "Levels". All new flashcards start at Level 1. (If you're new to Spaced Repetition, I recommend starting with 5 new cards a day.) When you review a card, and get it right, it moves up one Level. (If you're at the final Level, congrats! Your card gets to retire in your long-term memory) But if you review a card, and get it wrong... it has to go all the way back down to Level 1. (If it's already at Level 1, good news: you can keep testing yourself on it until you get it right, and move it up to Level 2) But when do we review cards? That's the trick. In the Leitner Box, we review Level 1 cards every day, Level 2 every two days, Level 3 every FOUR days, Level 4 every EIGHT days, etc... The pattern is: we double the gap (# of days between reviews) for each Level! Here's what the looping 64-day game calendar looks like: (Note: the reason we review Level 1 at the end is so you see your new cards and the cards you forgot from higher Levels.) (At the end of a daily game of Spaced Repetition, leave no cards in Level 1. Test yourself until you can get them all right, and move them up to Level 2!) (Note #2: Spaced Repetition apps like Anki use a more sophisticated algorithm...) (...but at its core, it works on the same principles as the Leitner Box) And that's all to it! Here's how the game plays out, step by step: (This sim has no end. Once you "get it", just keep scrolling.) Each daily review takes 20-30 minutes. Instead of watching a TV episode, you could play a card game – and remember anything you want for life. However, habits are hard. If you start big, you won't get the ball rolling... But if you start small, you can gain momentum, and roll your snowball bigger and bigger. That's why I recommend starting with 5 new cards a day. Once you're comfortable with that, you can do 10 new cards/day. Then 15. Then 20, 25, 30. And at 30 new cards a day, you can learn 10,000+ new facts/words/etc a year. Here's how the game plays out, in the long, long run: That's it. That's how you can make long-term memory a choice. Let's let that sink in. Take a break, and recall what we just learnt: (TODO: Include practice flashcards from Chapter 1)

Spaced Repetition almost seems too good to be true.
And it is... IF you fall for some very common pitfalls. Memory isn't a bookshelf where you collect random giant tomes to impress others. That's to say: Spaced Repetition will fail if your cards feel bloated, disconnected or meaningless. Instead, memory is like a jigsaw puzzle: full of small, connected pieces. (This is also how neurons work: lots of small, connected things) It's not about collection, it's about connection. Thus, to get the most out of Spaced Repetition, you must make your cards... Let's see how. This card sucks: It's too big. Too much information. Let's cut it up into smaller, connected pieces! As a rule of thumb, each flashcard should have one & only one idea. Like so: Facts connect to facts. But there's other, more playful ways for cards to be... This card is... alright. It's an English word on the front, French word on the back. It's the standard for most language-learning flashcards: But you know what would make it stick in memory better? If you connected it to pictures, sounds, context, and/or personal details! Like so: The front now has a drawing of a cat (picture) with a fill-in-the-blank French sentence (context: grammar) about my childhood cat, Stripes. (personal) The back now has a symbol of the noun's gender (picture), its pronunciation (sound*), and a warning about the female version of the noun. (context: slang) * Obviously, paper cards can't play sounds. But apps like Anki/Tinycards can! But the most important connection of all, is to connect your learning to something that is... Personally, here's how I've learnt best: First, I try (emphasis on try) to do something. Inevitably, I'll get stuck. In that moment, I'll look up what I need, and learn something. And so on. That, I believe, is the best way to keep yourself motivated while learning: By making sure your learning is in service of doing something you care about. Speaking of learning, let's practice recalling what we've learnt: (this will be the second-last time!) The consensus in the Spaced Repetition community is, after a while, you should make your own cards. That way, you can connect facts to what you know, what you love. That's why, in the final part of this interactive comic, you're going to make your own cards! And those cards will be about... YOU [END OF CHAPTER TWO]

Sorry for the cliffhanger, again! The 3rd/final short chapter will have you make your own flashcards to these questions:
  • WHAT do you want to learn?
  • WHY do you want to learn that? (to make your cards meaningful)
  • HOW will you learn? (choose: Leitner Box, or digital apps like Anki / TinyCards / etc)
If you picked Anki/Tinycards, it'll help you download them and get started. If you picked a Leitner Box, it'll give you a 64-day calendar to download & print out.

And finally, to really help you get started and keep going, you'll also get to download a laptop/phone wallpaper to remind you to do your Spaced Repetition. You'll also get to download all the practice flashcards in this interactive comic, including the ones you just made. These can be your first cards!

Hopefully... this all helps you start using Spaced Repetition TODAY – letting you take better control of your learning, and fill the long-term memory library of your mind with wonderful things.

Anyway, please let me know your honest feedback so far! Early feedback helps me a lot. Many thanks in advance!

<3,
~ Nicky
On Day [N]... review Levels [N] (in that order) (and then loop back to Day 1!) Day [N] to review: Level review Level [N] add [N] new cards total: [N] cards! ([N] retired) next step next day next week next month [N] new cards a day recall [N]% of cards wrong RESET try to recall ↑ then flip ↻ (cards left: [N]) did you remember this? nah, try again yup, onwards! done for now! keep scrolling
↓
cat
(english)
chat
(french)
...then back to doing... ↻
...then back to learning... ↻
What's this?
This organelle is called "mitochondria". Mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell. They're found in almost all eukaryotic (nucleus-having) organisms. The most widely-accepted hypothesis for the origin of mitochondria is Endosymbiotic Theory: around ~1.5 billion years ago, a prokaryotic (nucleus-lacking) cell that was "eaten" by another cell, somehow survived, and has continued to live inside them ever since.
What's this?
Mitochondria
Mitochondria is the _______ of the cell
powerhouse // bonus note: seriously though, we'd all be dead without 'em.
Mitochondria is found in almost all ____ organisms.
eukaryotic
Eukaryotes are cells that...
have a nucleus // bonus note: "eu"=good, "karyon"=kernel
Prokaryotes are cells that...
DON'T have a nucleus // bonus note: "pro"=before, "karyon"=kernel
The most widely-accepted hypothesis for the origin of mitochondria is...
Endosymbiotic Theory // bonus note: "endo"=inner, "sym"=together, "bio"=living
According to Endosymbiotic Theory, mitochondria arose around ____ years ago
~1.5 billion years ago
According to Endosymbiotic Theory, mitochondria first arose when...
when a prokaryote was eaten by another cell
In the Leitner Box, we ______ the gap (# of days between reviews) for each Level
double the gap
The Leitner Box game:
when you get a card right, you move it ______ .
up one Level
The Leitner Box game:
when you get a card wrong, you move it ______ .
back to Level 1!
According to some random comic-game on the internet, my Spaced Repetition flashcards should be ______ , ______ , and ______ .
small, connected & meaningful