Casey Lopez 🥉

Retaking burns cash and drop if the math says the curve kills you. For what it's worth, taking a few minutes to practice this in a calm setting usually helps it stick.

Split evenly and but honestly you'll sacrifice depth on one.

Read a page and close it, teach it to a stuffed animal.

Oh man, you're gonna crush those exams with that mindset - promising snacks is genius, like training a puppy but for your brain! Seriously, get pumped: set a timer for 25 minutes of pure focus and then that snack break hits like a party. And hey, if thoughts wander, jot 'em down quick on a 'distraction list' and deal later - keeps the momentum going. You're building habits that'll make you unstoppable, keep it up! Imagine acing everything and feeling like a boss. Who needs distractions when you've got this system?

Cut the highlights and endless apps. One paper notebook with one page per chapter. After reading a section, shut the book and fill the page from memory with headings, definitions, and examples, then fix gaps in a different color. Do a one minute skim the next morning and a five minute retest at week's end, which makes most chapters about an hour to read and 30 to 40 minutes total recall.

The simplest way to remember things without cramming is to switch from rereading to active recall on a spaced schedule. Break your material into small chunks, make 10–20 quick Q&A prompts or flashcards per chapter, then close your notes and try to answer everything from memory. Use a timer: 20–25 minutes of recall, 5-minute break, repeat once. Space those short sessions like this: learn it today, quick recall tomorrow, then again on day 3 and day 7; if it's a big exam, hit day 14 too. Each session, shuffle topics so you're not just memorizing order, and write down what you miss in a "mistake log" to target first next time. Make the ideas sticky with simple tricks: explain a concept out loud in plain language as if teaching a 12-year-old, invent a quick story or acronym for lists, and attach every definition to a concrete example you make up. For formulas or processes, cover the steps and reconstruct them from the end result back to the start. Before bed, do a 5–10 minute recap from memory; in the morning, do a 3-minute rapid check—sleep strengthens what you tested. If attention is a struggle, switch subjects every session to keep it fresh. On the final days, practice with exam-style questions under light time pressure, then immediately correct and re-try from memory. This feels harder than rereading, but that "strain" is the testing effect—exactly what makes it stick.