The Smarter Way to Study Less and Learn More
As exams approach, it’s easy to fall into the trap of “not knowing where to start” and thinking, “Maybe I’ll just start from the beginning of the book again.” The tricky part is that we often redo the questions we already understand and get right. This feels productive but doesn’t actually help improve our score. We stay stuck at the same level because we avoid the parts we don’t know. The key is to have a system that helps you track which questions you’ve mastered, which ones you kind of get, and which ones you absolutely need to work on.
Why You Need a Simple Tracking System
This system doesn’t need to be complicated — in fact, the simpler, the better. Here’s how I do it:
- List every chapter or question set in your study materials.
- Red-marked questions: These are the ones you don’t know how to solve. Read the solutions immediately, understand the reason behind the mistake, and dig deeper. Label these as “Red” or “Low.”
- Yellow-marked questions: These are the ones you partially understand — maybe you know the direction or concept, but can’t quite reach the solution. This also includes questions you get right but take too long to solve. Mark them “Yellow” or “Medium.”
- Green-marked questions: These are the ones you completely understand, solve quickly, and explain clearly. Mark them “Green” or “High” — it means you’ve internalized them.
Your main study time should be spent turning Low questions into Medium, and Medium into High. That’s how you actually progress.
Key Rules to Follow
- Once you label a question as Low or Medium, don’t revisit it to check progress until at least 24 hours later.
- Record the date you worked on each question. You should review it again within 2 days to avoid forgetting — this is where the Forgetting Curve comes in.
- Don’t be afraid of Low questions. They’re the ones that actually help you improve — even if they feel frustrating.
- Only mark something as Low after you truly understand the solution. Only mark something High when you can explain it to a non-expert in a way that makes sense — mastery means teaching it.
- Be careful with promoting questions to a higher level. Having lots of Green marks might feel safe, but it’s a false sense of security if you’re not truly improving.
Why This Works: Spaced Repetition + Active Recall
This approach is rooted in spaced repetition. Research shows that after learning something new, your brain starts forgetting it almost immediately. For example, you might spend hours chatting with someone at a wedding, but a month later, you forget their name. Meanwhile, the barista you see for a minute each morning? You remember her name without effort.
Studies estimate that within one day, you forget up to 60% of new info, and within three days, you remember almost nothing. The forgetting rate ranges from 50–80% daily.
However, if you review the material the day after, the forgetting rate drops dramatically — to 30–50%. After 3–5 review cycles, the knowledge doesn’t just stay — it sticks even better than before.
That’s why the rule of “wait at least 24 hours before checking again” is so important. It pushes your brain to recall, which strengthens memory. When it gets harder to remember, your brain works harder, and that deeper effort helps you retain the information longer.
The Low-Medium-High system also complements this. Low questions need more frequent reviews because they’re fragile knowledge. High questions need fewer touch points — just occasional reviews to maintain mastery.
By tracking your progress this way, you avoid wasting time on what you already know and can focus on building up what you don’t — which is how you really level up.
Need a free template to track your questions? Check the comments — I’ve shared mine for free!