Spaced learning

Studies have found that students are more successful if they study or practise skills in spaced sessions over a few weeks, compared to a long session crammed into one day.  People who rely on cramming find they forget quickly.
Forgetting
We tend to forget most of what we have learned quite quickly and only retain a small percentage in the longer term -  unless we actively revisit what we’ve learned.  We tend to remember things that are significant or meaningful more accurately and for longer.
When learning a new key concept we need to think about it and process it a few times.  When learning something new, we retrieve previously learned concepts and relate them to the new ideas. 
Space, switch, revisit and test
Space learning out over time to  help you remember key ideas.  Make your study schedule look like a high school timetable with different periods of individual study split up and distributed throughout each week.  Juxtaposing topics or methods makes you notice differences and make comparisons.
Test yourself after a day or two to reinforce your learning and then leave a longer interval before reviewing the topic or concept again.   Research suggests repeated engagement at increasing intervals works best to retain key concepts. Testing yourself is effective because it forces you to recall.
Aim to study in active ways – engaging with material and making study interesting rather than just rereading.
Further reading
Dunlosky J, Rawson KA, Marsh EJ, Nathan MJ and Willingham DT  (2013) ‘What Works, What Doesn’t’ in Scientific American Mind  24(4) September/October 2013, pp46-53.
End.
www.ed.ac.uk/iad