You've probably heard in school that you should learn continuously. It's not very useful advice, because everybody knows that. But the question is what it means and why it is better to study continually than by drilling one or two nights before an exam. Such crash learning can sometimes be effective (like drilling, for example, when you're not studying), but it also brings some problems:

• The long-term memorized information is usually minimal, especially if you don't further work with the topic. If you have to learn something in this way, it is highly recommended that you revisit the subject once or twice after some time has passed.
• If one learns this way regularly, one has excellent problems with context. This model of learning can only be applied to the lower levels of Bloom's taxonomy. Authentic, reflective learning does not occur here.

In other words, we must look for a learning strategy to eliminate these problems. Although something works differently for everyone and learning strategies are a highly individualised matter, continuous learning seems to lead to better results in general. Repeated education aims not only to improve memorization (i.e., some increase in volume) but also to understand context and some context. In this learning model, you think about a topic for a long time and can look up sources or process it reflectively.

For example, Benedict Carey, in How We Learn, lists the following time intervals between learning as optimal for different times to test:

• 1 week: 1-2 days
• 2 months: 1 week
• 3 months: 2 weeks
• 6 months: 3 weeks
• 1 year: 1 month

It is about the time intervals between the first and second teachings, with three to five cycles ideal. For example, it means that 1 week after learning you should study for 1-2 days. From a memory point of view, there are a few more interesting points. The first is the Zeigarnik effect. This is a remarkable property of memory that remembers things it perceives as unfinished much better than finished. By spreading learning over a more extended period, all the facts are set up to be recalled quickly. This means that you are also usually learning when you don't quite plan to.

The second exciting phenomenon is related to the ability to sustain attention. It is not infinitely large, and the notion that one can concentrate on an activity for hours is false. No one can do that but a machine. It is generally believed that attention can be sustained fully for 20-40 minutes, depending on how you define it, and you are just relaxed. In other words - crash learning can't work very well because, to the principle of time pressure, it doesn't work with full attention, whereas if you have time to chunk your learning, the results are much better.

The third benefit of continuous learning is that memory works by association, which means, among other things, that you learn better when you change activities. Few people will study for only one exam a month apart for a year. By alternating exercises, both remembering and learning are significantly better. For this reason, in school, for example, alternating subjects are ideally arranged so that they always tax a different part of the body or mind.

The last advantage we will mention for continuous revision learning is the opportunity to reflect on the topic. As trivial as it sounds, it takes time to come up with something - there is a process to idea generation that can take days, weeks, or months. If learning is not a passive exercise of "cramming" some material and rehashing or rewriting it, it is impossible to learn at the last minute. requires time, something that last-minute learning does not allow for. The question is whether you learn more in the moments that you are not actively learning and if your brain has room to think about the topic independently.

It is essential to manage one's time and tasks, plan them and stick to this plan, which is closely related to motivation and self-management, topics we have already covered. So if you choose to learn continuously, try to set times (and volumes) of time you will devote to learning, but also perhaps the rewards you will give yourself for learning. Make it more fun!