Study methods
Spaced repetition: build a study schedule
An example of a one-week schedule for reviewing your courses with flashcards and quizzes, adapting the sessions to the hard notions.
The Fichea blog
Methods to understand, test yourself and memorize.
Concrete examples to turn your course PDFs and photos into sheets, then go from reading to practice.
Methods to try with your course
Examples, corrected questions and steps to prepare your next study session.
Study methods
Study methods
Review for a test with sheets, quizzes and flashcards
Organize your studying from course to exercise: a sheet to structure, a quiz to test yourself, a chat to understand and flashcards to review.
Study methods
How to study effectively: principles and a typical week
Testing, spacing, interleaving and explaining: the principles for studying effectively, a typical week and the mistakes to avoid, from rereading to the night before.
Study methods
Studying alone without a teacher: getting organized and correcting yourself
CNED, absent teacher, independent candidate: how to study alone, set yourself a goal, break up your course, correct yourself and know when to ask for help.
Study methods
Feynman method: explain it simply to understand it
Feynman technique: explain a notion as if to a younger student, spot your gaps, go back to the course, simplify. Steps, an example on inflation, limits.
Memorizing
Memorizing
I can’t remember my courses: what can I do?
You understand in class but forget everything? Why memory slips, the difference between understanding and remembering, and how to make your courses stick.
Memorizing
Learn by heart quickly: method and examples
Definitions, dates, formulas or articles of law: break them up, recite, make flashcards in both directions and space out your reviews to remember word for word.
Memorizing
The J method: the D0, D1, D3, D7 calendar explained
The J method: go back over each chapter at D+1, D+3, D+7, D+15 and D+30. How to keep this calendar by hand, adapt it to your exam and automate it.
Memorizing
Active recall: why testing yourself beats rereading
Active recall means retrieving your course from memory. What the studies say, 6 ways to practice it and a worked example.
Memorizing
Blurting: the blank-page method for studying
Read, close your course, write down everything that comes back, then fill in with color: the blurting method step by step, with a full example in history.
Flashcards
Flashcards
Create flashcards from a course PDF
From PDF to revision cards: choose the notions, check the answers and use your flashcards. Method and example of a corrected card.
Flashcards
How do you make useful flashcards for studying?
One notion per card, a checkable answer and examples: learn how to write flashcards for definitions, dates and formulas.
Flashcards
Leitner box: the 5-box method step by step
Leitner method: build your 5-compartment box, set how often each one is reviewed and move your cards forward. Spanish example, limits, digital version.
Quiz and multiple-choice quiz
Quiz and multiple-choice quiz
Create a multiple-choice quiz from a course PDF and understand your mistakes
Prepare a quiz from your course PDF: choosing the chapter, questions, explained correction and going back over mistakes. Example of a multiple-choice quiz on percentages.
Understanding your course
Understanding your course
Understanding a course PDF with AI: what questions should you ask?
Ask for an explanation, an example or the steps of a line of reasoning based on your PDF. Sample questions and a method to check the answers.
Understanding your course
How do you make a mind map for studying?
A mind map links the notions of a chapter around a central theme. How to build it from your course, an example in economics and social sciences, and its limits.
Understanding your course
Cornell method: taking notes that are useful for studying
Notes, cue questions and summary: the Cornell method splits your page into three zones. How to use it in class, then for studying, with an example.
Organize your studying
Organize your studying
Studying the night before an exam: limiting the damage
Exam tomorrow and nothing studied? How to sort the chapters, test yourself, sleep instead of pulling an all-nighter, and prepare for next time without panic.
Organize your studying
How do you motivate yourself to study when you procrastinate?
Start small, the two-minute rule, phone out of reach, short sessions and rewards: concrete ways to stop putting off your studying.
Organize your studying
Too many courses to review: where to start?
Too many chapters and not enough time? Take stock, sort by weight and deadline, break it into blocks and start with a test to know what to review.
Organize your studying
Studying while working: going back to school and work-study
Employee, work-study student or going back to school? Study in short sessions on your commute and in the evening, with a typical week of 4 to 5 hours and regular tests.
Organize your studying
Pomodoro method for studying: what to do in 25 minutes?
The Pomodoro method applied to studying: 25/5 as a starting point, what to put in each block, the 50/10 variant, a typical session and pitfalls to avoid.
Exams and competitive exams
Exams and competitive exams
Making the most of your blocus: schedule, sample day and method
Blocus in Belgium: definition, the 2026-2027 UCLouvain calendar as an example, a schedule by course and by ECTS credits, a sample day and tests on your syllabus.
Exams and competitive exams
Studying for midterms: a 2-week or 7-day plan
University midterms: list your UE and their coefficients, sort your handouts and follow a two-week or seven-day plan, with past exams, quizzes and oral practice.
Exams and competitive exams
Resits or second session: how to study well
Bachelor’s resits, the bac oral or the second session in Belgium: check the rules, analyze your failure without guilt, target your UE and plan your summer.
Studying with AI
Studying with AI
Studying with AI without cheating: uses and prompts
AI can quiz you, re-explain a passage or create questions on your course notes. What is allowed, the risks and 5 prompts to copy for studying.
Looking for a method for a level or an exam? Choose your study path: brevet, bac, higher education or support for a student.
· By Fichea
Fichea: from a PDF or photo to study sheets
Start from your course, find the essentials in a sheet and test your knowledge. Discover the journey with a demo on percentages, a real quiz screenshot and downloadable materials.
Read the article and try the exercise →