Andy Matuschak described how a spaced repetition writing system how such a system can be implemented through software. But such software does not exist at the moment. Some solutions around the Internet are Rice Issa’s Spaced Inbox and Obsidian’s Spaced Repetition community plugin. Issa’s solution seems only applicable for Windows, while Obsidian’s plugin requires that all notes to be reviewed are tagged by a specific tag—something that needs to be tediously done to existing notes one-by-one. Also, transporting prompts between Craft and Obsidian creates a lot of unnecessary friction.
I found a more manual solution for implementing this kind of system using a note-writing application that supports interlinking. Cesar Rodriguez implemented this in Roam. I’m implementing it in Craft using a combination of notes, backlinks, Google Calendar, the Mac’s native Calendar app, and Things. For the complete setup see: How to setup a spaced repetition writing system in Craft.
To implement a spaced repetition writing system, the following general rules should be followed:
- Collect inklings in a single writing inbox.
- Review each inkling. If the inkling was interesting and you were able to expand it but you need more time, schedule it soon for another review.
- If the inkling is interesting but is hard to expand, schedule it for a later time.
- If the inkling is no longer interesting, remove it.
- If you have developed the inkling into a permanent note, transfer it to your zettelkasten.
I implement these rules in my morning writing practice.
References
Matuschak, A. (n.d.). Spaced repetition may be a helpful tool to incrementally develop inklings. Andyʼs Working Notes. Retrieved September 16, 2021, from https://notes.andymatuschak.org/Spaced_repetition_may_be_a_helpful_tool_to_incrementally_develop_inklings
Rodriguez, C. (2020, December 28). Implementing a Spaced Repetition Writing System. https://cesarr.co/posts/implementing-a-spaced-repetition-writing-system/