Make It Stick · Peter C. Brown, Henry Roediger & Mark McDaniel

Interleaving examples

Curated by · reviewed 2026-06-01

Mixing different topics or skills in one practice session beats drilling one thing at a time. It feels harder, but the learning sticks far better.

What is interleaving? Read the full idea →

5 examples of interleaving

  1. Mixed math problems

    Studying a jumble of problem types teaches you which method to pick, not just how to repeat one.

  2. Sports drills

    Alternating shots in tennis practice prepares you for a real match better than a hundred identical serves.

  3. Music practice

    Rotating between pieces and techniques in a session builds more durable skill than looping one passage.

  4. Language study

    Mixing vocabulary, grammar, and listening beats spending a whole hour on a single drill.

  5. The harder, better way

    Interleaving feels less smooth in the moment, which is exactly why it builds stronger memory.

How to spot it in yourself

You'll forget most of this by next week.

That's just how memory works. Lock interleaving in with a 5-minute active-recall session — spaced repetition, no signup.

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