Study guides
Practical writing on studying, note-taking and getting through a school week. Every piece takes a position and says where the advice stops working, because study advice that never admits a limit is how you end up following the wrong method for your subject.
Everything here is written for this site by the person who builds Planr.ai — no guest posts, no sponsored placements. The about page explains how the writing is produced and how the app is paid for, and the handbook is the long reference version: every feature, plus the study methods underneath them.
- How to take notes in a class you do not understand — What to write down when the lesson is moving too fast to follow, and how to turn those notes into understanding the same evening. 19 September 2026 · 6 min read
- Group study that is not a waste of time — Most study groups are social with a textbook open. Here is the structure that makes one work, and the three cases where studying alone is better. 17 September 2026 · 6 min read
- How to catch up when you are weeks behind — A triage method for when there is more missing work than time: what to do first, what to let go, and how to talk to a teacher about it. 16 September 2026 · 7 min read
- How to learn vocabulary for a language class — Why word lists stop working after 50 words, how to test in the harder direction, and what to do about words that refuse to stick. 15 September 2026 · 6 min read
- How to revise for essay subjects without rewriting your notes — Evidence banks, plan drills and paragraph practice: what revision looks like for history, English and any subject marked on argument. 12 September 2026 · 7 min read
- How to study for a maths test when rereading notes does nothing — Why maths revision is different from every other subject, how to build an error log, and how to spend the last two evenings before a test. 11 September 2026 · 7 min read
- How to read a textbook chapter in 40 minutes — A four-pass method for getting the argument, the detail and usable notes out of a dense chapter without reading every sentence twice. 9 September 2026 · 6 min read
- How to actually use flashcards (and when not to) — Why most flashcard decks fail, what a good card looks like, the review spacing that works, and the three subjects where cards are the wrong tool. 8 September 2026 · 7 min read
- How to study for finals in one week — A day-by-day plan for the seven days before finals, including what to cut when you are already behind. 6 September 2026 · 6 min read
- How to stop procrastinating on homework — Why procrastination is almost never laziness, and the four specific fixes that match the four actual causes. 6 September 2026 · 6 min read
- Active recall vs rereading: why your studying isn't working — Rereading feels like learning and mostly is not. What the research shows, and how to switch methods without spending more hours. 6 September 2026 · 6 min read
- How to make a study schedule you'll actually follow — Most study schedules fail in week two for the same three reasons. How to build one that survives contact with a real week. 6 September 2026 · 6 min read
- How to study for a test tomorrow — You have one evening. What to do, in order, and what to deliberately not do. 6 September 2026 · 5 min read
- The Cornell note-taking method, and when it fails — How the Cornell system actually works, why it is genuinely good, and the three subjects where it is the wrong tool. 6 September 2026 · 5 min read
Start with active recall vs rereading if you are picking one, or catching up when you are weeks behind if this week has already gone wrong.