It’s a good idea to have a strategy for actually remembering what you learn, but if your method is too complicated, you’ll never stick with it—and it’s useless. The best study methods not only rely on research and established insights into how memory works, but are also easy to integrate into everyday life. The “123” method ticks all the boxes for a good study method, so let’s take a look at what it’s all about.

The 123 study method is very similar to the 2357 method, except that it is much easier to keep up with and actually do. With 2357, you review and revise your notes and materials on days two, three, five, and seven after you first learn them, which is a difficult schedule to remember and maintain. The 123 method is simpler: On day one, you learn your material. On day two, you review it. Review it again on day three, then don’t think about it for a week, and then review it again.

The 123 Method is based on distributed practice, which involves reviewing material in intervals to help you retain it in your long-term memory. It’s a technique that works, but its proponents often expect you to divide up the practice in ways that are difficult to manage. By going over it for three days, then giving your brain a week to do it, and seeing how much you remember, you can fit distributed practice into your life much more easily.

This method is best done about 10 days before a big test, so that you have the first three days to study and review, and then again the day before the test. How you review is up to you, but you can try flashcards, which help you recall information, or blurts, which help you identify problem areas by forcing you to recall as much information as possible without looking at your notes. Just know that a week between reviews is key. When your brain is close to forgetting something, it works a little harder to pull the information out of your memory, which will really help the facts stick for your big test.