New semester setup
Two weeks to build the routine that carries you.
The first two weeks of a semester are where habits form. Whatever you do consistently in weeks 1-2 becomes what you default to in weeks 12-15. Getting this right prevents finals-week panic; getting it wrong guarantees it.
This playbook is a 14-day setup plan: declare your classes, build the first recall cards, install the daily rhythm, notice the first Brain score. By day 14, you have a sustainable weekly cadence that most students don't hit until midterms — and by then it's too late.
The specific mistake this playbook exists to prevent: waiting to 'get into the semester' before setting up study infrastructure. Every week you wait costs you a week of compounding. Recall queues need weeks to be worth using. Start now.
Day 1 of the semester. Fourteen days of specific moves to install the routine.
Each row is a day (or block) with a specific focus and a specific Brainback move. Rehearsable. Adjustable.
| when | focus | brainback move | hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Declare classes as Learn subjects | Add every course you're taking. Attach syllabus PDFs where you have them. This is the switch that makes Brainback treat coursework as academic. | 20 min |
| Day 2 | First Learn session in your hardest class | Pick the class you dread most. Do one problem in Learn mode. Feel the attempt-gate. It's uncomfortable; that's the whole point. | 30 min |
| Day 3 | Recall queue seeded | Do one Learn session per class. Every wrong attempt generates a card. Your queue starts filling. | — |
| Day 4-6 | First recall reviews | Morning routine established: 5-10 minutes of recall over coffee. Do it 3 days in a row to install the habit. | 10 min/day |
| Day 7 | First Sunday · trend baseline | No Brain score yet (need week 4), but note your gut on which class feels weakest. That gut is your baseline hypothesis. | — |
| Days 8-11 | Rhythm sustaining · one explain-back per class per week | Pick one concept per class each week that you'll explain-back. The explain-back score reveals which concepts landed and which didn't. | 20 min/day |
| Day 12 | First mock problem set or quiz | Deliberately choose a problem set slightly harder than what you're comfortable with. Learn mode on the ones you can't solve. | — |
| Day 13 | Weekly retro | Look at the past 12 days. Where did the routine break? Adjust the schedule (not the intensity) to make it sustainable. | — |
| Day 14 | Habit consolidated | By now: recall queue at 40-60 cards, 3 explain-backs done, first Brain score arriving next Sunday. The habit is running. | — |
The Brainback pieces this playbook leans on.
Same seven surfaces are always on. For this specific playbook, these are the ones you’ll touch most.
Every homework problem runs through here. Days 1-14 are about installing the attempt-first reflex.
Cards accumulate from your Learn sessions. By day 14 you have enough for a meaningful daily review pass.
The lightest-weight signal on whether a concept has actually landed. Cheap to do; expensive to skip.
Three pitfalls that quietly kill this playbook.
Every playbook has anti-patterns that feel productive but produce nothing. Skipping these is worth as much as executing the plan.
because · Consistency > perfection. A 10-min daily review beats a 90-min weekly one that gets skipped 3 times.
because · If you're auditing or taking pass/fail, don't add those. Learn mode saturation happens faster than students expect.
because · Start without it. You can attach materials any time. The attempt-gate works with any problem input.
The full-semester version of this setup. Read the college persona playbook →
Everything students ask about this playbook.
Should I set up everything in one sitting?▾
No — spread it across days 1-3 as this playbook suggests. Setting up all at once feels productive but doesn't produce habit. Spacing the setup mirrors the spacing you want in review.
What if I'm not taking traditional classes?▾
Same shape. Add whatever you're studying as a Learn subject — a MOOC, a self-study book, a certification prep — and the workflow generalizes.
How long until I can trust the Brain score?▾
First real Brain score arrives on Day 28 (after 4 weekly cycles). Before that, it's 'measuring.' Don't over-index on early numbers.
What if my semester is already 3 weeks in?▾
Start today anyway. You lose 3 weeks of compounding but the rest of the semester still benefits. Better late than not at all.
new semester setup
Run the playbook this week.
Free tier is enough to execute most of these. Upgrade if the recall queue gets serious.