skip to main content
study systems

The Only Error Log That Actually Works: A 30-Item, Weekly Retest System

A minimal, high-leverage error log that compounds: prompts, spaced retesting, and ruthless deletion once automatic.

Review date
Feb 2026
Reading time
9 min read
Author
Dr. Kola Tytler MBBS CertHE MBA MSt MRCGP
On this page
Most ‘error logs’ fail because they become a second notebook. The goal is not record-keeping. The goal is behavioural change: you stop making the same mistakes. The solution is a small, aggressively pruned list that you retest weekly until errors vanish.

The rule: small enough to finish weekly

If you can’t retest your error log in one sitting every week, it is not an error log — it is a guilt document. Keep it small (30 items is ideal) and delete relentlessly once automatic.

Key points

  • Max 30 active items. Anything bigger is too broad or too undisciplined.
  • Each item is a 10-second prompt with a clear cue and action.
  • Weekly retest + delete what’s now automatic.
1

Step 1 — Capture only high-value errors

Include: thresholds, contraindications, escalation triggers, common discriminators, and repeated misreads. Do not include low-yield trivia.
2

Step 2 — Standardise the format

Format: Cue → Decision → Action. Example: “AF + CHA2DS2-VASc X → anticoagulate → choose agent with contraindications in mind.”
3

Step 3 — Add a ‘why you missed it’ tag

Knowledge / misread / threshold / timing / bias. This helps you design the *next* week’s training rather than repeating the same approach.
4

Step 4 — Retest weekly (single sitting)

Set a 20–30 minute timer. Retest all items closed-book. Any item answered instantly gets deleted. Ambers stay. Reds get rewritten narrower.
5

Step 5 — Monthly reset

Once per month, wipe the list down to only stubborn Reds. This keeps the system lean and prevents ‘collection mode’.
SourceRoediger & Karpicke (2006): Testing effect (PubMed)
Open Link
SourceCepeda et al. (2006): Spacing effect meta-analysis (PubMed)
Open Link
Your learning path

Save your place and choose what comes next

sign in to save your learning
Work through this guide (5 steps)

Use the actions from this article to track what you have worked through.

Sign in using the reading controls above to save your steps.

  • Include: thresholds, contraindications, escalation triggers, common discriminators, and repeated misreads. Do not include low-yield trivia.

    Return to this section

  • Format: Cue → Decision → Action. Example: “AF + CHA2DS2-VASc X → anticoagulate → choose agent with contraindications in mind.”

    Return to this section

  • Knowledge / misread / threshold / timing / bias. This helps you design the *next* week’s training rather than repeating the same approach.

    Return to this section

  • Set a 20–30 minute timer. Retest all items closed-book. Any item answered instantly gets deleted. Ambers stay. Reds get rewritten narrower.

    Return to this section

  • Once per month, wipe the list down to only stubborn Reds. This keeps the system lean and prevents ‘collection mode’.

    Return to this section

Study routines · Article 12 of 13