Convert blocked practice into interleaved practice

Instead of doing all of topic A then all of topic B, shuffle A, B, and C together.

Why it works

Blocked practice lets you reuse the same approach on every problem, so you stop deciding which method applies — you just repeat it. Interleaving forces a retrieval and a discrimination on each problem: you must first identify what kind of problem it is before solving it. That extra decision is the skill real tests and real life actually demand.

How to do it

1. List the distinct topics or problem types in your material.
2. Build a single mixed set that pulls from all of them in unpredictable order.
3. Solve them one at a time, naming the type before choosing a method.

Evidence

Controlled experiments in math and other domains have repeatedly found that interleaved practice produces better delayed-test performance than blocked practice, even though learners rate it as harder and less effective while doing it. (rct)

The advantage shows up on delayed tests, not always immediately; gains are clearest when the problem types are confusable enough that learning to tell them apart matters.

Common mistake

Grouping the mixed problems by type anyway ("I will do the mixed set but keep the algebra together"), which quietly recreates blocking and erases the benefit.