Are you trashing your training budget?

Spaced learning is the solution.

You know the drill. An invite lands in your inbox — it’s for a day of training. The date arrives, you go along. It’s good. Maybe it’s even great. You learn a lot and vow to use those new techniques.

Then a week goes by. Two weeks. A month. The memory fades. And you’re back to your old habits.

That’s not your fault — it’s not a lack of enthusiasm. It’s human nature.

German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus told us so

In the late 19th century, German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus discovered that without reinforcement, we quickly forget what we learn.

He called it the Forgetting Curve — and it looks something like this:

The forgetting curve showing how memory retention declines rapidly without reinforcement.

A sharp drop in retention happens within the first few days, followed by a slower decline.

Why “one-and-done” training doesn’t work

The goal of training is behaviour change — but that won’t happen after just one workshop.

Even the most inspiring session loses impact if there’s no follow-up or practice. Without reinforcement, your team simply won’t retain what they’ve learned.

What is spaced learning?

Spaced learning flips the script. Instead of a single training day, it delivers content in small, manageable chunks, spaced out over time.

This approach allows people to revisit key concepts, reflect, and practise.

Neurologically speaking, you’re strengthening the brain’s neural pathways, helping information move from short-term to long-term memory.

What does a spaced learning programme look like?

There’s no single formula, but effective programmes usually mix formats. You might:

• start with a full-day workshop, followed by a series of short virtual sessions

• or go straight to a mini-curriculum of bite-sized modules.

Then, reinforce the learning with:

• follow-up sessions: office hours, Q&As, coaching

• microlearning modules: short bursts of content via email or intranet

• practical application: set challenges, hold ‘show and tell’ sessions, theme weeks or months around specific skills.

Do some or all of these things and you’ll: 

✅ keep learning front of mind 

✅ encourage real-world application 

✅ get your team sharing and teaching each other.

That’s how you make the learning stick.

You don’t need to figure it out alone

You don’t have to overhaul your whole training programme to make learning stick. Even small changes, like adding short follow-up sessions or microlearning modules, can make a lasting impact.

And if you’re not sure where to start, our Writing Skills Self-Check Scorecard can help.

It’s a quick 15-question assessment that shows where your team’s writing could improve, and points you to the most effective courses for those needs.

Not sure what’s right for your team?

Let’s talk it through.

Book a free chat and we’ll help you decide which approach — from one-off workshops to spaced learning programmes — will give you the best return on your training budget.