How to Use Study Tracks on StudyInk

The direct answer: study tracks are ordered collections of lessons with a progress bar. Open /tracks to see your tracks, create new ones through the AI tutor, then open a track to check lessons off as you finish them. You can share a track link or delete a track you no longer need. This guide explains the screens and how to fit a track into a real study week.

Study Tracks at a Glance

The Tracks List

The /tracks page opens with a header and a My Tracks section. A Generate New Track button links to /ai, where the AI builds a track from a prompt. If you have no tracks yet, an empty state shows the same generate button.

Each track is a card with:

• A trophy icon and a difficulty pill (Beginner, Intermediate, or Advanced).
• The track title and a short description.
• A category tag, an estimated hours label when known, and a "completed / total" lesson count.
• A progress bar with a percentage.
• Three actions: View, Share, and Delete.

The share button posts to the track share endpoint and copies a share URL. Delete asks for confirmation, then removes the track.

Opening a Track

Click View to open /tracks/[id]. The detail page shows:

• A back link to your tracks.
• A header with the category and difficulty, the title, the description, and share and delete buttons.
• A progress block with "completed / total lessons" and a percentage bar.
• Meta chips for estimated lessons and estimated hours.

Below the header is the Lessons list. Each lesson row has a circular check button on the left. Click it to mark the lesson complete or incomplete. The title and description appear in the middle, and if the lesson has a source lesson id, a View link opens it at /lessons/[id].

Tracking Completion

The check button calls the track lessons complete endpoint and toggles the lesson's state. As you check lessons, the progress bar and the completed count update. A completed lesson title shows with a strikethrough style so you can see at a glance what remains.

This makes a track a simple roadmap: generate it with AI, open it each study session, and check off what you finished.

Writing a Good Track Prompt

Because tracks are generated from a prompt, the prompt quality sets the ceiling. A vague prompt like "math" produces a vague track. A specific prompt like "Algebra 1 foundations for a student who struggles with linear equations, 8 lessons, beginner level" gives the AI a frame to build something usable.

After the track is generated, read the lesson titles before you start. If one looks out of order, that is fine, the track is a starting point you can work through in your own sequence. The progress bar only cares that you check lessons, not that you follow the exact order.

How a Track Fits a Week

A track works best when paired with a calendar habit. Open the track at the start of the week, note the total lessons, and decide how many you will finish per day. If a track has 10 lessons and you study five days, that is two lessons a day with a buffer.

The danger is generating a track and never opening it again. A track is only a map. The walking is still yours.

When a Track Is the Wrong Tool

A track is not the answer to every study problem. Skip it when:

• You have a single short topic to learn tonight. One lesson does not need a roadmap.
• The material changes weekly. A fixed track goes stale if the syllabus shifts under it.
• You are reviewing for a known weak spot. Jump straight to the relevant lesson instead of generating a whole path.
• You have not yet done the diagnostic. Build the track after you know your gaps, not before.

The track earns its place when the work is multi step and the finish line is weeks away. For a one night review, it is overhead.

Tracking Progress Across a Semester

A track is easiest to use when you read its numbers as a story, not a score. A simple way to think about it:

The percentage only tells you what you opened. Pair it with a quick self check at the end: can you still explain the lessons you completed two weeks ago? If not, the checkmark was premature.

Common Misconceptions

• That the track teaches you. It organizes material; the learning happens in the lessons themselves.
• That progress equals understanding. The bar tracks checked lessons, not mastery.
• That you must follow the order. Work the lessons in whatever sequence helps you.
• That one giant track is best. Smaller, focused tracks are easier to finish and review.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I create a study track?

Click Generate New Track on the tracks page. It opens the AI tutor, where you describe what you want and the track is built for you.

Can I add my own lessons to a track?

Tracks are generated through the AI tutor. The track detail page lets you open linked lessons, but building the track starts in the AI view.

What does the progress bar measure?

It measures completed lessons against the total lessons in the track.

Can I share a track with a friend?

Yes. The share button on the list and on the detail page copies a link to your clipboard.

How do I delete a track?

Use the delete button on the card or the detail page. You get a confirmation step before it is removed.

Do tracks connect to the calendar?

Tracks hold lessons, and those lessons can appear in your calendar when they are part of a study plan. The track itself is a standalone progress view.

Sharing a Track With a Study Partner

The share button exists for a reason: studying the same path with someone else adds accountability. When you send a track link, your partner sees the same lesson list and can work through it in parallel. You then compare which lessons each of you marked done, and more usefully, which ones each of you found hard.

This works best with a light agreement. Agree to check in twice a week, not to police each other. The progress bar is shared context, not a scoreboard. If one partner finishes faster, that is a prompt to help, not to compete.

Estimating Hours Honestly

Tracks often show an estimated hours label. Treat it as a planning guess, not a promise. Real time depends on how much you already know and how often you reread. A track that says six hours may take four if the material is familiar, or nine if it is new.

The useful move is to compare the estimate to your available week. If the track says ten hours and you have two free hours a week, you now know it spans five weeks, not one. That simple arithmetic prevents the most common failure, which is starting a track and abandoning it when reality does not match the label.