It seems like it can tick many of the boxes for effective long term learning if used properly (including not just surface learning but also deep conceptual understanding). However, my impression is that there is a learning curve and a cost associated to using it consistently, which leads to it not being used as much. Idk. What’s your experience?
Anki was a part of my language learning routine, but now, it has become my language learning routine. It’s not ideal, nor do I like it, but as I’ve decided to temporarily stop my language learning, I continued doing Anki in hopes that whatever I’ve learned continue to stick, and not be forgotten.
Now, with that out of the way, I want to describe how I actually used and continue to use Anki.
I’ve been keeping up a streak that has gone unbroken since 2020. Before that, I’ve got a good streak going on in 2019, but felt too burnt out I had to stop. The highest number of reviews I had to make was just under a thousand. Some Anki users might think it’s rookie numbers, but that’s really a bit too much for me especially as I’ve only got like an hour devoted to Anki-related stuff.
The way I do it, I only have one review session (though this review session might be scattered throughout the day). I go through each of my decks, review them, and then move to another deck. Sometimes, I add new cards to the review queue when the reviews for that deck go below a certain threshold. For some decks, it’s zero, but for some others, it’s some value I’ve come up via trial and error. More about this later.
Anyways, there is really a learning curve to using it, but I think the biggest issue people face in trying to use Anki is pacing.
One problem I faced quite early on is just the number of reviews I have to do everyday rising up. Even just adding one new card to the review queue every day would quickly add up, and adds up at a faster rate if you’ve got lots of decks. So at some point, I was reviewing well over 500 cards in a day, and I was close to burning out. Then I decided to just stop adding new cards to the review queue, and just let the review pile get lower and lower. It got to the point where I was reviewing only a card or two per deck in a day, at which point, I shouldn’t bother, right?
So, I came up with a way to try to keep my reviews at a healthy number: by varying the number of new cards I add to the review queue. For some decks, it’s a simple threshold (e.g.: if reviews < 32, add a new card), for others, it’s multiple thresholds e.g.:
if reviews < 8, add 1 new card; else, if reviews < 4 add 2 new cards; else, if reviews < 2, add 3 new cards; else, if reviews < 1, add 4 new cardsCurrently, I’m averaging just above 120 cards for all my decks per day, which is an amount I’m okay with.
Some people might disagree with me and think my way is inefficient, but I think it’s really all about finding your own way to use Anki the way that best fits your situation. I am not a medical student and I don’t need to study for exams (I currently have no plans of taking language certification exams, like the JLPT or the DELF), so I don’t really need to cram. Furthermore, I am in no rush, so slow and inefficient might just be okay with me.
If your method allows you to study consistently, I think it’s fine.
Thanks for sharing your method.
As to your take on Anki, I think it’s fair and accurate. I agree with you in that the learning curve is not in the features or the interface, but as you said: in the pacing. I really hope I can try to space the cards as much as possible, so that a regular practice doesn’t become burdensome.