1. How often do I need to use Anki? How long should I study every day/week?

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• The #1 rule of Anki is to study your cards every. single. day. The spaced repetition algorithm requires daily repetition.

• Based on my statistics from my first year of medical school, I review an average of 471 Anki flashcards per day, which takes me a little less than an hour! I increased my answering speed by using the Speed Focus Mode Add-On.

• • AnKing: How to Do Anki Faster (and Stay Focused)​

• This does not take into account the time spent viewing new cards, which takes me around 2 hours per week. 

• Keep in mind that it will take you longer at first to get through your decks as you are getting used to Anki! Do not get discouraged; please keep trying! You will soon realize how quickly you memorized previous weeks' information. 

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2. I want to take a day/weekend off of Anki, how can I miss a day without being overwhelmed?

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• While it's not recommended, life happens and we all need breaks, but it's important to know how to make up for it to avoid being overwhelmed when you start again. That being said, the best thing is to not miss days. The more you do Anki, the less time you will spend reviewing, allowing you to avoid Ease Hell as AnKing so rightly dubbed (essentially, avoiding reviewing more cards than you need to). 

• First of all, I recommend downloading the Load Balancer Scheduler Add-On, which helps maintain a consistent number of reviews from one day to another.  

• I highly recommend watching the AnKing: How to Miss a Day video. While it is a little long, it provides you with options and teaches you how to use them. Essentially, they recommend using these Add-Ons to plan ahead:

  • Free Weekend Add-On (select a day where you do not want to study, and it will reschedule cards to another day)

    • This is my personal preference, as it allows me to plan my studying around weekends away and holidays.

  • ReMemorize Add-On (manually adjust properties of the current card in the reviewer)

  • The video also mentions a way to catch-up (as of 12:26), if you were to unexpectedly miss a significant time period. 

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3. What is the difference between new (blue) and due (green) flashcards?

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• New: Number of new cards that are ready to be learned that day

• Due: Number of waiting reviews and cards currently in learning

• As answered in question #4, you should only be unsuspending (and viewing) new cards once you have seen the material in class. It will take some time to get through them initially, but if you unsuspend them every week, it will be manageable!

• In terms of the Due cards, I highly recommend completing your green cards every single day. It is the only way that you will maximize the spaced repetition algorithm. 

• In summary, new (blue) when you can (after you've seen the material in class) and due (green) every day!

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4. There are too many flashcards and I can't get through them. What do I do?

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• Suspend, suspend, suspend! Suspend allows you to hide a card from review until they are manually unsuspended.

• If you have not seen the material in class yet, then you should not be studying those flashcards yet! Having too many flashcards can stress students out, so make sure to learn the suspend function.

• Open Anki —> Browse —> Click the deck (e.g. Unit 1) —> Select all (cmd+a) —> Toggle Suspend (cmd+j)

• Once the material is taught, repeat the same steps to unsuspend the flashcards, and repeat the same process every week!

• AnKing: Suspend, Bury, Mark, Tags & Decks

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5. At what point during the week should I use Sophie's Flashcards? ​

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• My answer depends on what you are studying for (theory vs. practical). 

• Theory:

  • I personally think that it would be best to start the week's theory flashcards at least after Wednesday morning classes in first-year since you should have seen most of the theory by then. 

  • Prior to that, I recommend suspending the week's flashcards to avoid being distracted or stressed by them.

• Practical:

  • I would unsuspend practical flashcards prior to the laboratory sessions. 

  • In my opinion, I learn best during the practical sessions when I have gone through these flashcards beforehand, and the lectures allow me to consolidate the information.  

• However, I recommend experimenting! If viewing flashcards before lectures or labs is too stressful and confusing, then unsuspend them afterward by all means! All that matters is that you view them eventually and that you finish your daily due flashcards!

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6. I occasionally see flashcards that are beyond the scope of our curriculum and it feels stressful to not know them. How do I get rid of them?

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• If there is a flashcard that you do not believe will be tested as it wasn't covered
  in class or if it's a bad flashcard (flashcard-making is tough and I definitely
  have made some bad cards), then I recommend suspending the card. 

• To suspend a card while studying, click More —> Suspend Card or by type "@"

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7. I only see 20 new/review cards a day, what should I do?

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• I recommend viewing the Preferences & Deck Options section of the Anki Set-Up page for more information, but essentially, you need to adjust your deck settings.

• Click on the wheel on the right side of a deck —> Options 

  • New Cards —> New cards/day —> 9999

  • Reviews —> Maximum reviews/day —> 9999

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8. It's the day before our midterm. Can I use Anki to cram?

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• Although this is not the purpose of Anki (remember, spaced repetition), you can use Anki to cram.
  I usually cram all of my cards for the unit starting around a week before the exam.

• I'm not gonna lie, it's pretty exhausting and probably not the best use of my time, but it allows me
  to see which pieces of information that I don't know. I usually then create a document of
  "Things I Don't Know" and study that the day before the exam.

• Click on the deck of interest —> Custom Study —> Study by card state or tag —> 
  Select 9999 cards from the deck —> Choose tags (Optional) —> OK

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9. I saw a mistake and want to correct it. How can I contribute?

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• Follow the instructions on the Corrections & Updates page. 

• If you have noticed an error or wish to update a flashcard with more current information, please submit the changes with the form, and I will be sure to update the decks periodically.

• If you wish to view previous corrections, visit the previous corrections and updates sheet. 

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10. I want to make my own flashcards. How do make flashcards efficiently?

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• It's easy to fall into the trap of making too many flashcards, spending more time on flashcard-making than learning. Remember that spaced repetition is what makes you memorize, not making flashcards.

• After making flashcards for so long, I can say that there have been periods where I have made flashcards and not learned a single thing. I personally believe that it is more valuable to review flashcards than make them, but the advantage of making your own flashcards is that you have control over your learning. 

• There is only so much information in medicine, and if you start making your own flashcards, there are bound to be many of them that are duplicates of my own flashcards or someone else's deck. I recommend first trying to use pre-made decks, get used to Anki, and decide whether you want to create your own cards from scratch or simply add to a pre-made deck. 

  • I highly recommend the Searching, PDF Reading and Note-Taking Add-On if you are planning on ​adding flashcards to the decks that I have already created. It will allow you to know whether flashcards containing similar words have been created in the past, and evaluate if you should be making another similar one. 

• That being said, if interested, I recommend viewing the following videos and playlists: 

  • AnKing: Making Effective Cards​

  • MedSchoolInsiders: Anki Tutorials Playlist

• I also highly recommend investing in an ergonomic office set-up.

• Creating flashcards requires a lot of screens, and may not only cause eye strain, but back pain from hunching over your computer. Here are my recommendations based on my set-up (pictured below):

  • External Ultrawide Monitor

  • Monitor Stand

  • Laptop Stand

  • Wireless Bluetooth Mouse & Keyboard

  • Ergonomic Chair (adjustable height and lumbar support)

  • Under Desk Foot Rest

• It's also possible to use a video game controller for Anki (instead of keyboard/mouse)! This would allow you to have more flexibility when reviewing your cards. For example, you could place your tablet on a treadmill or Stairmaster, and use a controller to review cards while exercising!

  • AnKing: How to Use a Controller for Anki​

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