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How to Use Anki: An Efficient Tutorial for Beginners
Hi, welcome hither. In this post, you lot're going to learn how to kickoff using Anki in the most efficient way possible — based on my experience.
Whether you're using Anki for medical schoolhouse, MCAT, language learning, engineering (like I did) or for continuous learning (what I do now) — I recollect you lot're gonna dear this.
Specifically, we're going to cover the near essential elements of Anki that you lot should focus on, so yous can:
- Immediately starting time using this awesome spaced repetition software
- Avoid the same mistakes that I did; and
- Have a roadmap that tells you what's actually important when using Anki
If you don't know already, here are a couple of things Anki allows y'all to do in a nutshell:
- Schedule reviews automatically, and so y'all don't have to worry well-nigh which specific topic to study
- Report 1714.29% more efficiently as compared to those using conventional flashcards
- Only study information y'all're about to forget, so you study merely what needs studying
- Encode information into long term memory at will, rather than by risk
- Recall almost annihilation you want without having to re-read
- Study anywhere! Studying felt less effortful than ever the moment I started using Anki before. What a blessing.
At present, this guide exists considering I believe you only need to larn the few core info if you're simply looking to start.
The Anki manual is helpful, just it's an app documentation rather than a quick-outset guide.
You desire a guide that's Lean, rather than filled with data you can't readily use.
Redditors seem to concord:
That being said, I made this guide comprehensive, however concise so that this volition besides make you a decent Anki user more apace.
Here'due south what yous're gonna learn in this post:
Contents
- i Existent Talk: What is Anki? How does it work?
- ii Isn't Anki just for memorizing small facts?
- 2.1 "If Anki is so constructive, then why do so many people neglect at using it?"
- 3 How to Get-go Using Anki
- 3.i Downloading Anki
- 3.2 Creating and Organizing Decks
- 3.3 Creating and Organizing Cards
- iv Hither's How I Make Anki Flashcards
- five Rules to Follow when Creating New Cards
- 5.1 Rule #1. Larn Starting time, and THEN exercise spaced exercise
- 5.ii Dominion #2. Brusque question, short answer.
- v.3 Dominion #iii. The number of cards doesn't matter
- six How Yous Tin Study Without Spending Written report Time
- 7 Boom That Spacebar
- seven.1 Why You Should NEVER Miss a Day of Review
- 7.two Custom Report
- viii Next Steps
Existent Talk: What is Anki? How does it work?
As you may know, Anki is an open up-source flashcard app that uses spaced repetition algorithms to help you prevent natural forgetting.
Even if yous're not built-in with crawly recall skills, Anki tin assist you lot tointentionally commit information into long-term retentiveness.
But at that place'southward a caveat.
That is, Anki works by supplementing your report procedure.
As good as information technology is, information technology's NOT a magic pill nor a substitute for poor learning skills.
Why? Because Anki covers simply the final ane-third of the brain's processes for long-term information encoding one .
If the first two-thirds of the arrangement you use for studying is messed up, and so Anki isn't actually going to assistance at all.
So many newbies experience this problem that I made yet another course almost it. (I'll tell yous virtually it when you finish reading.)
Ultimately, I did this because when you do use Anki with the right procedure, you could proceeds tremendous reward over the competition:
- You basically guarantee that anything you study (again, using the right process) WILL get remembered for a long fourth dimension
- You build up a tall stack of prior knowledge that allows you to understand circuitous concepts quickly
- You eliminate the about time-wasting report action of all — "restudying what you've already studied because you forgot"
- You can turn reanimation into productive study fourth dimension (when you lot use Anki while eating, for instance, it allows you to practice 50 items in a cakewalk)
Best of all, yous get a tremendous long-term efficiency do good:
Michael Nielsen predicted that in 20 years, he is 1714.29% (120 minutes/7 minutes * 100%) more efficient for each card when learning using spaced repetition compared to conventional flashcard learning. 2 I establish that this was even greater for me — and it volition be true for you, also, after yous read this post.
Does any of that audio adept so far?
Okay, good. Permit's motility on.
Isn't Anki just for memorizing small facts?
Contrary to popular belief, only considering Anki is a flashcard app doesn't mean it'due south but used for memorizing words or raw facts.
As I imply in the last section, Anki is besides a tool for LEARNING — which ways it helps you establish a "library of mental models" for understanding higher-level concepts.
Personally, I've used it with great success for all kinds of things — From Algebra to Avant-garde Engineering science Mathematics, Physics, Electronics Engineering science, Electronic Communications, Marketing, Concern, Content Creation, Control Systems Engineering, Birthdays, and then on.
I never skip Anki because in my mind, if I don't retain all the prerequisite noesis I'k required to remember, so it'd be hard for me to understand higher-level concepts in the future. (Ultimately, this causes even more wasted time.)
"If Anki is then effective, then why do then many people neglect at using information technology?"
Glad you asked. Three reasons why:
- They use shared decks. They keep trying to think what they haven't even learned yet.
- They create one deck for each topic — a recipe for what's called domain dependence.
- Intermittent Reviews. They practise Anki reviews intermittently—as if natural forgetting tin exist "skipped."
- Their thinking is stuck in Anki and ignore the other two/3 of the brain's learning process. They functionally fix themselves into Anki — they come across it as "the entire automobile" when really, it'southward really simply "a small part of the engine". Once again, I'll talk more than about it at the finish of this postal service to keep this section tight for the uninterested.
Note: I'm well aware that you can use shared decks effectively for standardized exams, but I really don't recommend it — UNLESS you're in Medical School. I know of people who've created and used high-quality shared decks with bang-up success, and you can discover them here.
Matter is, almost of these people who fail at using Anki treat is as a magic pill, instead of a tool that requires skill. (Woah, that rhymed…)
Michael Nielsen, 1 of the pioneers of breakthrough computing, put information technology best in his essay:
Anki is an extremely simple program […] Despite that simplicity, it's an incredibly powerful tool. And, similar many tools, information technology requires skill to use well. It's worth thinking of Anki as a skill that tin be adult to virtuoso levels, and attempting to continue to level up toward such virtuosity.
Put another way, Anki is only effective if y'all know how to go far effective.
How to Start Using Anki
To showtime using Anki, you demand a figurer (or laptop) and/or smartphone — preferably, both.
(Plus, it's much, much faster to create flashcards using a computer.)
Downloading Anki
To download Anki on your computer, head over to AnkiWeb and download Anki.
I prefer to utilise version ii.0 considering more add-ons are readily available for this version compared to the ii.1 ane. (I also haven't felt the demand to use it)
You'll still be fine whichever version you intend to use, just continue the add together-on compatibility in listen if you want to employ them (which, you'll want to).
UPDATE (one/28/2020): Since Anki started phased out Anki two.0, I now recommend downloading the latest version, which you can find at the same place.
And so, for your smartphone, if you're on Android, it's available in Google Play Shop, merely search for "AnkiDroid" and look for this one:
iOS users are required to pay for the app because that'south where the app gets its funds, subsequently all. Heck, even if information technology'south a paid app on Android, I'd still pay for it. It's that amazing.
Creating and Organizing Decks
Once yous've installed and opened Anki, you'll see one specific deck named "Default".
You tin either choose to rename it or just create another deck of your ain.
To create a new deck, just hit the "Create Deck" push button on the lesser part of the Anki window. You'll be asked for a Deck name; I similar to use my subject's name for this one.
At present here'southward where it gets interesting.
If you're a lifelong learner similar me, you ideally desire to create a single deck only. That'southward because you'll discover that a lot of concepts, even in seemingly unrelated fields, tend to exist loosely related.
On the other hand, if you're a college student, then ask yourself:
"Am I learning things that would come upwardly in a unmarried exam in the hereafter?"
If you lot answered "yes", then y'all should put those "things" in a single deck. (Related: Creating Effective Decks)
Think ahead!
That's considering by doing it this style, y'all would exist learning the concepts as a WHOLE unit (via Interleaving), rather than as ideas 'filed' in a single topic — unable to transfer itself freely.
Here'due south what I mean.
Dorsum when I was reviewing for my Engineering Lath Exams hither in the Philippines, I put together all of the things I learned on Communications Engineering under "EST" — the exam name.
I literally studied like iv textbooks on that subject and filtered out unimportant stuff to get ahead more speedily.
Hither's what the deck looked similar.
IIRC, I got 86 on that specific exam — and get this — with confidence. When I counted my unsure answers, they were xvi items. Turns out I got 2 of those correct.
When you employ Anki the correct way, your exams transform into blackness-and-white results. It's either:
- You truly know it
- Or you don't
No more "mental cake" blazon of crap again.
To be fair, I just had 2-3 months left to learn EST as I deleted all of my decks to get the cards right. (Sad life. That'due south what I'm talking about when I said "piece of cake to mess up".)
Anyhow, I'll elaborate more on this in the adjacent lesson, but this should do for now.
In addition to creating decks, you can organize your decks into subdecks in two ways:
One, by using the format "MAINDECK::SUBDECK". Example "Physics::Thermodynamics".
And two, by dragging the deck over to the desired Primary deck. Here'due south an analogy.
Don't become me wrong, though — I don't apply the "subdeck" method very often, unless my subdivision is a really broad subject.
Also, I don't recommend you create a lot of subdecks—y'all're amend off using Tags instead for "Custom Study" purposes (more than on this afterwards).
Creating and Organizing Cards
To create cards, just hit the "Add" on the top part of your window.
Past clicking on information technology, you should be seeing the Add New window containing (one) Type, (2) Deck, (3) Front and Back fields, and (iv) Tag field.
Now, I wouldn't worry about the "Fields…" and "Cards…" buttons only yet. To tell yous the truth, I don't think you even need them. I take successfully used Anki effectively without even touching those things.
In the "Add together New" window, the question goes in "Front" and the answer goes in "Dorsum" field, but like your skillful ol' paper flashcards.
One time you've entered your desired Question and Answer pair, you lot can click on "Add together" or only apply the shortcut: Ctrl + Enter to make the menu.
Notation: Make sure to DOUBLE CHECK the "Deck" field before adding the card to prevent future headaches.
By the way, the menu you've just seen is one of the "Basic" Card Types.
Tthe "Bones" card type allows you to perform the traditional flashcard studying.
The Cloze deletion, on the other hand, is a "backup-the-blank" blazon of card.
Out of the many card types, I take found that the "Cloze" card blazon was the almost flexible one—besides the easiest to create. (But that was dorsum when I used Anki ii.0.)
Either works fine, tho. Anyway, let's motion on to organizing your cards.
Similar I said, I like to utilise Tags instead of subdecks.
Why tags? Considering it simplifies everything. Y'all need not worry about creating subdecks for each subject field because y'all tin employ "Custom Study" more selectively afterward on.
You can add Tags to your cards in two ways: During Card Creation, or using the Card Browser.
I recommend adding Tags during Card Cosmos — it's much faster and more than proactive.
To add Tags, you just enter the name of your desired Tag on the "Tags" field of the Add New window.
Here'southward something to recall: Supercede spaces with underscores.
Annotation: If you missed that and accidentally entered 2 words separated by spaces, you'll be creating TWO tags for your cards, not one.
Now, creating that carte, yous should find that the Tag name you entered in the Tags field did not get abroad.
This ways you tin can create and create several cards without having to worry about putting Tags in every single time—that'south pretty handy.
The second method is via the Card Browser. Y'all open up it up past clicking on "Browse" on the Habitation Screen or pressing "B" in the same identify.
And then, just find your cards by clicking on a deck where you lot put your new cards in (1), then select your cards on the right-hand side (2), and press Ctrl + Shift + A.
I don't prefer this method because it'due south rather easy to mess this upwards. Imagine accidentally calculation tags to other cards when you already accept a large drove of cards — only thinking about organizing it is already a disaster.
Let's movement on to the more applied guide—How I brand Anki Cards.
Here'southward How I Make Anki Flashcards
When y'all're creating your cards, the most convenient way to create high-quality cards is to include:
- A well-formulated question
- A short, specific reply
- Screenshot of source
- Tags (optional)
Y'all should be good every bit long every bit you recollect those.
To demonstrate, I'll be using a random book from the medical field (a field I don't know anything nigh) just to demonstrate this procedure from a beginner standpoint.
And so, when I come across something on my book like this:
This carte du jour below is the one I make. I included the Question, Reply, Screenshot, and Tag.
Detect that I italicized and bolded the word "previously" to show emphasis. It's a mode to make a cue for an answer more salient and easier to process.
Now, I highlight the answer along with the screenshot and so printing Ctrl + Shift + C. That's the shortcut for a Cloze deletion.
Note that y'all can totally utilise a basic card for this. I simply used Cloze considering:
- Basic card type is pretty straightforward and doesn't need explaining
- Creating a Cloze card is somehow mystified for beginners
Again, just press CTRL + SHIFT + C upon highlighting what y'all need to Cloze.
Shortcut for Cloze Deletion: Ctrl + Shift + C
Let's look at the carte previews.
By the way, I desire to tell you that for conceptual subjects, I break each concept downward into more than questions that test my understanding .
From the aforementioned passage in the book:
My questions go similar this:
"What does specific immunity employ act against agents? (2x)"
Answer: Antibodies and Activated Lymphocytes.
"To what type of amanuensis does specific immunity react?"
Respond: Previously Encountered Agents.
Basically, for conceptual information, you lot have to encourage your understanding of the material.
Facts are good to include every bit cards, simply ultimately, our questions should ALSO simulate situations that use the concept itself and so we don't miss out on actually applying what we accept learned.
For instance, this card:
Run across how that works?
Alright, let'south move on to what y'all demand to remember when creating new cards.
Rules to Follow when Creating New Cards
Rule #1. Acquire FIRST, and And so do spaced do
If you're just starting out, all you lot need to know is that the purpose of these flashcards is to test what you already learned.
Non to exam what yous haven't learned — which many people do.
It's easy to go confident that y'all tin remember anything using Anki, only none of that matters if you lot practise not empathise the cloth you're putting in. (Unless you're really memorizing isolated facts, but fifty-fifty so, context matters for retention)
Well, what's the worst that could happen when you don't follow this rule?
Yous'll know how to reply the flashcard just you'll notice out that you cannot employ the "knowledge" anywhere else.
In other words, you just become pseudoknowledge.
Dominion #2. Short question, short reply.
Don't try to put in paragraphs in a menu.
Don't fifty-fifty attempt to put "Explain" type of questions.
Suspension them down as much as possible.
This brings me to my next point.
Rule #3. The number of cards doesn't matter
When adding cards, it doesn't affair if yous take enough of cards just by studying a chapter every bit long as you lot follow the two rules in a higher place.
What matters is you actually learn the concepts thoroughly.
And then, once more, intermission a concept as much as possible. Past doing this, you'll be able to recall each carte du jour in less than a second. (Well, not less than a second, but that's how it'll feel like 😉)
It'southward much, much faster compared to creating a few but long, complicated cards.
For example, instead of:
"What are Newton's Three Laws of Move?"
You write questions similar:
- "What is Newton's First Police of Motion?"
- "What is Newton's Tertiary Constabulary of Motion?"
- "Which police force states F=ma?" (manifestly, this question covers 1 police force in some other angle — also called redundancy)
This reduces ambiguity — making your cards faster to answer. Compare that to doing a mini-brain dump for each card and you'll realize information technology gets tiresome pretty quickly.
How Yous Can Study Without Spending Study Time
Head over to Anki Sign Up and register for an account. It's totally free. That'south why Damien Elmes is a hero.
So, after creating a free account, caput over to Anki settings by clicking on Tools>Preferences or by pressing Ctrl + P on your Anki window.
Become to the "Network Tab" and cheque the first two boxes.
This will allow automated syncing of your deck to the AnkiWeb servers—which allows you to sync your cards to ALL devices.
It's pretty great, especially if you lot're going outside with your smartphone. (or when you're sitting on the toilet — not exactly corking, tho)
When yous're waiting in line, or only doing nothing at all, instead of scrolling through Facebook, you can answer five to 20 cards in a minute, depending on how good yous create cards.
That means you lot're converting idle fourth dimension into STUDYING.
If that isn't chosen studying smart, I don't know what is.
You lot can turn information technology off and manually sync your cards by pressing Y on the home screen, but it's e'er a practiced idea to sync your cards automatically upon open/exit just to avert forgetting.
Blast That Spacebar
Studying using Anki is pretty straightforward.
You but open the app, click a deck with due cards, and you're set.
When a card shows up, you lot just press on the spacebar to show the reply.
When the respond shows up, you are given choices below to choose from: Again, Proficient, Easy. (This is for new cards only — we'll become more than into this in Lesson four)
Using Anki default settings, Anki will show the card again after a certain amount depending on how difficult it was for you to think the menu.
- Again – Less than a minute, the card volition bear witness up again
- Good – The card will testify up in less than x minutes
- Like shooting fish in a barrel – The card volition bear witness upwards after iv days
Y'all press Again when you failed to recall the answer, Good when you successfully retrieve the respond, and Easy when you recall the reply in an instant. You can use shortcuts as shown below:
Every bit a side note for default settings, pressing "Again" on a mature card for a total of 8 times makes your card "disappear" and not prove up for review.
This is called a "Leech card", and is normally classified as a poorly created menu.
When y'all get Leech cards, all you have to practise is reformulate your questions. Once more, refer back to how I told you lot to create flashcards.
Alright, at present before I end this, I would like to give you some tips that would aid you study smarter using Anki.
Why You lot Should NEVER Miss a Day of Review
Memory works every single day, which ways seldomly used data are DELETED every single mean solar day.
Anki works to combat this issue; that'due south pretty much all the reason why.
Another reason not to skip is you stop upwards with a mountain of cards the next day. Yup, at present y'all'll have to review your overdue cards PLUS your due cards — that'due south a hell of a review session to get through (trust me, I've been through 1500 cards in a day and I near cried just doing that).
Then, try practise written report every single solar day without neglect.
Custom Written report
In contrast, there might exist some days that you have a lot fewer cards than yous used to.
It's probably because most of your cards are mature enough and/or you really take few cards in your deck.
Remember the "Tag" organisation that I mentioned earlier? This is where information technology comes in.
When y'all do a custom study session, yous can select cards from specific Tags in a certain Deck.
It'due south smart to use it right before an exam if y'all're a pupil, only to take advantage of that "fresh" state of recall.
Adjacent Steps
Every bit powerful as Anki is, it's only a tool that needs to be operated the right way — and I want to make sure I drive that signal habitation.
If you lot demand more assistance in using Anki than I was able to encompass in this guide, you might desire to go through the other mail in the Anki Fundamentals serial to acquire more:
- How to Create an Anki Deck That Maximizes Learning
- How to Make Improve Anki Flashcards: Principles for High-Quality Questions
- Best Anki Settings: My Recommended Values
Otherwise, let's become back to the "information encoding" part earlier.
Remember I told you lot this?
If the first two-thirds of the system you use for studying is messed upwardly, then Anki isn't really going to assistance at all.
I told you that because learning is really a product of the brain's information encoding system.
Work with information technology and you guarantee retentiveness & learning speed.
Otherwise, you guarantee forgetting and wasted time.
Information technology's every bit simple every bit it gets. Yet, many don't seem to become this.
They piece together multiple hacks and create a "duct tape organisation" in the hopes of getting more results.
They try to overoptimize Anki every bit though it's the only thing that matters for learning.
That's why I've put together a 2nd costless course for you so yous can avoid this big trap — I phone call it "Tool-first Thinking" and it's one of the biggest reasons why many Anki newbies still don't get meaningful results with Anki. (or ANY study tool, for that matter)
If you're preparing for exams right now, or you constantly feel behind of your study schedule, I insist that you lot devour the next grade with all your heart.
Information technology'due south 100% free.
When you're ready, but click the red push downward below.
P.S. I previously made the exclusive "Avant-garde Anki Learner Training" PDF available to everyone, simply I removed information technology because I decided information technology's non really for everybody. I'm now making it available only to my private newsletter subs. I've set up a "filtering mechanism" for people who are the best fit for it. You tin get it at the Offset Here page.
Footnotes
- Melton, A. W. (1963). Implications of short-term retention for a full general theory of memory. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 2(i), i–21.
- Nielsen, Grand. (2018). Augmenting Long-term Retentiveness. http://augmentingcognition.com/ltm.html
chamberlindinto1985.blogspot.com
Source: https://leananki.com/how-to-use-anki-tutorial/