Spaced Repetition and Anki: How to Remember Easily and Forever

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Do you have a good memory, but it is important for you not only to remember, but to remember forever? We'll show you how to do it effortlessly.

The spaced repetition method, which has been repeatedly mentioned in articles on Lifehacker, is very simple: in order not to forget what you have learned, it must be repeated. After different periods of time, a different volume is forgotten. Therefore, it is necessary to repeat, according to, at certain intervals.

In this case, we memorize easier and better. But there is one inconvenience: keeping track of what we repeated and when. And this is where modern technologies come to our aid in the form of the Anki application.

When you go through training or review material, you can indicate in the program how easy it was for you to answer the question. Accordingly, the algorithm will set the time for the next repetition.

It is very simple to add new cards: press “Add” (see the previous screenshot), enter a question and an answer.

Both in the answer and in the question, we can add media files by attaching them through the menu or simply by dragging them into the required field. The list of supported formats is quite impressive: JPG, PNG, GIF, TIFF, SVG, MP3, OGG, WAV, AVI, MPEG, MOV, OGV, MP4, MKV, FLAC and others.

Anki has statistics that you can periodically review to see your progress.

Platforms and Synchronization

The Anki app is available for the most common desktop (,,) and mobile (iOS, Android) platforms. To synchronize, the user needs to log in once from each of the devices. Nothing complicated.

The app is fully localized and easy to understand. Plus, it's free for all platforms except iOS. Therefore, it would be more rational to present several examples of its use, so that you can decide whether you need it in principle.

Learning geography with Anki

For example, you decided not to embarrass yourself anymore, thinking that Nicaragua is in Africa, and study the political map of the world. To do this, you need an app like Skitch.

But you can choose a more complex option.

Learn English words with Anki

To memorize English words, I use the method of associations and the book by Igor Matyugin "How to memorize English words." In the question field, I enter the English word and pronunciation downloaded from the resource.

When such a card is opened, you not only see the spelling, but also hear the pronunciation.

Enriching your Russian vocabulary with Anki

You can enter into Anki every unfamiliar word that you meet. This rarely happens in my practice, so I use the Word of the Day app.

This time, I enter in the question field not only the definition of the word, but also, if possible, an image.

In the answer field, I enter the word under study in lowercase letters, except for the one on which the stress falls.

These are not all areas where I use Anki, but I think there are enough examples to understand if this application is suitable for your needs. If you are already using Anki or have some ideas while reading, I would be glad to receive your comments and advice.