Making new flashcards on the fly

March 16, 2025

eshapard. "Anki - The Power of Making New Cards on the Fly". Archived. Retrieved March 16, 2025.

The GitHub post discusses strategies for enhancing memorization using Anki, particularly when encountering difficult cards, referred to as "leeches." The author suggests creating additional cards that break down challenging information into smaller, manageable chunks, allowing for incremental learning. For example, if a user struggles to remember the year "1492" in relation to Columbus, they can create new cards that test smaller parts of that information, such as:

1. Columbus first sailed across the Atlantic in […]92
2. Columbus first sailed across the Atlantic in 14[…]2
3. Columbus first sailed across the Atlantic in 149[…]

Additionally, the post emphasizes using mnemonic devices, which can also serve as baby steps to reinforce memory connections. For instance, creating a card that links Columbus to the mnemonic rhyme:

In {{c1::1492}}, Columbus sailed the ocean {{c2::blue}}.

The author advises setting up card templates in Anki to facilitate the quick generation of these new cards during review sessions. This involves using conditional replacement in templates, allowing users to add blank fields that can be filled in as needed. An example of a cloze-deletion note is provided, demonstrating how to create sibling cards that test both the original fact and mnemonic aids.

The post concludes by addressing the challenge of managing newly created cards within Anki's queue, suggesting the use of a sortID field for better organization. This way, users can prioritize their new cards effectively. Overall, the post provides practical strategies to optimize Anki usage for improved memorization.

Summary by Kagi's Universal Summarizer.