Alex Peter Hall

Learning with Spaced Repetition

Date: 17 Feb 2021 | Reading Time: 1 minute

When I got serious about learning JavaScript and React I broke out my finest fountain pen and the 3x5s and started writing flashcards. Physically writing things down is the best way to remember them. Right? And something about putting ink on paper. It just feels good.

Shortly thereafter, I read a post by Derek Sivers called Memorizing a Programming Language Using Spaced Repetition Software. So I took his advice and started using Anki. Anki is a program for creating digital flashcards and quizzing you on them. It utilizes the concept of spaced repetition to show you newer and more difficult cards more frequently and presents them to you less as time goes on. I also recommend reading Augmenting Long-Term Memory by Michael Nielsen for tips and tricks.

I think Anki has a few easy advantages over paper flashcards.

  1. It's faster to type or copy/paste text. This is especially useful for computer code.
  2. You can put screenshots directly into the card. Also very useful for code snippets. Associating images also helps memory retention.
  3. Makes it easy to organize your cards by subject, book, tag, etc.
  4. Manages which cards are presented to you and tracks the timing to maximize your study time and learning.

For me, one of the great things about flashcards is the process of formulating your questions and answers. Thinking through a good question and comprehensive answer forces you to understand the concept. Don't study someone else's flashcards. Make your own. I've noticed sometimes I need to work a little more to write a good question as opposed to mindlessly jotting down notes in a markdown file that I may or may not review a couple of times.

Of course, none of this will be of much use if you don't get in the habit of studying. Anki helps on that front too. It makes it easy and approachable to study. Fire up the old mainframe. Run through your cards. Congrats, you're a genius. Now, what am I going to do with this fancy fountain pen?