![]() This is true even if those Again answers aren’t in a row. With the default Anki algorithm, if you don’t press Easy on a card, you will be trapped at the lowest Ease Factor forever with 6 Again responses. When Anki determines the next interval, it will consider this Ease Factor, resulting in a low future interval (remember, Interval * Ease Factor = New Interval) and you won’t be able to get out of this terrible cycle. Keep in mind that if you forget something, you’re probably not going to think it’s Easy the next time around, either.Īnd once a card is beaten down to 130%, that means you’re going to see it more and more often forever! Notice how in the following answer paths, it’s very hard to get your Ease Factor back to the starting point once you’ve forgotten the card a few times. ![]() You’ll see this card less (Anki also gives you an Easy Bonus, which extends the interval).Ĭan you see the problem here? Anki makes it too easy to tank your Ease Factor while at the same time making it near-impossible to increase that Ease Factor again. Anki adds 15% to the Ease Factor, making the new Ease Factor = 265%. Anki leaves the Ease Factor the same, making the new Ease Factor = 250%. Anki takes 15% from the Ease Factor, making the new Ease Factor = 235%. After this card exits relearning, you will see it sooner than a card with a 250% Ease Factor. The card is categorized as “relearning.” Anki takes 20% from the Ease Factor, making the new Ease Factor = 230%. If we have a card that has an Ease Factor of 250%, and we answer… Let’s look at an example to see how the Ease Factor is modified by Anki during reviews. If you continually answer “Again,” Anki will keep knocking this card’s Ease Factor down until it reaches 130%, the lowest possible value. The lower the Ease Factor, the harder Anki thinks that card is. Anki updates the Ease Factor for a card after each answer. The Ease Factor is the mechanism through which Anki expresses this assumption.Įach card starts off with an Ease Factor of 2.5. Some cards are hard - they should be shown more often (so the learner remembers them). Some cards are easy - they should be shown rarely. One of Anki’s assumptions is that each card has an inherently different level of difficulty. One of the most important factors in Anki’s algorithm is the Ease Factor.Ī card’s Ease Factor is a representation of how easy/hard Anki believes that card to be. So what determines the interval? The Ease Factor The lower a card’s interval, the more often you are going to see that card.Īnki’s algorithm is what modifies the interval it tries to predict the optimal time to review cards, optimizing for as few reviews as possible while still letting you remember the information. For this reason, Ease Hell has also been referred to as “Low Interval Hell.” Your cards’ intervals - the amount of time between reviewing a card - are too short. (Other questions on how to use Anki in med school? Read Med School Anki: FAQ for the USMLE Steps, Shelf Exams, and Clerkships, click here.Ease Hell is when Anki thinks your flashcards are more difficult than they actually are, causing you to review too many cards each day. (Want to learn how to make Boards-crushing med school Anki cards? Read Med School Anki: Make (or Find) USMLE-Crushing Flashcards.) Over-reviewing Anki card information is a waste of time. However, if you reset all of your cards, the intervals for ALL of them will be reset. Why? Because “New” cards, and cards I get wrong will have their intervals reset. In other words, if I get 50% of the cards wrong, I will have essentially made them “New” cards. Cards you get wrong and hit “Again” on will have their intervals be reset. You’ll have forgotten a lot of them, meaning you’ll get a lot of cards wrong. You could do, say, 100 old reviews/day and no new cards. Instead, I recommend simply reducing the number of old reviews you do per day until you catch up. What If You’re Very Far Behind Your Reviews?Įven if you are very behind on your reviews, I still don’t advocate resetting your Anki cards. Resetting your cards causes you to lose all of that information. The whole purpose of using Anki is that harnesses the immense power of spaced repetition. To do so, you need to “Reschedule” the cards. ![]() This would make an “old” review one that is a “new” card. However, it is possible to “reset” your Anki cards. ![]()
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