---
title: Anki And Spaced Repetition Tools
date: 2025-11-02T00:00:00
author: Charlie M.
category: SIGNAL
---
I was sitting on the balcony this morning, coffee in hand, watching the neighborhood cats do their mysterious cat things—like being tiny furry detectives on some secret mission. The sun was peeking through the leaves, and it hit me that I've been kinda dancing around this topic of Anki and spaced repetition for a while now. I mean, I downloaded Anki like three times, deleted it twice, maybe? I’m not even sure why it’s still on my phone. It’s like, am I really using it or just hoarding digital tools for some sense of intellectualism?
Okay, so, Anki. It's this spaced repetition thing, right? You make flashcards, and it shows them to you at increasing intervals until it's, like, burned into your brain. Like, supposedly a scientifically-proven way to remember stuff better. There's some Ebbinghaus guy, I think, who figured out the "forgetting curve," which sounds kind of ominous when you think about it. I’m probably getting some of this wrong, but the idea is, we forget things unless we review them at spaced intervals. For the record, I can barely remember what I had for breakfast yesterday, so maybe there’s something to it.
Anyway, there’s a lot of hype about using Anki for learning languages or cramming for exams. And I think I read somewhere—maybe in a Reddit thread?—that med students swear by it. I can’t help but wonder if this is just another procrastination tool for me. Like, are these cards just a colorful distraction, or is there some profound memory magic happening?
I’ve tried using Anki while scrolling through Instagram—you know, multitasking, because why not add to the chaos?—but somehow it always feels like I'm just playing a game of seeing how long I can stand reviewing cards before drifting back into the void of Instagram reels and TikTok videos. The app dings at me, reminding me of cards due for review, and I think, "Does this even work?" There’s this niggling doubt that keeps nudging the back of my brain, whispering that I’m too erratic to stick with the spaced repetition long enough for it to do its thing. I guess I’m skeptical of my own ability to follow through more than anything.
Then there’s this whole thing about how the intervals are decided, like some algorithm determines when you’ll forget and reminds you just in time. But can an app really know my brain better than I do? What if on the very day the card's due, my mind is full of other noise—life stuff, you know? Does it really know when I’m on the precipice of forgetting? I don’t know. People say it’s based on cognitive science, but I haven’t really dug deep into the studies. Maybe it’d make me feel smarter if I did.
So, yeah, am I doing it right? Is there even a "right" way to use Anki? I start wondering if this meta-awareness is just another layer of procrastination. Like instead of just doing the thing, I’m here—paralyzed by overthinking it all. I think about Marie Kondo-ing my apps, keeping only what sparks cognitive joy, but somehow Anki stays, an icon on the screen challenging me with its potential.
Life’s a lot like trying to remember a dream you had. You know it’s important, but it slips away if you chase it too hard. I guess that’s where I’m at with Anki—always on the verge, but never fully committed. Maybe it works, maybe it doesn’t. And for now, that’s just where it sits—an unsatisfying answer, but maybe that’s okay.