Hello Reader,

Someone messaged me yesterday. Something along these lines:

“Al, I did everything you said. I understood the material BEFORE making Anki cards. But now I have SO many cards it takes hours to review them daily. What am I doing wrong?”

I get this message a lot.

And normally, what most people do - especially if you’re reading solutions on Reddit - is tell you to fix your settings.

“Here’s the optimal interval modifiers for XYZ subtopic and concept!”

“Set your ease factor to exactly 2.59567812!”

ENOUGH OF THIS BS.

If your steak doesn't taste great, you don't say:

"OH YOU JUST HAVE TO USE THE RIGHT TYPE OF FIRE"

or

"SET THE TEMPERATURE TO 259.52 DEGREES CELCIUS AND COOK IT AT 78 degrees with the marbling POINTING THE SUN — be careful to not exceed by 0.0002C because it will affect the plasma composition AND IT WILL TASTE HORRIBLE!!!!!!"

Ughhhhhh.

BUY BETTER STEAK, DAMMIT!

Rant over. Because this is OBVIOUSLY something bigger than that.

If you’re not thinking “tool first,” if you step outside the Anki bubble for a second, you’ll start to see the real issues.

First problem: You’re making too many cards

You should only make cards for things you’ve already understood. Not everything in that topic. Focus on the main principles that allow you to infer other facts.

Example from anatomy:

❌ Making cards for:

• “The heart has 4 chambers”
• “The right atrium receives blood”
• “The left atrium receives blood”
• “The right ventricle pumps blood”
• “The left ventricle pumps blood”
• “Blood flows from right atrium to right ventricle”
• “Blood flows from left atrium to left ventricle”

STOP — I KNOW IT ALREADY.

Caveman think. Caveman know heart pump blood. Caveman waste time. Caveman give up.

✅ START Making cards that contain RELATIONSHIPS.

• “Trace the path of deoxygenated blood through the heart”
• “Why does the left ventricle have thicker walls than the right?”

Seven cards vs two cards. Same knowledge tested!

Second problem: Your cue specificity sucks

There’s this concept called cue specificity. How you frame the question determines how easily you can recall the answer.

❌ BAD CUE:

Q: “Explain protein synthesis”

A: [5-minute brain dump about transcription, translation, ribosomes, tRNA, mRNA, codons, anticodons…]

Your brain:

“Wait, how much detail? Which part? The steps? The molecules? The location? WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!?!?!?!??”

✅ GOOD CUES:

Q: “What enzyme unzips DNA during transcription?” A: RNA polymerase

Q: “Where does translation occur in the cell?” A: Ribosomes (rough ER for proteins to be exported, free ribosomes for cytoplasmic proteins)

Q: “What’s the anticodon for AUG?” A: UAC

Each question takes <8 seconds to answer if you know it. No ambiguity. Your brain knows exactly what to retrieve.

When I teach people how to make cards for career exams, this is usually the FIRST thing they need to fix.

Third problem: Too many “what” questions, not enough “why” or "how" questions

Let me show you with a pharmacology example:

❌ THE WHAT WAY (15 cards):

• What is metformin?
• What class is metformin?
• What does metformin do to glucose?
• What does metformin do in the liver?
• What does metformin do in muscles?
• Does metformin cause hypoglycemia?
• When do you take metformin?
• What’s the main side effect of metformin?
• Who can’t take metformin?
• What’s the max dose of metformin? (… and 5 more random facts)

✅ THE "WHY" and "HOW" WAY (5 cards):

• Why doesn’t metformin cause hypoglycemia? (Because it decreases hepatic glucose production, doesn’t increase insulin)
• Why do we give metformin with meals? (Reduces GI side effects)
• Why is metformin contraindicated in renal failure? (Risk of lactic acidosis due to accumulation)
• How does metformin improve insulin sensitivity? (Activates AMPK, increases glucose uptake in muscles)
• When would you choose metformin over sulfonylureas? (Obese patients - doesn’t cause weight gain, no hypoglycemia risk)

From those 5 “why” cards, you can infer most of the 15 “what” facts. Your brain fills in the gaps through understanding, not brute force memorization like a Walking Dead extra.

Fourth: NOBODY ever said you need to do all reviews in one sitting

When I was reviewing for my board exam, I hit 1,200 cards per day. I was DROWNING, I thought.

Instead of finding the most oPTimAL head angle, heart rate, breathing rate, lip opening speed, and optimal settings to review my cards...

I simply spread them throughout the day. Here's an example.

• 200 cards in the toilet. SO PRODUCTIVE.
• 200 cards with morning coffee (6am)
• 100 while waiting in line (7:30am)
• 100 during lunch break (12pm)
• 300 in the afternoon slump (3pm)
• 200 before dinner (6pm)
• 100 in bed (10pm)

Same 1,200 cards. But instead of 3 hours of torture, it’s 6 sessions of 20-30 minutes. Way more manageable.

Just to be clear: It wasn't always this way. I only did this when I didn't have much time or energy to review.

Fifth: Settings optimization is overrated

I know I've already made my point, but Reddit makes it seem like finding the "perfect interval modifier" will solve all your problems in life and make you infinitely happy beyond mankind's wildest dreams.

Before, I got into this trap, but eventually I realized I only needed the principles that were proven to work:

• Increasing intervals (that’s literally what makes it spaced repetition)
• Shorter intervals for weak points
• Longer intervals for stuff you know cold
• Normal intervals for everything else

The highest leverage point here is the "learning phase" of the card, which I share in the blog.

Then again, LEARNING QUALITY matters more. I don't care if some full-time Anki nerd optimized their settings down to elite level.

If you have learned the material SO MUCH better and have HIGH LEVEL questions, you'll beat that guy to the ground.

Stop reading about the algorithms and start making better cards.

1 card that force you to think >> 10 cards of mindless facts

If I missed anything, here's the diagnostic checklist:

When your reviews feel overwhelming, check through this framework:

1. Strategy - Are you making cards for the RIGHT information?
   • Only understood concepts
   • Focus on must-know, not nice-to-know
   • Prioritize relationships over isolated facts
2. Skills - Talking about understanding skills and question making skills. Are your questions actually testing understanding?
   • Specific cues, not vague prompts
   • Why/How questions over What questions (most of the time!)
   • One concept per card, not mini essays
3. System - Is your review process sustainable?
   • Spread throughout the day
   • Use dead time (commuting, waiting, bathroom)
   • Don’t force marathon sessions if possible
4. Self-image - What's the identity you're holding on to? (more on this in a bit)
   • Reviews aren’t chores, they’re quality practice
   • Like a basketball player practicing free throws
   • This is just what you do as a professional learner — pay the price to build expertise

Self-image. For me, it's a more appropriate version instead of "mindset" — it's hard to change your mind if you don't change how you see yourself.

If you’re training for a marathon, would you complain about running being “too much cardio”?

If you’re learning piano, would you say scales are “too repetitive”?

Let me tell you one simple fact.

These reviews are the reps that make the difference between fumbling through an exam and knowing answers instantly.

Between re-learning everything next year and having it locked in your brain forever.

The question isn’t “How do I make this easier?”

Because that will only lead you to magic bullets. Magic bullets tend to be the one you use to shoot yourself in the foot.

The question is “How do I make better cards so the time I invest actually pays off?”

I know it's hard, but it's one of the hard things that count — that separate you from everyone else getting mediocre results because they just want to point their Anki reviews at the right angle to the earth's magnetic field and get big results.

Don't be one of those people.

To smarter studying,
Al Khan

P.S. I'm almost done with the free course! It's called Dominate Your Career Exams — I have to say, it's crazy good and I think you'll get a lot of a-ha moments especially if you've been thinking hard about how you'll pass your exams right now.