[swaggyBoatswain]

The problem I have with using anki for 2+ years is I get too lazy to make cards. It feels like tedious data entry work, I'm wandering if I'm the only one that feels this way? I have to run anki, open the add item panel, figure out how to format the card / phrase the question, pick a deck, pick a card type, move the mouse over click tag, enter tag, write it down, press enter, minimize the application. I would to do this several times throughout the day since I learn things inconsistently. My productivity tanks when I use anki. Because I also have many other tools for jotting notes, emails, slack, blog, etc. I already tried practically all the anki plugins out there too

This is mostly for computer science / programming. If I used anki for learning a language, I would just mass create all my cards at one time or use a curated deck.

[ivanhoe]

In my experience creating cards (or writing down the words into a notebook) is an essential part of the process. I'm not sure about the exact mechanics of it, but for me writing a word implants it in my memory much deeper than just reading it.

[swaggyBoatswain]

I totally get that too, I write/draw things down and find it helps remembering things easier. Especially math. But I find the time it takes to transfer that thought onto anki is so painstakingly slow. Anki doesn't even have a dedicated shortcut key for minimizing / maximizing the add card panel either, at least for windows.

don't get me wrong here I love using anki and ankidroid but adding cards is a PITA. I add cards only on desktop anki because neither ankidroid nor ankiwebapp support easy-image formatting. But I do add cards from ankidroid if its a picture of some handwritten / whiteboard drawings I've made.

[kungtotte]

I've been sort of meta-learning for the past couple of weeks, reading about study methods and note taking and memory techniques, etc. and one prevailing theme regardless of the method is that repetition and rephrasing are key to internalise the information.

E.g. you learn and retain the information far more efficiently if you take the route of read -> write note -> create flashcards from the note. As opposed to autogenerating the flashcards from the source material, for example.

The process of formulating the note first and then formulating the flashcards means you have to actually think about the material in two stages instead of just performing data entry.

In my experience it doesn't take all that much time, and if you're really interested in learning a topic is it unreasonable to expect that you have to spend say 10% longer with any given book or article to perform this review process? If you spend a bit of time up front creating a structured approach and stick to it, it'll become very quick. Here's an interesting article as a reference: https://robertheaton.com/2018/06/25/how-to-read/