MD & DO Anki fatigue

[Minus the Hot 3x the Mess]

So I've been in med school for 3 months now and started working on the Lightyear Anki deck right off the bat per the M2s' recommendations. It was kind of a fun daily activity at first, but I'm finding myself getting increasingly fatigued and it's taking longer and longer to do my daily cards. I'm doing 50 new cards per day and my reviews have pretty much stabilized, but it still keeps taking longer and longer to go through the same number of cards. I can't reduce my new cards per day any further and still keep up with course material. It seems like all my classmates are doing 70+ new cards per day and say it only takes them about an hour, but I find myself just staring at the cards and it often takes me 3 hours or more to get through all of them. I can read textbooks and watch B&B videos all day long, but having to go through these cards and mentally quiz myself for hours straight on a daily basis is honestly killing me and I feel unable to keep up. Has anyone else experienced this? Do you have any suggestions for how to keep your motivation and attention up when you basically have to take a 300 question quiz every day?

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[ExplodingUlcers]

You don't have to knock them all out in one sitting. For example, you could prioritize current block reviews first thing in the morning then hit the prior block material at the end of the day after seeing your new cards or vice versa.

So I've been in med school for 3 months now and started working on the Lightyear Anki deck right off the bat per the M2s' recommendations. It was kind of a fun daily activity at first, but I'm finding myself getting increasingly fatigued and it's taking longer and longer to do my daily cards. I'm doing 50 new cards per day and my reviews have pretty much stabilized, but it still keeps taking longer and longer to go through the same number of cards. I can't reduce my new cards per day any further and still keep up with course material. It seems like all my classmates are doing 70+ new cards per day and say it only takes them about an hour, but I find myself just staring at the cards and it often takes me 3 hours or more to get through all of them. I can read textbooks and watch B&B videos all day long, but having to go through these cards and mentally quiz myself for hours straight on a daily basis is honestly killing me and I feel unable to keep up. Has anyone else experienced this? Do you have any suggestions for how to keep your motivation and attention up when you basically have to take a 300 question quiz every day?

Sent from my SM-G955U using SDN mobile

 

[mistafab]

I don’t think there’s much use to doing 50 news per day if you feel like crap. 40 is plenty.

I also suggest you take one day off completely from school, including Anki. This is a marathon not a sprint. You will get there young Padawan.

 

[Epilepsy365]

ANKI is the biggest waste of time ever. Just read on topics of interest. Get pimped or do questions. And reread them again. Keep repeating until you get the concept. My social life and mental health increase exponentially once I delete the ANKI app from my computer.

 

[Minus the Hot 3x the Mess]

I don’t think there’s much use to doing 50 news per day if you feel like crap. 40 is plenty.

I also suggest you take one day off completely from school, including Anki. This is a marathon not a sprint. You will get there young Padawan.

Thanks! I think I'll do that. I'm afraid to fall behind but this is honestly killing me and is cutting into my other study time

 

[FindersFee5]

So I've been in med school for 3 months now and started working on the Lightyear Anki deck right off the bat per the M2s' recommendations. It was kind of a fun daily activity at first, but I'm finding myself getting increasingly fatigued and it's taking longer and longer to do my daily cards. I'm doing 50 new cards per day and my reviews have pretty much stabilized, but it still keeps taking longer and longer to go through the same number of cards. I can't reduce my new cards per day any further and still keep up with course material. It seems like all my classmates are doing 70+ new cards per day and say it only takes them about an hour, but I find myself just staring at the cards and it often takes me 3 hours or more to get through all of them. I can read textbooks and watch B&B videos all day long, but having to go through these cards and mentally quiz myself for hours straight on a daily basis is honestly killing me and I feel unable to keep up. Has anyone else experienced this? Do you have any suggestions for how to keep your motivation and attention up when you basically have to take a 300 question quiz every day?

When you get fatigued, that means you're learning. You can watch B&B and read textbooks all day because those are passive activities. A week from now, you'll remember and be able to apply more from an hour of active learning than 6 of passive.

If it feels difficult, you're doing something right.

 

[fldoctorgirl]

Thanks! I think I'll do that. I'm afraid to fall behind but this is honestly killing me and is cutting into my other study time

If you started Anki as an M1, you're already ahead of the game. I did 50 news/day, but doing 40 will be plenty to finish the deck (or mostly finish) on time. Doing 30 would probably be, too. Do the best you can while not driving yourself crazy and you'll benefit the most.

 

[ohmanwaddup]

ANKI is the biggest waste of time ever. Just read on topics of interest. Get pimped or do questions. And reread them again. Keep repeating until you get the concept. My social life and mental health increase exponentially once I delete the ANKI app from my computer.

This is terrible advice

 

[Chelsea FC]

Pace yourself, youre new at this so it will take a while to adjust. Alot of us are doing 1000 anki cards ontop of news and even though its soul-sucking we get it done anyway. Im just saying this to let you know you can push harder when the time comes .

 

[Gilakend]

My reviews are getting pretty high now (400-700 due per day, ~100+ new) and somedays it's a real drain. Try to find the time when you're most efficient and crank out as many as you can. For example, I'm about 2-3 cards/minute faster in the morning than the afternoon, which adds up over time and I stay focused easier.

One thing I've been doing lately is setting a goal, say 50 cards correct, and then not doing ANYTHING until I get all of those done (not 50 cards seen, but 50 cards removed from what I have to do that day). Then after I do those I'll text people back, check email, whatever small things I have to do etc. then start up again. Then after every 200 or so, I'll take a small break. It makes it much more manageable thinking I just need a small amount rather than sitting down to do 500 cards.

 

[TakotsuboOkazaki]

Everybody want to use ANKI but don't nobody want to click through no heavy a** review loads.

 

[deleted859689]

When you get fatigued, that means you're learning. You can watch B&B and read textbooks all day because those are passive activities. A week from now, you'll remember and be able to apply more from an hour of active learning than 6 of passive.

If it feels difficult, you're doing something right.

Bookmarked your guide - saved for when I start next year

 

[Minus the Hot 3x the Mess]

When you get fatigued, that means you're learning. You can watch B&B and read textbooks all day because those are passive activities. A week from now, you'll remember and be able to apply more from an hour of active learning than 6 of passive.

If it feels difficult, you're doing something right.

I was thinking that sounds straight out of that guide I read on how to do well on Step and then realized you wrote the guide! Thanks so much for the input and congrats on the score! I think I'll decrease to 40-45 daily for now and then regroup after exams.

 

[Blanky]

Everybody want to use ANKI but don't nobody want to click through no heavy a** review loads.

OMG GOAT
Can I borrow this?

 

[teenyfish]

Do you have Anki on your phone? That's what helps me get through it during the day. Whenever I'm on a bus, waiting around, or whatever I'll open up the app and plug through 10-20 cards or so. Broken up throughout the day makes it more manageable. I do try to have all my reviews done by a certain time at night though (usually 6pm), that way I can spend the rest of the night how I want without having those cards hanging over my head.

I'm also an M1 and use the load balancer add-on just to make things a bit easier on me.

 

[Minus the Hot 3x the Mess]

Do you have Anki on your phone? That's what helps me get through it during the day. Whenever I'm on a bus, waiting around, or whatever I'll open up the app and plug through 10-20 cards or so. Broken up throughout the day makes it more manageable. I do try to have all my reviews done by a certain time at night though (usually 6pm), that way I can spend the rest of the night how I want without having those cards hanging over my head.

I'm also an M1 and use the load balancer add-on just to make things a bit easier on me.

I just blew that $25 a few weeks ago, it does help make a dent in my cards. I'm gonna start working on them in the morning too since that's when I'm more efficient, plus I like the idea of being done by 6. I haven't heard of the load balancer add-on but I'll look into that!

 

[TakotsuboOkazaki]

I just blew that $25 a few weeks ago, it does help make a dent in my cards. I'm gonna start working on them in the morning too since that's when I'm more efficient, plus I like the idea of being done by 6. I haven't heard of the load balancer add-on but I'll look into that!

On this note for iPhone users. You can use the web browser version for free. Only downsides are it only saves progress every 5-10 cards and sometimes the format of text can be awkward.

 

[NotYou20]

Do cards while walking somewhere peaceful. Each afternoon I walked to a nice place in the woods near my place second year doing cards then did cards when i got there. It was nice to study while being outside and i came back refreshed.