Rules for Anki

1. I use quality information. (“Garbage in, garbage out.”)
2. I keep all my cards in one deck, unless I’m cramming something specific and short-term.
3. I write my own cards.
4. I default to bi-directional cards for the most part (thus, neither side has a question mark).
5. I create many cards from a single “note” (by leveraging fields).
6. I keep information concise and as atomic as possible.¹ In Andy’s words, they should be focused, precise, tractable (easy-ish), require memory recall (not problem solving/inference), and produce a consistent answer. Vague cards get vague results.
7. I write cards that emphasize facts’ relationships and that provide the interesting explanations hiding behind facts.
8. Where applicable, I use etymology prompts to add a layer of understanding above definition-learning.
9. I include an “extra” field with answers for optional additional information and context.
10. I’m not afraid to include things I need to remember from my personal life.

Something I’m still working on is adding mnemonics to work (like the carrot example here)