Adressing Backlog

Scheduling
1

Hey guys! So I have an essay due and have been neglecting my anki (with regret) and have a pretty large backlog which I aim to do after I finish this essay (probably 2k cards backlog). What is the best way to tackle this do you think? I still have to get through new cards everyday and do the due cards on that day too, but am unsure on what the best way to do this would be.

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Here’s what I do with a backlog – similar to what’s described in the manual. It allows you to push forward with your current studying while folding the backlog in at whatever pace you want.

  1. Set your daily New cards to 0
  2. Make a “Catch-up” Filtered Deck to siphon off the overdue cards – like is:due prop:due<=-1 (if you have subjects you want to keep separate, do this for each of those decks/subdecks).
  3. A regular study-day would be –
    • Study all of the due Review cards in your main deck, including graduating all Learn cards to Review.
    • Then study X cards from the Catch-up deck – grading them honestly, and knowing that you’re likely to have more lapses than usual.
    • When you’re done for the day, rebuild the Catch-up deck to kick any short interval cards back to your main deck for tomorrow.
  4. Repeat.
  5. [As soon as you clear the backlog for a deck/subdeck, turn on a reasonable number of daily New cards for that deck.]
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Sorting the review cards in easy order in the deck options makes it easier to start reviewing cards.

  • Deck gear icon → option → Display Order → Review sort order
    • Default algorithm (SM2) → Descending ease
    • FSRS algorithm → Ascending Difficulty
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Do you think it would be better to use this filtered deck approach or set a maximum number of reviews and put It on relative overdueness review order alongside doing new cards everyday. My problem is the exam is approaching and I need to start doing new cards.

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There’s a flaw in doing New cards and backlog Review cards in the same deck – when you graduate that New card to Review, it’s only going to be “due” not “overdue,” so it’s going to be in line behind a bunch of that backlog. And then when it gets delayed, it will be more likely to lapse, and just keep going through the cycle.

In that case, I think you’d be better off bending at step 1. Set a smaller-than-usual number of New cards, so you can keep moving forward, but you may want to balance that out by setting a slower pace on the backlog deck. You’ll still have to finish all of the Reviews in your main deck every day, and you’ll have to graduate all those News from learning. Good luck!

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