Deadline/exam date feature

Anki Suggestions
21

I’ve been thinking a lot about the challenges discussed here regarding using Anki to prepare for exams or deadlines. While I know this topic has been discussed extensively, I’d like to propose a solution that addresses the remaining challenges. One major pain point is balancing large sets of cards with limited time while trying to hit specific mastery goals. I’d like to propose a solution that builds on the current system and makes goal-oriented study more realistic and efficient.

The idea is a deadline-based custom study system that spreads cards evenly across available days while factoring in the effectiveness of spaced repetition. When setting up a deck:

  1. The system calculates the maximum achievable mastery percentage based on the total number of cards, the number of days until the target date, and the spaced repetition algorithm.

  2. Immediately, a mini warning is included below the desired mastery percentage box, similar to this review load warning: “If adding X new cards per day, your review limit should be at least Y.” …but instead for potential mastery/memorization percentage. This informs the user before they set a mastery goal. Mastery percentage, card stability, and retention are already tracked, making this feasible to implement.

  3. Once the user sets a desired mastery percentage: if it exceeds the realistic maximum, a pop-up explains that the goal is unrealistic, and what the highest realistic mastery percentage is. The user can still proceed if they choose, in which case the system adopts the highest feasible spaced repetition schedule for that time frame. So that way, users can still choose to “push beyond” the suggested mastery percentage, but they know the consequences and the system adapts intelligently

This setup ensures cards are distributed efficiently over the available days, minimizing stress and maximizing retention. It would give users a concrete, actionable plan for meeting deadlines while still allowing flexibility for individual pacing.

I truly believe this feature could be transformative for learners, especially for languages or subjects with dense material or necessarily complicated set setups. It takes the guesswork out of planning study schedules and ensures mastery goals are both ambitious and achievable. Implementing this would make goal-oriented learning far more intuitive and manageable. I can easily see this becoming an incredible improvement in how AnkiMobile and Anki as a whole is used for structured study.

Thanks for considering! I’d love to hear thoughts or feedback on feasibility.

22

There’s no need to open an additional thread when you know the there is already an ongoing discussion. And any major feature/change like this would definitely need to happen in desktop Anki first, so there’s no point in suggesting it for AnkiMobile specifically.

23

Thanks for clarifying. I only posted it separately because the original thread was old, and I wasn’t sure a new, detailed proposal would still be seen if I added it here. And since I primarily use AnkiMobile, I placed it in that category by habit, but I understand that major changes would need to start on desktop. I’ll keep that in mind going forward. Thanks for the guidance.