Using Anki Effectively Alongside Programming Katas

⚓ Rust    📅 2025-12-21    👤 surdeus    👁️ 1      

surdeus

Anki can be a useful part of learning a programming language (including Rust), but only if it is used deliberately and in the right role. It is not a replacement for writing code, solving problems, or building projects. Instead, it works best as a supporting tool that reinforces things you repeatedly forget while practicing.

Below is a consolidated explanation of what Anki is good for, what it is not, and how to combine it effectively with kata-style programming practice (Codewars, Exercism, LeetCode, etc.).

1. What Anki Actually Does Well

Anki is a spaced-repetition flashcard system. Its strength is long-term retention through active recall: it shows you information right before you are likely to forget it.

For programming, this makes Anki especially effective for memorizing:

  • Syntax and idioms you repeatedly look up
    (e.g., Rust ownership patterns, iterator adapters, trait bounds)
  • Standard library APIs and method names
    (e.g., Option / Result combinators, HashMap methods)
  • Command-line tools and workflows
    (git, cargo, compiler flags, regex)
  • Language-agnostic concepts
    (Big-O complexity, algorithm names, design patterns)
  • Common errors and fixes
    (borrow checker errors you’ve already debugged once)

In short: Anki reduces re-googling. Anything you’ve already “learned once” but keep forgetting is a good candidate for a card.

2. Where Anki Is Weak (and Often Misused)

Anki is not a good tool for:

  • Learning to reason about problems from scratch
  • Developing debugging intuition
  • Understanding how multiple concepts interact in real code
  • Replacing hands-on coding practice

Programming is fundamentally learned by doing. Flashcards cannot simulate writing, running, breaking, and fixing code. Many experienced programmers find that trying to encode full problems or large code blocks into Anki creates too much overhead for too little benefit.

Think of Anki as a memory amplifier, not a training ground.

3. The Correct Division of Labor

Programming katas provide:

  • Active problem solving
  • Repetition with variation
  • Fluency with syntax in context
  • Algorithmic thinking
  • Test-driven habits

Anki provides:

  • Retention of facts, patterns, and small abstractions
  • Faster recall of tools and APIs
  • Reduced cognitive friction during coding

The two should reinforce each other, not compete.

4. How to Combine Katas and Anki (Practical Workflow)

Step 1: Solve the Kata First

Work through the kata normally:

  • Try to solve it without hints
  • Debug your solution
  • Review alternative or idiomatic solutions afterward

Step 2: Extract What Was Non-Obvious

After finishing the kata, ask:

  • What did I struggle to remember?
  • What concept unlocked the solution?
  • What syntax or API did I have to look up?
  • What edge case surprised me?
  • What algorithm or pattern appeared again?

Only extract small, reusable insights.

Step 3: Turn Those Insights into Anki Cards

Keep cards atomic (one idea per card).

Examples:

  • Front: “Time complexity of merge sort?”
    Back: “O(n log n)”
  • Front: “Rust: how do you iterate mutably over a vector?”
    Back: “for x in vec.iter_mut()”
  • Front: “When should you use HashMap::entry?”
    Back: “When inserting or updating conditionally without multiple lookups”

If code is involved:

  • Use short snippets
  • Use cloze deletion (fill-in-the-blank)
  • Focus on patterns, not entire solutions

5. Code-Oriented Card Design

Effective programming cards often:

  • Include a minimal snippet with one missing element
  • Ask when or why something is used, not just what
  • Encode rules of thumb you want to internalize

Avoid cards that require re-deriving a whole algorithm. That belongs in katas, not flashcards.

6. Daily / Session-Based Schedule

A common, effective structure:

  • Warm-up (10–15 min):
    Review Anki cards related to the language or topic you’ll practice
  • Core practice (30–90 min):
    Solve katas or exercises
  • Reflection (5–15 min):
    Create Anki cards from what you just learned or struggled with
  • Optional cooldown:
    Short Anki review if time allows

This primes your memory before coding and consolidates learning afterward.

7. Organization and Tagging

Instead of many decks:

  • Use tags such as rust, ownership, iterators, arrays, dp
  • Tag by topic and difficulty
  • Reuse cards across different katas and projects

This keeps your reviews relevant and prevents fragmentation.

8. Community Decks and Tools

Pre-made decks and templates can save time, but:

  • Import selectively
  • Edit aggressively
  • Delete anything you don’t personally need

Some people experiment with code-execution cards or Anki plugins, but these are optional. The core value comes from cards derived from your own mistakes and friction points.

9. What Not to Put in Anki

Avoid:

  • Full kata problems
  • Large codebases
  • Multi-step reasoning exercises
  • Things you can only learn by building and debugging

If something is best learned by repetition in a real environment, keep it out of Anki.

Summary

  • Use katas to learn how to think and code
  • Use Anki to remember what you already learned but keep forgetting
  • Extract small, reusable insights from practice
  • Keep cards minimal, targeted, and personal
  • Treat Anki as a force multiplier, not the main engine

If your main problem is “I understand this, but I keep forgetting it,” Anki is worth using.
If your problem is “I don’t know how to solve problems yet,” katas and projects should remain the priority.

Used together, they form a very efficient learning loop.

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