Organising Your Studies
Do you find the sheer amount of information Hogwarts has to offer daunting? Do you get overwhelmed at the number of classes, or find it hard to keep track of which lesson you're on at any given point? Do you wonder how on Earth you'll remember everything shown in lessons? This book covers my organisational tips, and how I use technology and planning to make the most of my studies. I use Notion as a planner, and Anki for flashcards, and will detail how to use them. You will also learn my personal tips on how to pass all your classes. This is not a study guide, and cannot replace lessons, but it will help you improve in your studies. This may be updated as I carry on through my studies and explore different ways to study, and see what works best for me.
Last Updated
08/31/24
Chapters
4
Reads
298
Flashcards: An Introduction to Anki
Chapter 3
I'll admit, Anki has a bit of a learning curve to get used to, but don't worry! There are lots of tutorials out there. Here is the user manual, and you can find more information by simply using a search engine if necessary. You can also contact me by owl, and I'll answer as soon as I can, and to the best of my abilities.
Anki is a free flashcard application that can be used on your computer, or any handheld device (note: the Apple version of the app does cost money, but it is free for PC and Android). You can download it here. Anki is based on the principal of spaced repetition. In short, this means that it shows you flashcards at the right interval so that you review it often enough that it stays in your long term memory. This is why it is very popular among medical students and people wanting to memorise vocabulary in a foreign language.
Once you download Anki, I have created a file containing my card layouts, which you can download on the Notion template. Of course, you don't have to, if you'd rather not download an unknown file! I also recommend using the add-on of Hierarchical Tags, to help you sort through each class' notes.
Here is an example of one of my normal flashcards. This is what it looks like when I make the flashcard.
As you can see, I put the class in the front information, and have the pin activated, which makes sure that text stays on the card as long as it is on. The extra information on the card is stuff I don't need to remember, but is useful, so it shows up in smaller text. Here is what my flashcard looks like when I review it.
At first, only the top part will show up. Then, when you click "Enter", the bottom shows up. There will be four buttons underneath. I click "Good" if I remembered the card, and "Again" if I didn't.
I use two other types of flashcard: Cloze cards, and Image Occlusion. I have included Cloze cards in my example deck, as I use them quite often. Here is an explanation of Cloze cards. If you want to use Image Occlusion, use this add on. This lets you make a flashcard out of a picture, and review different parts of it. I will explain more about my flashcard making process in another chapter.
It is important that you do your flashcards as often as possible, ideally once a day. I like to do mine when I'm waiting, whether that be for the bus, in a queue, etc. Depending on how many new cards a day you do, the more reviews will pile up. For beginners, I recommend 10 new cards per day. Here are my personal deck settings, but feel free to customise.
