- Flashcards should be atomic
- Spaced Repetition Cards don't need to be atomic
Atomic means as small as possible. Clear answer = move fast in the review.
If you find yourself blocked during the review, ask yourself this:
"How could this card be re-written? Can I split it into smaller cards?"
Flashcards are mainly used for memorization. Spaced Repetition cards (quotes, highlights, anything really) are versatile — reflection, prompts, generating ideas, etc. They don't need the atomicity level of the Flashcard, but as usual, a compact card is better.
- Prioritize creating cards for the things you've learned
- Flashcards should not be orphaned. But it is ok if some are
- Experiment
There is this famous quote by Einstein:
"If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't understand it."
This is very true.
Consider this version:
"If you can't put it into a chain of atomic flashcards, you don't understand it"
The general advice is to generate multiple cards within the same context.
This makes sense, as your mind generates more hooks, which then can pull a bigger context more easily.
Only you know what works for you.
Next:
💜ðŸ§
Marcin