I Got Tired of Anki. So I Taught ChatGPT to Do It Better.
Hi friends,
In my first year of medical school, I made a YouTube video about active recall. I wasn’t an expert — just a student who’d discovered something that worked and wanted to share it.
That video has over 90,000 views. Apparently a lot of people were tired of rote learning and getting nowhere.
Six years later I’m a junior doctor. I still use active recall every day. But I got tired of Anki — not the science, just the experience. The rigid cards. The daily queue. The grind. Learning started feeling like a chore.
So I taught AI to do the same thing — without any of the parts I hated.
👉 Download the complete AI Active Recall Guide (20 prompts + session templates)
The Science Behind Active Recall and Spaced Repetition
Everything in this article is grounded in Make It Stick by Peter Brown — one of the most important books on learning ever written. Two principles drive the whole system:
Active recall: close your notes and try to remember. The struggle to retrieve is what builds the memory trace. Re-reading feels productive — it isn’t.
Spaced repetition: review material at increasing intervals — just before you’d forget. Review too early and it’s wasted. Review too late and it’s mostly gone.
Together these are the most evidence-backed study methods in cognitive psychology. What’s changed is the delivery. AI makes both accessible through conversation rather than a flashcard factory.
The science hasn’t changed. Active recall and spaced repetition are still the most effective study methods we know of. What’s changed is how we deliver them.
4 AI Prompts That Replace Anki
These are four of the twenty prompts from my complete guide — the four I use most often and recommend to anyone starting out. Copy them exactly, replace the square brackets with your topic, and always answer before reading the AI’s response.
Prompt 01 — Test Yourself First
Use this at the start of every single session. Always.
COPY THIS PROMPT (Principle: Retrieval)
“I’ve been studying [topic]. Before I look at anything, quiz me — ask me one open-ended question at a time and wait for my answer before moving on. No hints. No multiple choice. After each answer tell me what I got right, what I missed, and the correct version. Keep score.”
Why it works: Re-reading barely moves the needle on memory. Testing yourself — even before you feel ready — forces your brain to work. That effort is what creates a lasting memory trace. Make It Stick calls this the testing effect and it is one of the most replicated findings in cognitive science.
Prompt 02 — Build My Review Plan
Use this when you start learning something new. It replaces Anki completely.
COPY THIS PROMPT (Principle: Spaced Practice)
“I want to remember [topic] long-term. Build me a review plan with sessions on Day 1, Day 3, Day 7, Day 14, and Day 30. For each session give me 5 open-ended questions I should be able to answer from memory. After each session I’ll tell you what I got wrong and you adjust the plan.”
Why it works: Cramming puts everything into one session and most of it is gone within 48 hours. Spacing your reviews out — and coming back just before you’d forget — is how memories become permanent. This prompt recreates the Anki spaced repetition system inside a conversation. No app, no card building, no daily queue.
Prompt 03 — Mix It All Up
Use this once you are studying more than one topic. This is where most learners leave significant gains on the table.
COPY THIS PROMPT (Principle: Interleaving)
“I’ve been studying these topics: [list 3 or 4 related topics]. Quiz me on all of them mixed together — switch between topics after every question. Don’t finish one topic before moving to the next. One question at a time, wait for my answer.”
Why it works: Make It Stick calls this interleaving — one of the most underused study techniques. Studying one topic at a time feels easier and more organised but that ease is deceptive. When you mix topics your brain has to work harder to identify what kind of problem it’s facing. That extra effort produces significantly better long-term retention.
Prompt 04 — Explain It Like I’m Teaching
Use this when you feel like you understand something and want to find out if you actually do.
COPY THIS PROMPT (Principle: Elaboration + Retrieval)
“I’m going to explain [topic] as if I’m teaching it to a friend who knows nothing about it. After I finish tell me: what I got right, what I got wrong, what I left out, and where my explanation showed gaps. Here’s my explanation: [write it here].”
Why it works: This is the Feynman Technique. When you explain something in plain language you are forced to retrieve it, organise it, and simplify it simultaneously — much harder than passive review. The gaps in your explanation are the gaps in your understanding. AI feedback pinpoints exactly where you broke down.
How to Use These AI Prompts in a Daily Study Session
These four prompts form a complete 20-minute session on their own:
Minute 1–4: Test yourself cold before reviewing anything → Prompt 1
Minute 5–10: Mix topics if you’re studying more than one → Prompt 3
Minute 11–15: Explain one concept out loud, find the gaps → Prompt 4
Minute 16–20: Build or update your review plan, log wrong answers → Prompt 2
The one rule that makes everything work: Always answer the question yourself before reading the AI’s response. Even if you’re unsure. Even if you get it wrong. That moment of trying to remember — that is where the learning actually happens. Skip it and you’ve turned active recall back into passive reading.
Why This AI Active Recall System Actually Works
Six years ago I made a video explaining why active recall works. The science I described then hasn’t changed.
What’s changed is that I now have a tool that will quiz me on a clinical guideline at 10pm, adapt to what I got wrong, and schedule a review for Thursday — without me building a single flashcard.
That’s the version of active recall I actually maintain. Not because it’s easier — the retrieval is still uncomfortable. But because it doesn’t feel like a factory any more.
If you have tried Anki and burnt out, or never tried spaced repetition because the apps felt too rigid — start with Prompt 1 right now. Pick any topic. Answer before you read the response.
That’s all it takes to start. 🌱
👉 Want the complete system? The AI Active Recall Guide has 20 copy- paste prompts built on the science from Make It Stick — covering retrieval, spaced repetition, interleaving, elaboration, and calibration. With a daily session template. Any subject, any level.
Have you hit the Anki burnout wall? Or found something that actually stuck? Drop a comment 👇
— Qbix Tips 🌱
Student turned junior doctor. Writing about studying smarter, building better habits, and saving money — one percent at a time.
