Create Anki Cards Quickly: 7 Powerful Shortcuts Most Students Don’t Know About – Stop wasting time formatting decks and start actually learning with these simple tricks.

How To Create Anki Cards Quickly (Without Losing Your Mind)

Alright, let’s talk about how to create Anki cards quickly in a way that doesn’t eat your whole day. Creating Anki cards quickly basically means cutting out all the boring manual stuff—typing every card one by one, formatting, syncing—and using smarter tools and shortcuts so you spend more time studying than building decks. That might mean auto-generating cards from notes, screenshots, or videos, or using an app that does the spaced repetition part for you. This is exactly where apps like Flashrecall come in, because they turn your notes, PDFs, and even YouTube videos into flashcards in seconds so you don’t get stuck in “deck-building hell.”

By the way, here’s the app if you want to try it while you read:

👉 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/flashrecall-study-flashcards/id6746757085

Why Making Cards Faster Actually Matters

If you’ve ever spent an hour “studying” and realized you just…formatted cards the whole time, you know the problem.

Creating cards slowly hurts you because:

• You get tired before you even start reviewing
• You avoid making cards because it feels like a chore
• You end up with half-finished decks and random notes everywhere

The whole point of flashcards is active recall + spaced repetition. If building them takes forever, you won’t stick with it.

So the goal is:

That’s the mindset behind Flashrecall: make card creation so fast it’s almost automatic, then let spaced repetition handle the rest.

Option 1: Use Flashrecall To Auto-Create Cards In Seconds

If you like the idea of Anki but hate the setup, this is honestly the easiest path.

Flashrecall) is a flashcard app on iPhone and iPad that basically does the “create Anki cards quickly” part for you. You don’t need to mess with plugins, imports, or syncing.

Here’s what makes it fast:

1. Turn Text Into Cards Instantly

Got lecture notes, a summary, or a list of facts?

You can:

• Paste text
• Type a prompt
• Or drop in a chunk of content

…and Flashrecall can help you turn that into ready-to-study flashcards automatically. No more manually splitting every sentence into Q/A cards.

2. Make Cards From PDFs, Images, And Screenshots

This is huge for school and uni:

• Upload a PDF (lecture slides, handouts, ebooks)
• Snap a photo of your textbook or notes
• Use screenshots from slides or online resources

Flashrecall can pull the text out and help you create cards from it. Instead of rewriting everything, you just pick what matters and turn it into flashcards in a few taps.

3. Create Cards From YouTube Links

Watching a long explanation video?

Drop the YouTube link into Flashrecall and it can help you build cards from the content so you don’t just passively watch and forget. It’s like turning every video into a mini interactive study guide.

4. Manual Cards… But Faster

If you like full control:

• You can still add cards manually
• Simple, clean interface (no cluttered menus)
• Works offline, so you can make cards on the train, in class, whatever

It feels like the “modern Anki” you wish existed on mobile.

Option 2: Speed Up Your Card Creation With Simple Templates

If you want to create Anki cards quickly, templates are your best friend.

Instead of reinventing the wheel every time, set up patterns like:

• Definition cards
• Front: “What is [term]?”
• Back: Short, clear definition + 1 example
• Cloze deletion style (fill-in-the-blank)
• Front: “The capital of France is ___.”
• Back: “Paris”
• Concept → Example
• Front: “Give an example of [concept].”
• Back: 1–2 solid examples

In Flashrecall, you don’t need fancy template editors. Just decide your pattern and keep repeating it. That consistency alone speeds up card creation a lot.

Option 3: Use The “One Lecture = One Card Session” Rule

Here’s a simple system that works great with Flashrecall:

1. After each lecture or chapter, take 5–10 minutes

2. Grab your notes, slides, or screenshots

3. Drop them into Flashrecall (photo, PDF, or text)

4. Turn only the most important points into cards

Don’t try to capture everything. Aim for:

• 10–20 solid cards per lecture/chapter
• Each card asking one clear question

Because Flashrecall has built-in spaced repetition and active recall, once the cards exist, the app handles when you see them again. You don’t have to think about scheduling at all.

Option 4: Turn Passive Stuff Into Active Cards

You probably already spend time:

• Watching YouTube explainers
• Reading PDFs or slides
• Skimming summaries or AI answers

Instead of letting that be passive, convert it into cards quickly:

• Drop the YouTube link into Flashrecall and build cards from the key ideas
• Upload the PDF and pick out the facts, formulas, or definitions that matter
• Paste in text and turn the important sentences into questions/answers

This is one of the easiest ways to “create Anki cards quickly” without feeling like you’re doing extra work. You’re just recycling stuff you already consume.

Option 5: Keep Your Cards Short (This Makes Everything Faster)

A sneaky reason card creation feels slow: your cards are doing too much.

To speed things up:

• One fact per card
• Bad: “What are all the causes and treatments of heart failure?”
• Better:
• “What are the main causes of heart failure?”
• “What are the main treatments for heart failure?”
• Short answers
• You don’t need paragraphs. A few key words or a short phrase is enough.

Short cards are:

• Faster to create
• Faster to review
• Easier to remember

Flashrecall is perfect for this style because you can quickly tap out short Q/A pairs or generate them from your content, then let spaced repetition handle the rest.

Option 6: Let Spaced Repetition Do The Heavy Lifting

The magic of Anki isn’t the app itself—it’s spaced repetition.

Flashrecall has this built in automatically:

• Cards come back right before you’re about to forget them
• You don’t have to manually schedule reviews
• You get study reminders so you actually open the app

So once you’ve created your cards quickly (from text, PDFs, images, or YouTube), you just:

1. Open Flashrecall

2. Do the day’s reviews

3. Mark how well you remembered

That’s it. No manual deck tweaking, no “did I review this too early/late?” anxiety.

Option 7: Chat With Your Flashcards When You’re Stuck

This is something Anki doesn’t really do: interactive learning.

In Flashrecall, if you’re unsure about a card or topic, you can actually chat with the flashcard to go deeper:

• Ask for another example
• Get a simpler explanation
• Clarify a confusing definition

So instead of leaving the app to search the web, you stay in your study flow and understand the concept better on the spot.

Flashrecall vs Anki: Which Is Better For Creating Cards Quickly?

Let’s be honest: Anki is super powerful… but it can be clunky, especially on mobile.

• Very customizable
• Tons of shared decks
• Great long-term tool if you like tinkering

• Manual setup can be slow
• Mobile experience isn’t the smoothest
• Plugins/imports can be confusing for beginners

• Instantly makes flashcards from:
• Images
• PDFs
• Text
• Audio
• YouTube links
• Typed prompts
• Built-in spaced repetition and active recall
• Study reminders so you don’t forget
• Works offline
• Clean, modern, fast interface
• Free to start
• Works on iPhone and iPad
• Great for languages, exams, school subjects, university, medicine, business—basically anything you need to remember

If your main goal is literally “how can I create Anki cards quickly without all the friction?” then using Flashrecall as your flashcard app is honestly the easier route.

You can grab it here:

👉 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/flashrecall-study-flashcards/id6746757085

Simple Workflow You Can Start Using Today

Here’s a practical, no-nonsense routine:

1. After Class / Study Session

• Take a photo of the board or your notes
• Or save the PDF / slides

2. Open Flashrecall

• Import the image, PDF, or text
• Let it help you turn key points into cards

3. Keep Cards Simple

• One idea per card
• Short answers
• Use questions you’d actually ask yourself

4. Review Daily

• Let spaced repetition handle the schedule
• Do your reviews on your phone whenever you have a few minutes

Do this consistently and you’ll have a huge, high-quality deck without ever sitting down for a “3-hour card creation session.”

Final Thoughts

If you want to create Anki cards quickly, the trick isn’t just typing faster—it’s using better tools and smarter workflows:

• Auto-generate cards from the stuff you already read/watch
• Keep cards short and focused
• Let spaced repetition and reminders handle the timing

And if you want all of that in a clean, modern app that works great on iPhone and iPad, Flashrecall makes the whole process way easier:

👉 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/flashrecall-study-flashcards/id6746757085

Spend less time building decks and more time actually learning. That’s the whole point.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Anki good for studying?

Anki is powerful but requires manual card creation and has a steep learning curve. Flashrecall offers AI-powered card generation from your notes, images, PDFs, and videos, making it faster and easier to create effective flashcards.

What's the fastest way to create flashcards?

Manually typing cards works but takes time. Many students now use AI generators that turn notes into flashcards instantly. Flashrecall does this automatically from text, images, or PDFs.

How do I start spaced repetition?

You can manually schedule your reviews, but most people use apps that automate this. Flashrecall uses built-in spaced repetition so you review cards at the perfect time.

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