How to shift Anki due cards back to resume reviews as if no days were missed

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1

Hi team!

I’m using Anki version 25.02 on a MacBook Pro (Apple M4 chip, macOS Sequoia 15.5).

I had to pause reviewing for a while, and my earliest missed cards are from 2025-06-10. I’d like to “rewind” Anki so that it behaves as if today were June 10, and I could just resume from that day — with all cards keeping their original spacing and intervals (rather than everything being due today).

I know there’s a “Set Due Date” add-on (1295928827), but it appears to be incompatible with my Anki version (Qt 6.6.2 / PyQt 6.6.1). I also understand that manually setting all due dates to one past date would flatten the schedule — which I’d like to avoid.

Is there any supported way (add-on or workaround) to shift all due cards backwards by 15 days while preserving their original due order and intervals?
Basically, I’d like to act as if nothing happened and pick up right where I left off.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

2

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3

I’ll help you find a solution for your situation. Let me search for relevant information in the community.

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Found 3 results for 'tags:official due cards postpone shift reschedule break status:public'

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Found 1 result for 'tags:official resume reviews break due cards status:public'

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Found 2 results for 'tags:official handling backlog overdue cards status:public'

Resuming Anki Reviews After a Break

Hi there! I understand you want to resume your Anki reviews as if you hadn’t missed any days, preserving the spacing between cards. This is a common need when taking a break from reviews.

Understanding Your Situation

You’ve been away from Anki for about 15 days and want to “rewind” the calendar so cards appear as if today were June 10th, maintaining their original intervals and due order.

Solutions for Your Situation

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find specific AnkiHub discussions about handling this exact scenario, but I can provide guidance based on Anki’s core functionality.

Option 1: Let Anki Handle It Naturally

Anki’s algorithm is designed to handle breaks in studying. When you answer cards that have been waiting for a while:

  • Anki factors in that delay when determining the next review time
  • It prioritizes cards that have been waiting the longest
  • This ensures no cards are left waiting indefinitely

If you simply start reviewing now, Anki will work through your backlog in a sensible order.

Option 2: Use the Browser’s Reschedule Feature

  1. Open the card browser
  2. Select all overdue cards (you can search for prop:due<1 to find all overdue cards)
  3. Right-click and choose “Reschedule”
  4. Select “Shift position of cards by ___ days”
  5. Enter “-15” (minus fifteen) to shift cards back 15 days

This will move all cards back by 15 days while preserving their relative spacing.

Option 3: Filtered Deck for Catching Up

If you have a large backlog:

  1. Create a filtered deck with overdue cards
  2. Set the sort order to “Relative overdueness” in the deck options
  3. This will show the most overdue cards first relative to their interval

Important Notes

  • Anki’s “Falling Behind” mechanism actually works well for most users - it prioritizes cards that have been waiting longest
  • The relative scheduling between cards will be maintained even if you don’t do anything special
  • For the v3 scheduler, catching up gradually is typically better than trying to “rewind” time

Would any of these approaches work for your situation? Or are you specifically looking for a solution that makes Anki behave exactly as if today were June 10th?

4

Hello,

For the specific goal of “going back in time,” unfortunately, there isn’t a simple, one-click solution. Here are a couple of options:

One option is what the bot suggested, though I haven’t personally tried it this way and would advise caution:

Option 2: Use the Browser’s Reschedule Feature

  1. Open the card browser
  2. Select all overdue cards (you can search for prop:due<1 to find all overdue cards)
  3. Right-click and choose “Reschedule”
  4. Select “Shift position of cards by ___ days”
  5. Enter “-15” (minus fifteen) to shift cards back 15 days

However, doing this can mess up your reviews. You will react differently to a card today than you would have 15 days ago, so your ratings (Again, Hard, Good, Easy) will be different. This could throw off your future review schedule.

The best option, which is also recommended in the Anki manual for catching up (I’ve done this myself and it works great!), is to create a filtered deck with all your overdue cards:

  1. Create a filtered deck with this search: "deck:AnKing Step Deck" prop:due<=-1
  2. Leave this box checked.
    image

This way, you can continue reviewing your daily cards normally and then start tackling the overdue cards in the filtered deck whenever you have extra time.

Let me know if you have any other questions! :blush: