Hi,

I think I may have unknowingly created super large reviews for myself that really discourage me and def. take up time, which just further makes me not want to do it. I was in an SRS mode of review, do some kanji, review, do some new kanji, and was having reviews of 20-30 kanji everyday. I can't remember- but I think at one point I may have added a bunch into the load, so all of a sudden, my review load went from 20 to 211. This is legit difficult to get through. Is there anyway I can space out my numbers, so that my reviews will be more even? I'd rather do a little bit every day 20-40 for review rather than 200+ hitting me one day. What should I do?

My reviews are usually 100 a day if I forget half of them and need to read up on my mnemonics. I wouldn't worry about it. I just tell myself it's necessary and it will eventually be done. I do have some fun doing the reviews though, and I don't find it boring.

I hate doing reviews, and I'm trying to do so many things this semester...I understand it's necessary, but it can't be broken up?

Add fewer per day is one approach. I'm currently avoiding just under 800 due cards, but at least I have a break starting.

~J

Diana Wrote:Hi,

I think I may have unknowingly created super large reviews for myself that really discourage me and def. take up time, which just further makes me not want to do it. I was in an SRS mode of review, do some kanji, review, do some new kanji, and was having reviews of 20-30 kanji everyday. I can't remember- but I think at one point I may have added a bunch into the load, so all of a sudden, my review load went from 20 to 211. This is legit difficult to get through. Is there anyway I can space out my numbers, so that my reviews will be more even? I'd rather do a little bit every day 20-40 for review rather than 200+ hitting me one day. What should I do?

If you are using Anki you can just set a specific number of review per day. Eventually the deck will thin out.

If you're not using Anki, I'd recommend reviewing the leftmost expired stacks first. You can click on the orange bar above "One review" or "Two reviews" and review only those cards that are expired and have only been seen a few times. In my experience, it doesn't hurt you as much to delay reviewing cards that you have already reviewed three or four times - you can dig into those stacks a few at a time, or do them when your other stacks are light.

You can do the same thing in Anki by setting it to "Review newest cards first."

thanks. I'm not using Anki, just RvK. The review cards are also all on the left side. I think it's because I was steadily reviewing without adding, then once I got comfortable with a large amount, I added it all in. But, I'm guessing there is no way to revert my mistake?

Just stop adding any new cards for a week or two, or until your reviews get down to a more manageable level. Then, add cards at a slower pace than you have been.

It's simple: only add new cards when you're done with both the failed pile and your reviews!

You could either time box (do a set amount of time no matter how many you get through) or remove some cards?

There's also item boxing, where you review a set amount per day. Both it and time boxing early on prevent overloading later. In addition, if you start it now, it will eventually even out. If you reviews turn into chores, you're just not going to do them.

At about 1500 kanji added, my reviews have consistently been about 70 to 100 cards due all the way until I finished. That was doing about 20 a day and finishing in 4 months. So basically it's inevitable unless you go extra slow.

cloudstrife543 Wrote:At about 1500 kanji added, my reviews have consistently been about 70 to 100 cards due all the way until I finished. That was doing about 20 a day and finishing in 4 months. So basically it's inevitable unless you go extra slow.

how slow is extra slow?
1 year is nothing imho.

My Anki deck was at 895 yesterday, because I was busy this week. So I went into "chip it down" mode. Rather than sit at the computer until my butt is numb, I make a simple rule: before I can do anything "fun," I have to knock out 30-40 cards. So if I'm going to watch a show, I knock out some cards. If I'm going to read a book, I knock out some cards. No more than 30-40 at a time. So by today, I'm back down to ~550 in the hole, and by the end of the weekend, I should be all caught up.

It's like itemboxing or timeboxing. I just make it a "lock" on certain activities. And if I get into a rhythm and manage to knock out more than 30-40 at a sitting, that's cool too.

And then after I chip that down, I really need to do something about my RTK pile... yikes.

frlmarty Wrote:how slow is extra slow?
1 year is nothing imho.

Glad I'm not the only one.

Regarding large reviews (100+ is big for me), I don't mind having one once in a while, but day after day it is too much. Recently, I have been adding new cards at 40/day or so for 3 days, then 2 or 3 days of just reviews, then adding more. I like the ebb and flow.

Spread finishing your reviews throughout the day instead of one big go.

I don't really understand the problem. Using an SRS , the objective is learn the kanji. Reviews are part of that process. If you're not learning them properly, the reviews will pile up. If you are learning them properly, the reviews will thin out. It's a self tuning process.

If your objective is to learn a certain number of new kanji a day, you can cause yourself problems. Far better to spend a certain available time on kanji, allowing the ratio of new/review to sort itself out.

The more time you spend on your initial encounter with each kanji, thinking about it, rolling the picture around in your brain, conjecturing and imagining ... the less often you will have to review it.

I spend the first hour of each day (after breakfast, of course) on kanji. About half of that is usually review, then I get to new characters.

Then I go for a long run in the forest. I mentally review the new characters as I run.

Then, each hour or so throughout the day I do five minutes. Most of it is review, based on SRS characteristics. By the afternoon, I'm picking up new characters again.

Ok, thanks. I guess I was having unrealistic expectations for myself. I'm trying to get all this stuff totally down pat, and was hoping to do so by April. Guess I'll just go slower and try to finish by May or something.

If you plan on having any kind of large SRS file for learning Japanese in general, expect to have to handle 100+ reviews a day, every day. I'm at the 6800+ card range, and that's what I usually have to deal with when I add cards. When I don't handle them on my usual schedule, that's when I tend to fall behind. (Like when work gets crazy.) You just have to find the extra time to fit in reviews. For me, getting an iPhone and reviewing over the web using Anki's keitai mode saved my bacon. I do about 30-40% of my reviews that way now.

Yes, it's a pain in the butt, but the benefits far outweigh the inconvenience.

onafarm Wrote:I don't really understand the problem. Using an SRS , the objective is learn the kanji. Reviews are part of that process. If you're not learning them properly, the reviews will pile up. If you are learning them properly, the reviews will thin out. It's a self tuning process.

The problem is that the recurring nature of reviews can cause large spikes in the number of reviews due that aren't obvious when cards are being added. At the beginning, at least, the reviews will pile up even if you are learning them properly.

~J