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?

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.

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?

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

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.

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.

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.

Last edited by yukkuri_kame (2009 February 27, 10:06 pm)

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.

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.