When was the last time your flashcard reviews went wild? 😱

It happened to me plenty of times. Every single time was painful.

In this email I’ll share about the key concepts to help you manage your reviews.

This isn’t just for the Cardemy app—it applies to any software using a spaced-repetition algorithm.

Indeed, spaced repetition algorithms are super powerful—they schedule reviews at the perfect time, right before you forget, so they multiply by many times your overall learning speed.

But… they can be a double-edged sword. Use SRS wisely or you will get smacked in the face by the boomerang.

Here are 2 situations where learners often get trapped.

Danger Situation #1: Early days…

When I started learning Japanese in 2012, I set Anki to learn 30 new words per day. That's quite a lot. Why so much?

Because I was super motivated. Actually I had been planning this for weeks… so just 10 cards felt way too little, I had too much energy.

But... I took the boomerang in the face soon later 😅

Let’s look at an example of an even more “sane” start—15 new cards per day.

It's enough to get the point and this is what I often see with our learners.

The point: skipping your daily sessions can be deadly.

•    Day 1: learn 15 new cards, 0 reviews. Piece of cake, done in 10 minutes.

•    Day 2: another 15 new cards, but also reviews for yesterday’s 15. Double the work, about 20 minutes.

•    Day 14 (fast-forward): now still 15 new cards to learn, but this time 45 reviews. This is 4 times the time you spent on the first day.  That can easily take 40 minutes and wear you out.

The next day your brain may remember the pain of this long session, and doesn’t want to do it again. So many stop or skip reviews days (leading straight into Situation #2 🙁…).

You get the point: lots of learners start like a rocket but explode in the sky during the first month.  

Danger Situation #2: When you skip a few days

Now let’s follow Mio-san. She’s also been doing 15 new cards a day, for 4 weeks straight. Solid start! Bravo.

Now, she flies to Seoul for the weekend. Fried chicken, local beer, good times.

On the flight back to Tokyo, Mio san realizes she hasn’t touched her flashcards in two days. She opens her app. 120 reviews waiting, to which she should add the 15 new cards. 😱  

The point: skipping your daily sessions can be deadly.

4 tips to avoid these situations

#1 Go easy with new words

•    Don’t dump too many cards into your deck. In the first days, reviews are light, so it’s easy to get overconfident and add a ton. But that’s signing your own death sentence later.

It’s fine to add more new cards at the very beginning, but please slow down progressively when you see the reviews appear. Make sure your session remains within your comfortable study time.

Cardemy app: The feed lets you pick new cards one by one, so you stay in control. Adjust daily if needed.

#2 Reviews first

•    Always do your reviews before adding new cards. There’s no point in seeing new stuff if you can’t remember what you already studied.
•    If it feels too heavy, just drop the new cards and keep the reviews.

Cardemy app: Overwhelmed? Hit the review button directly without looking at the new recommendations in the feed.

#3 Don’t skip your daily sessions

•    Breaks are okay, but don’t completely stop. Memory doesn’t pause—you’ll forget. Rest matters, but consistency matters too.
•    If you’re short on time, just do a part of your reviews, no new cards.
•    The daily habit you have managed to set up so far is super precious. Once you break it, restarting feels very hard.
•    During a busy or unusual day, find 5-10min to do half your reviews and skip the new cards.

Cardemy app: Set reminders (email + push notifications) at the safest time of your day and do your best to protect your streak. 

#4 Suspend or remove cards that aren’t fun

•    Some cards just won’t work for you. That’s fine—don’t waste time on them. Just remove them from your deck. They slow you down. If the word’s important, it’ll come back later in another card or in real life.

Cardemy app: Replace the context with another one while keeping the word, or use the “suspend” button to drop the card entirely. 

 
I hope these tactics may help you harness better your flashcard reviews. From the feedback I get on your Typeforms (thank you so much for taking the time!), I know this is a recurring pain point.

Did you find this content hopeful? I’d love to hear your story / feedback about a similar experience with these dangerous situations. Let me know—it might inspire us to build some useful new features! (some learners think we should add streak shields, any thoughts? 🤔)

Set your flashcard reminder at the best possible time in your day

Check my reminder