Is the 1–3–7-day rule scientifically required?
No. A fixed schedule can be a useful reminder when starting with paper cards, but it is not the best timing for every person and item. In Cepeda and colleagues’ study, the useful spacing interval changed with how far into the future learning was tested. That finding does not validate every setting of a particular app or fixed days for everyone.
Vocabee uses FSRS to schedule reviews across days. If you use a scheduler, completing due reviews is a more manageable starting point than imposing a second compulsory calendar on every card.
How can I start without a review app?
- First session: inspect the meaning, hide it, attempt an answer and correct mistakes. Put other words between attempts.
- Next day: attempt answers before rereading the list. Revisit difficult meanings.
- Following days: allow more time before returning to easily recalled cards, and less time for forgotten ones.
- End of the week: check a small shuffled sample without help. Use the result to adjust your new-word target.
This is an editorial starting routine, not a measured Vocabee outcome or a universally validated formula for review days.
I missed a week. Should I reset everything?
First check what you actually remember. Rereading all old cards as if they were new spends time on words you still know. Try a small group of overdue items and distinguish words you recall, recall slowly and have forgotten. Relearn forgotten meanings and continue. A break does not prove that all previous study was wasted.
Your first day back can be review-only. Return to new words after a few manageable sessions. Do not reveal answers and mark them as known simply to clear the queue.
What should I change when reviews pile up?
| What you notice | What to try |
|---|---|
| Due reviews fill the session | Reduce new words and split existing reviews into manageable sessions. |
| You repeatedly confuse one word | Make the meaning cue clearer; inspect its difference from the word you confuse it with. |
| You recall correctly but slowly | Do not record this as a wrong answer; observe the next independent attempt. |
| Recall is comfortable across several days | Try a small increase in new words while continuing to watch the review load. |
What should I measure: a streak or recall?
A streak records a study habit; it does not by itself show that a word is known. Track the first attempt after a break using comparable items and the same question direction. Keep an immediate corrective repeat out of that count.
The blank recall log (CSV) separates date, target word/sense, direction, first answer and use of help. Fill it in on your own device; this page does not collect your answers. It is a learning diary, not a formal proficiency test.