i had a 3 week holiday in february, so obviously my reviews went sky high.
the problem is I seem to have forgotten most of what i have studied.
what is the best way to get back into the swing of things?
do you think i should just review the words without adding, or remove the words from the list and start again?
:(

I don't think you should delete your content.

There's a feature you can use under "my words" called "save me" or something like that. Check it out. This could be a good option for you to make your review queue manageable.

its not so much the size of the queue, its the old content that i have learnt and now forgotten.
how to get that back without deleting?

If the old content is contained in a particular list or lists, you could always removed them from study. That way, only the words in the lists will be removed, others will remain.

Just study it and mark those failed which are; you should see them again soon and start to relearn them. First using the "Save Me" feature would ensure that you get a manageable amount each day to relearn.

I just deleted and started again. After a four month break I'm adding about 50 characters per hour.

At first I tried reviewing but was finding it frustrating to have so many forgotten characters and be presented with them all at once. By starting fresh I have the feeling of learning characters very quickly. It has been motivating.

One way to deal with this is to study smaller groups of characters, try studying from only one list per session or day instead of studying "all" at once. The characters in that list will come up more frequently and you can stick with them until you've got a bit of a handle on those, and then move on to the next, while still catching up with the reviews on the lists you've done already. In that way you can work back up to "study all."

Nice to see another Zhengzhovian here!

I had the same problem with the February break. I came back to 1500 reviews. Just trying to charge into them is depressing and difficult; what I've done is do the reading before the writing, and I have now cleared all my reading reviews.

Especially if you're following a sequential course like Heisig, I'm tempted to suggest deleting all your progress and starting again. I did this a few months back. You'll find it easy going for a few days and be able to build up your confidence. The FAQ advises against wiping the slate clean, but I found it useful.

I have been thinking, that forgetting so many characters shows, that the idea behind Skritter works, the characters are introduced near the time you are forgetting them. Then you really forget them for a while. It takes time get them back, but after marking them a few times failed I find it fine when the count is starting to rise rapidly again.

I have been thinking "nuke" my account, but for reason that I thing I should have been studying words only.

Having friends visiting my home for a week, more than 2000 tasks are again waiting...

Drone:are you in zhengzhou?

I am. I live in Zhongyuan district but usually decamp to the streets north of JinShui Lu during the weekend.

I've only been here a few weeks but it's possible I've actually met you already. Small world!

i'm on songshan road.
you at zhengzhou university?
whats your name?
probably met at target.

I'm near the university but not at it. My name's Nick - an Englishman. I don't drink coffee, I take tea; I like my toast done on one side, etc etc.

ah ok. im at henan university of technology, on songshan road.

are you going to target tonight?
theres a birthday bash on so loads of jolly laowai

Yeah, I'll head to Target later. Look for a guy in braces/suspenders and glasses with a cigar and we can have a skritter love-in.

will do. im the blonde guy. not many walking around so should be quite easy