So now that I now about the spaced repetion thing, I've been trying to get back into it but there's something I don't get. When we study "everything" or practise the items that are due, do we sometimes enter the characters' tones, and sometimes not? If so, why not review the tone while we're reviewing the writing?

The tones are a separate SRS item from the writing. Typically, if you don't know the tones or the writing, you'll review them while writing and sometimes separately as well. If you know the writing but not the tones, you'll review the tones alone. If you know the tones but not the writing, then you'll review the writing alone. This is my observation, at least.

When you start, you review the writing and the tone at the same time. After that, the two items have separate schedules, so they tend to drift apart and start to come up at different times.

You will see something similar if you start to study readings and definitions.

James

Oh I see, thanks for the reply guys!!