Build a lightweight HSK review flow around level checks, example sentences, and repeated active recall.
When you look up a word, do not stop at the HSK level. Check the pinyin, meaning, part of speech, and example sentence so the word has a real usage context.
Start with level and usage
If a word appears above your current level but keeps showing up in your reading, save it anyway. Frequency in your real material matters.
Review in small batches
Ten useful words reviewed deeply are better than fifty words copied into a list and ignored. Keep review sessions small enough that you can recall words without staring at definitions.
Use a simple cycle: look up, copy an example, cover the meaning, recall, then write your own short sentence.
Mix old and new words
A good HSK routine should include today's new words and a few older saved words. This prevents your study list from becoming a one-way collection.
Favorites and history are useful when you want to return to vocabulary that was difficult the first time.