It was simple.
There are 150 words in HSK 1, so I thought that if I can learn 5 new words a day in 30 days I would be done.
But after a bit of online research I discovered learning 5 new words is considered easy. If you go hardcore you can manager 100 news words a day. However I'm not sure how maintainable this level would be.
So I choose to learn 10 new works a day. My plan was to keep it easy. For the first 15 days I would learn 10 new words a day. Then for the following 15 days continue revise.
The key was learning the words through sentences. This is really the only way to have the words sink in. And plus learning to hear words from spoken dialog is my real long term goal.
The secret was staying motivated.
Slowly building up new words by introducing a few new flashcards at a time. All the while continually revising flashcards. This is the key to making progress and staying motivated.