I just got set of reviews where I got score 97% but it took me a while and I am questioning if it is a good idea to think about each item until I remember it. Is it better to just type whatever first comes to my mind and fail items until my head gives me right answer on first try? Or is it better to be OK with spending longer to remember something, hoping this time goes down eventually?
How do you do it?
I usually type in whatever pops into my head first, which is usually the right answer. If nothing is coming to me then I try to recall the mnemonic. If I still get it wrong then I review the info. No use in constantly second guessing yourself. The SRS will reinforce the words that you need to spend more time on.
I use the skip button on Tsurukame which probably influences the way I review, but I suspect that even without it my practice would be the same. Just a few seconds preferably the time it takes me to type the answer. If I donāt recall the meaning/reading the second time around for an item in a review session itās going down a level.
I try to slow down with similar looking kanji, which sometimes I fail to doā¦ and if I know Iāve made a mnemonic myself for an item I will try to recall it, but those are rare exceptions, If I donāt recall I fail it, read the data again and move on.
Not much, if I canāt recall something immediately I just fail it and move on. If SRS has to simulate encountering items āin the wildā, I want to feel like I āknowā something if I can get it right immediately. In stuff like reading subtitles or fast text on japanese tv or listening you donāt have much time to actively focus at something.
In my understanding, the act of struggling to remember (if you do, in fact, remember it), will trick your mind into thinking itās super important. This is why SRS is designed this way. There are times you are supposed to just barely remember the kanji.
For me, āit dependsā.
If I truly donāt know the correct answer I will quickly enter some gibberish just to get it marked wrong, and then I will study the meaning, the reading, and the context sentences in depth to try and correct my inability to recall the answer.
I do the same whenever I get something wrong.
Some may consider that to be ācheatingā - but I donāt, rather I consider it to be performing a ārelearningā of something that I did not properly ālearnā in the first place. Yes, that is somewhat time-consuming, but I have come to accept that for me WK is not āa raceā.
If, instead, it feels like the correct answer is āon the tip of my tongueā, I will take a reasonable amount of time to try and dredge up the answer from my āmental inventoryā, in the belief that doing so correctly will help to better cement the proper answer in my mind for the future. Of course, sometimes I canāt recall the proper answer even after going through the time and effort to get it - so I then go ahead with the CRS ācanāt remember itā routine that I described above.
Iām inconsistent about it. I think itās a good test to sometimes try to see how well youāre moving the items from ācan figure it out if I think about itā territory into ārecognize on sight at reading speedā.
On the other hand, thatās kind of defeating the crawl-walk-run learning strategy. Nobody attempts martial arts moves full-speed seconds after learning it, you didnāt type 100wpm on your first day, etc. Itās ok if you have to stop and think through the mnemonic and āreconstructā the meaning or reading ā thatās what the mnemonics are FOR. Through repetition, you eventually stop needing the intermediate step of the mnemonic. Not the first few times.
Iād hesitate to burn one if I wasnāt in āautomatic recallā land with it already. Of course, thatās when it gets hard to decide to fail it on purpose. 
and there are times when I KNOW I donāt know, and no amount of sitting there thinking is going to make me know. Those I just type something and fail it right away on purpose. No sense prolonging the torture.
I do try to be fast with everything guru and above. Iām willing to be patient on my apprentice items (especially if I just did the lesson today) to at least think through the mnemonic, or if I know thereās a mnemonic that Iād be able to remember if I sat here having an inner monologue for 30 seconds about, then Iāll wait.
Failing is part of the learning process. As long as Iām doing reviews Iāll make progress. I do try to pause when I get things wrong to check if Iām confusing it with something else, or to open up kanji pages and really stare at the differences in a big font. I also sometimes get distracted mid review session and come back a couple minutes later which can help my memory sometimes if it means Iāve been passively churning one item in my subconscious for a few minutes.
Personally, I find it better to take my time and really remember each item. Rushing and guessing usually ends up with more mistakes for me. Iād rather spend a bit longer making sure Iāve got the right answer. It might feel slower now, but it helps me remember better in the long run. Iāve had similar experiences, and itās worked out well for me.