How to Prepare for HSK 1 in 8 Weeks
HSK 1 is the easiest standardized Chinese exam there is, and that is exactly why people get it wrong. They either panic and over-study, or they treat it as a throwaway and walk in cold. Both waste your time. The test covers 150 words, the pinyin is printed right next to the characters on the listening and reading sections, and there is no writing section at all. Writing does not appear until HSK 3.
Eight weeks is the right amount of time for someone starting from nothing. If you already know a little Chinese, you can compress this. If you have never heard a tone in your life, do not rush it. The plan below assumes roughly 30 to 45 minutes a day, five or six days a week. That is enough.
The single biggest mistake at this level is trying to learn to write characters by hand. You do not need it for HSK 1, and the hours you spend drilling strokes are hours stolen from listening and recognition, which is what the test actually grades.