Thank you, mitrac! It’s always so nice to see your comments!
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Thank you so much! It’s fun to look back on the adventure, and I’m hoping it will help keep my discipline up now. I appreciate your encouragement! I hope I will make it to 60 like you one day!
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Ouf. I am so tired. I can’t even begin to describe what an insane amount of activity I’ve been up to for the past week and a half or so.
Nevertheless, I dragged myself here to announce I MADE IT TO LEVEL 29!! Hooray!!!
I don’t wanna be here long because I frankly need to curl up with some tea and watch a show until I pass out. These weeks have been insanely busy both at work and outside of work, so I didn’t make as quick progress as desired on the level-up time. However, I did make a few adjustments to my routine that have been helping me progress despite everything. Here’s what’s been working recently:
- Doing Wanikani and Anki reviews first thing in the morning. Seriously, my brain has so much power compared to midday. I can get through 100+ Anki cards in 20 minutes if I do them at 6:30am, but if I wait until 12, I get slow and it takes me like an hour. Same with WK! So doing them before anything else, first thing in the morning, has helped get through them faster and focus on other things during the day.
- Using the Tsurukami app… in Anki mode. And one review per item. I caved and finally enabled this. I’m super strict with marking my incorrect items as wrong, but I think having to type for a long time with my thumbs was a major detractor from using the app before. Now, because I just have to flip through the cards, I get through them way faster and am much more encouraged to get my reviews in at the end of the day before bed.
That’s all for now. Not a very tidy post bc I’m soooo tired. Time for rest. And to read my level-up email!
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Wee little update from my phone. I’ve started level 29 and am trying out the guidelines I entered here! Today I did 15 lessons, including all the radicals, plus 2 kanji lessons, for a total of 5 kanji.
I’m going to try continuing with 5 a day and see what happens.
I’ve been going through lessons p fast these days, mostly due to lack of time, but partly thanks to having a plethora of Japanese exposure to make the info sink in faster.
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Back again. Teeny update time. In the thick of it!
I followed my plan and completed the last of the kanji lessons for level 29 today. If all goes well, I’ll be leveling up in 4 days.
For these next four days, I’ll keep going with the vocab lessons, and when I level up, it’s back to doing all the radicals at once + 5 kanji per day.
I’ll write a more solid update and review when it’s level up time.
Let’s goooooo
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I'M HALFWAY THERE.
I followed the lil plan I detailed a few posts ago, and it worked well! It took me 10 days to knock out level 29. I’m moving ahead with the same technique.
- Radicals on level up
- 5 kanji per day
- Roughly 3 review sessions a day
- Knock out reviews in the morning, no matter what, when my mind is Fresh
It’s been… just over four years. And I’m halfway there. That’s way longer than I would have preferred, but my life was upended several times in those years, I had to rebuild routines from scratch, I got distracted by big events, etc. I fell off pace often.
Now, despite everything, my life is a little more stable. I have no big plans to move countries or switch jobs in the next year. I have a little routine, and WK is part of it, so I think I can carry this pace for the foreseeable future. Though it’s going to take serious discipline.
One problem I can foresee happening: sometimes, work gets insanely busy. I was lucky in the past 2 weeks that work was only a regular amount of extremely busy. But sometimes the pace is INSANE, and during those weeks I tend to struggle with studying + maintaining energy. However, I have my new rule of knocking out reviews in the morning, and I have been getting them done before work. That seems to set a good feeling for the rest of the day, and a sense of relief that I took care of them.
Let’s get through the next 30!
I’m so excited to be here!~
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Yep, serves them well xdd
I have a feeling that the ultimate goal of Japanese study should be to lift your mind out of doing work related things, so if you can prioritize them in the morning not to be so tired after work, and put Japanese on the first position, you might be grand ^^
Oh no, don’t say that, it’s the easiest way to jinx it into happening xdd
Good luck at level 30! It’s a fun level, that one ^^
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I agree! Putting them first has made the day much more relaxing, plus I feel great about putting something I really care about first. Sometimes when work gets super busy, I get stressed out and pour all my energy into work to try and handle it all. But making time for my learning is super important and I can afford to postpone work thoughts for 15 minutes every morning.
Hahahahah and I just remembered that I’m going to Japan in a couple weeks. So I’ll be out on a 2 week vacation! I’m going to try and level up during that time but we’ll see what the heck happens with that disruption hahah
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thank you! I’m so happy to have made it this far!
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HURRAH FOR LEVEL 31. And lo! It is the fastest level I have done since the very early levels of Wanikani. Why, it’s the second fastest level I have done period.
After reaching level 30, I was seized with fresh motivation to get through this second half, and equipped with a study strategy to begin the attack at once (detailed in posts previous).
Despite the 忙しさ of the day, I went ahead on repeat with the same strategy: as soon as I leveled up, I carried out lessons for all the radicals + 5 kanji. I’m a little nervous about how this will affect my retention from today, but generally, things have been good, and I have been progressing just fine.
I did a little calculation and if I can keep this pace (~8 days a lesson), I will be able to reach kanji nirvana by the end of this year. Do I think it is possible this will happen? Yes. Do I think it is realistic? Probably not. There are several big changes happening this year that will likely present challenges to my WK routine. But for the next few weeks, while my life is stable at least, I’ll continue establishing these Wanikani tenets for myself so that they’re easier to fall back on in the future.
I’ve said them before, but for easy reference:
- 5 kanji lessons a day
- 15 total daily lessons
- Radicals upon level up
- Do what you need to to keep review sessions manageable
One thing is for sure, I’d like to make serious progress in 2025, and maybe even complete Wanikani once and for all. And that is going to take a continuing dedication.
In order to get through this level in 8 days, I had to be committed to the above plan, and also do reviews roughly 3x a day. I even had to postpone bedtime a few nights to get all the reviews in. Or sit in my car after errands and not allow myself out until I had gotten through the review pile. Wanikani didn’t completely take over my life this past week, I had time for fun, friends, exercise, and other activities, but I did have to commit.
All that said and done, I’ll continue through with this pattern and check back in later.
(I want to make a post soon focusing on my studies outside of Wanikani, so I can align myself for the spring and prepare for N2 studies later in the year.)
edit: I must work out!
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Good morning! (afternoon)
I popped on to do my reviews, and lo, the site is down for maintenance. So here I am for a smol, brief update.
As you can see, I’m level 33! Level 32 took me a bit longer than the others, and I didn’t have time for an update here… because I was in Japan!
I’d like to do a bit of a more detailed post sometime, but alas, I don’t have much time or energy at the moment. Here are some basic points and updates:
- I was in Japan! I visited old friends and had a fantastic time. I traveled to 6 cities/towns.
- I finished 西の魔女が死んだ shortly before my trip. (I’d like to do a better write up post later.) My first Japanese novel!
- I started コンビニ人間 when I arrived in Tokyo, and by the end of the trip was at 40%, significantly faster progress than my first novel. This is probably due to a combination of factors, again, which I should like to discuss later. I will say, I had a magical time slowly reading, with konbini coffee, in the central room of a Meiji-era house.
- I feel refreshed for my studies now that I’m back.
- However!!! My Wanikani is jet-lagged. I kept up with reviews for about 4 days before turning on vacation mode. Which was a great idea, but now I’m dealing with many reviews first thing in the morning + a huge batch of apprentice items that slipped my mind.
- I currently have 154 apprentices, MUCH more than I like to have. I am tucking in and holding fast. If this pile doesn’t go down in say, a week and a half, I may take a break from lessons to make things more manageable. In the meantime, I want to keep moving forward.
- It’s almost June, and I was thinking about starting serious N2 prep in June. Hmm.
- While I was in Japan, I enjoyed reading articles, watching Japanese news, and studying with my friends
- I got my nails done at the end of the trip and they are literally the cutest nails I have ever had. They are watery-nature themed and I am so happy every time I see them
Ok that’s all for now! I’m on 33! I’m forging ahead! I went to Japan! I finished my first Japanese novel! I can taste progress (:
xoxoxo
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Heya, welcome back! This all sounds so wonderful! Congratulations on hitting the big 33 and finishing your first novel 
I love reading about people’s experiences when they travel to Japan; literally can’t get enough of it 
We’ll all be looking forward to a follow-up post once you recharge your batteries 
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Woohoo congrats 
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What an update, exiting!
Congrats !! 
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Hello, it’s been a while. The last time I updated I was on level 33, now I’m on level 36. I’ve had so many posts I’ve wanted to make here–talking about my trip, my study goals, my game plan for N2, a reflection on reading my first Japanese novel, study strategies I discovered that are working for me–and yet so much has been happening the past couple of weeks, I’ve been dashing around like crazy with very little time.
Today is a bit freer, and I’m a bit overwhelmed at the thought of writing all those posts. So today, I shall keep it very casual and very chill. Welcome to my meandering June update.
How have my studies been this past month?
Ive been making steady progress through Wanikani. Despite everything, I make an outline for each level and try to work through the designated number of lessons/kanji lessons each day. This has kept things moving forward. It feels like my accuracy has gone down, becuase I’m trying to squeeze my reviews and lessons into a small amount of time. I’m trying to remind myself that exposure is more important than perfection right now.
I’ve been maintaining my Anki streak. Before I went to Japan, I finished adding all ~3000+ cards to my review pile from a year of interpretation and N3 studies. I then took all of the words I had looked up + saved in 2024 and added another batch (1000+ cards). I’ve been adding 10 new terms a day (20 cards) on weekdays with the aim of getting through this second batch. I’m on track to finish adding in a few weeks.
Besides steady practice with Wanikani and Anki, my other studies have been fairly neglected. I still attend tutoring every week. My N2 grammar and vocab books have been largely untouched. I haven’t read コンビニ人間 in a while, though I did make it to the 50% mark.
I do have a study outline for N2 that will take me through the Kanzen Master series. I have not made progress. I need to start working through it! I feel a little intimidated.
I’d like to post my N2 study plan and talk through my strategy soon. But for now, at least, I need to make a start. It’s time to break out the pomodoro timer. Let’s build out a little plan.
Here’s how I’d like my study routine to look generally until I can catch up. I’m going to attempt to do something along these lines for the next week or so, and once I make some progress I can switch to a curriculum like the one I built for N3. There is no particular order, besides warming up:
- Read a news article to warm up
- Wanikani: +15 lessons a day, reviews
- Anki: +10 terms a day, reviews
- Kanzen Grammar section
- Kanzen Vocab section
- Read 2-5% of a novel
Annnnd with that, let’s go ahead and design a study log code for N2.
<div align=center>
X月X日2025年
先週の実績
| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5| 6| 7|
|--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---| ---| ---|
|**完全** | [x] | [x] | [x] | [x] | [x]| [x]| [x]|
|**暗記** | [x] | [x] | [x] | [x] | [x]| [x]| [x]|
|**鰐蟹** | [x] | [x] | [x] | [x] | [x]| [x]| [x]|
|**小説** | [x] | [x] | [x] | [x] | [x]| [x]| [x]|
来週の目標
| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5| 6| 7|
|--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---| ---| ---|
|**完全** | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
|**暗記** | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | O | O|
|**鰐蟹** | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15|
|**小説** | X | X | X | X | X| X | X |
:snake: 今日の目標 :leaf_fluttering_in_wind:
[] 記事
[] 暗記
[] 鰐蟹
[] 文法
[] 単語
[] 小説
</div>
I probably won’t use it in it’s fullest form until I get into a serious N2 study habit. That said, let’s start out with a post for today!
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今日の目標 
Pomodoro
1: Wanikani Reviews
2: Wanikani Lessons, start Anki
3: Read an article, continue Anki
4: Finish Anki and tidy up
5: Add 完全マスター文法 points to Anki
6: Add 完全マスター単語 points to Anki, start 文法 questions
7: Complete 文法 questions, start 単語 questions
8: Complete 単語 questions
Read a little コンビニ人間 
Reward: fun and relaxation the rest of the day.
Total time: 4 hours
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can relate really strongly ;_;
i find it really cool that you both maintain wanikani and anki at the same time, really nice streak going 
…wow xdddd
That is some serious dedication, I’m curious how you’ll fare at keeping it up ^^
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Both anki and wanikani are a lot to work with, but they seem to be helping each other, and luckily due to the nature of my job I can get some reviews done at work! If I didn’t have that option, I don’t know where I’d be…
Lol I’ll be able to ganbarimasu for a few days, and hopefully the work will smooth out to be a little less on weekdays!
That being said, I’m tucked into a coffee shop to try and knock out a few Kanzen chapters before the week ahead.
Off I go! :')
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Hello,
I woke up at 11am today, by far the latest I have slept in in over a year. In the past 11am would have been nothing, but when you factor in that I need to go to bed at 8:45pm for my Very Early job, until this point I thought 11 to be impossible. I didn’t set an alarm or anything, and this is how long my body kept me down. I’ve burned out.
In past years when I decided to take the JLPT, I knew it was going to be a lot of work, but I would fit that work in and make it happen. I’d divide out the workbooks I wanted to get through, the mock exams I wanted to take, into a schedule of daily plans that, if completed, I felt would adequately prepare me to take the test with confidence.
This year, something is different. I made plans, but it takes me so long to get through even one of the Kanzen Master sections. With grammar, for example, my flow has been to read through the points as I add them to Anki, then complete all that section’s questions. Recently, I’ve only been getting to one half of that in a single session. The vocab book is the same; I spend so long adding new words and memorizing them in Anki, that I run out of time/brain power to complete the accompanying questions in one section.
Going through these books is in addition to my daily Anki and Wanikani SRS practices. I’m still adding 20 new cards to Anki each day (I’ve got like 180 left in my pile to go).
On top of that, I feel a little behind, so I tried to schedule study material every day, plus sections from both (grammar and vocabulary) books until I can catch up to my plan for smoother sailing. But if it’s taking me 2 days to get through one Kanzen section, my plan is already doubled in time and will take far past December 7th to complete.
All this, and outside of studying, I am already exhausting myself in life. My job is demanding and requires an intense amount of focus, some days more than others, and there are certain days where I use up all of my energy on work and crash out at home. I started exercising again, 4 times a week. This actually makes me feel really good and I’m always happy when I take that time. However, there’s no question that my body is more physically tired recently. (I’m hoping after a few more months of routine I start to feel strong and energized regularly).
And of course, I’m trying to balance in friends, food, relationship, keeping my apartment clean, and all sorts of mundane everyday tasks that petrify my ADHD brain. I AM BURNT OUT AND I DON’T KNOW WHEN I CAN STUDY.
Here are some good things:
- I am keeping up with Wanikani (even though my routine is starting to slog).
- I am keeping up with Anki.
- My comprehension at work has improved noticeably. My confidence in interpretations has skyrocketed. I can follow my coworkers’ side conversations. I am picking up some of the quick jokes they sneak in. I feel like if the N2 were a listening/speaking test, I would be ready to take it and pass now.
What can I do?
First, I need to accept some things about my studies for this year:
- I don’t have a lot of time.
- I don’t have unlimited energy.
- I probably won’t be able to get through the Kanzen N2 series at the same pace I did for N4 and N3.
- I might not have enough time to get through the Kanzen N2 series before the JLPT on December 7th.
While also knowing this:
- I will sign up and take the N2 on December 7th. I may not be able to pass.
Overwhelmed by the weight of the study schedule I planned, and how long it will take me to get through a single day of said schedule, I’ve been avoiding studies (outside of SRS) entirely. I want to create something more sustainable so I can keep moving forward, even if it’s at a slower pace.
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