(Beware of non-native English speakers. Might contain a bunch of mistakes.)
Hello there! I hope all of you are doing great! :3
Well, here’s my problem. Studying Japanese has become my main source of procrastination. Besides WaniKani, I use BunPro, LingoDeer, some kanji writing apps, Satori Reader and I love Japanese Ammo. I prioritize it over my studies, health and so on. It didn’t bother me too much at the very beginning, but now I’m noticing the negative side of it. I’m distracted like 10-12 a day just because I want to do my reviews as soon as possible or I just feel like learning a new grammar topic (or maybe 10 new topics). It might not seem a bad thing at first glance, but constantly switching between tasks is pretty tiring. Even if I’m done with my review in less than 5 minutes, my brain still keeps processing that information. I’m in the middle of writing my thesis (math major here), while still having lectures and a bunch of homework to do. Combined with some new Japanese grammar and vocabulary it just ends up being a complete mess. I’m constantly tired because of it and I’m sure it’s not worth it. It would be much more effective if I just spent my day doing the work I have to do, and then do a few hours of Japanese in the evening without worrying that I’m procrastinating on all the other tasks.
I’m sure there are other people who experience a similar problem, so here’s my solution:
Let’s post two screenshots a day. One of them should be taken in the morning after doing your morning reviews (in case you decide that you wanna have a morning session) and it has to include your Review Forecast (can take the one from the website, a custom script or any other app you’re using).
Example:
The other one should be taken in the evening, before you start your big review of things that piled up during daytime. It has to include the number of reviews you have to do.
Example:
These are screenshots from two different days, so don’t worry the number of reviews doesn’t match. This is basically meant to prove that you didn’t touch them during your worktime. It can also be done with BunPro or any other apps that have a review forecast. I know there’s no way to prove that I haven’t done any other Japanese learning activities, but at least I won’t be distracted by reviews anymore.
I’ll start tomorrow, since I’m already done with my reviews for today. If you have any other ideas or tips, please share them!
One of the main themes in @jprspereira’s guide to how he completed Wanikani in a year is that you’ll get a lot of benefit by only doing reviews at set times during the day, not whenever they come in. I’ve certainly found this to be the case in my levelling. If you’re finding that you’re doing small batches of reviews multiple times a day, instead consider consolidating your review times.
Remember that the way reviews work from Apprentice 3 onwards (more or less) is that you get the item back at roughly the same time of day as when you reviewed it last. Before that point, they come at 4hrs and 8hrs, so if you do your lesson at 9am, it’ll come back for review so you can review at 1pm and then review again at 9pm, spreading the reviews out over the day.
Yes, I know the way this system works. I am one of those people who read the whole guide xD.The problem is that I’m completely aware that this is not a good approach, but even though I have like 20583457347 reasons not to I still keep doing that. That’s why I decided to write this post and keep track of whether I’m sticking to this decision.
Accountability is always good, that’s the same reason I log my stats daily.
I hope you manage to stick to it, it honestly reduces the stress of levelling while actually increasing your speed, since it minimises ‘dead’ time between reviews like when they come in at 3am.
I know exactly the feeling: This last weekend I did nothing but study japanese lmao.
It’s certainly more interesting than vector calculus and building circuits on a breadboard.
And yeah it’s not possible to do hourly reviews and work in between sessions: Your mind just keeps processing all that information and you can’t focus on something else.
Unpopular opinion: are you sure this isn’t more procrastination I mean that in a friendly way. But I am thoroughly with you on the recognition that checking for reviews could be a bit like checking your emails. Or social media. Or whatever else gives people that rat-pressing-a-treadle endorphin hit!
I am still struggling if I should start now bunpro for my current WK level
what would you say in your experience since our levels are close at the moment? Is it similar to mnemonics but with grammar sentences? Are you learning well with its methodology?
I don’t think that your WK level matters that much when starting to use BunPro. You can understand the example sentences because of furigana + English translation, even if you don’t know those words yet.
BunPro doesn’t have mnemonics, but it’s still SRS based same as WK. I mostly use it as a guide for what I should be learning next. And it keeps me aware about which grammar has to be reviewed, in case I forget something.
Better try it yourself, there’a a whole month of free trial. Have fun!
Here’s the review forecast for today after reviewing about 50 items on WK and 20 on BunPro in the “morning”. I rarely wake up that late, but I’ve been feeling pretty sick for the past few days and it messed up with my sleeping schedule.
So the goal for today is to not touch any Japanese learning resources until I’m done with the more important things. I guess I’ll just stick with 7 pm for today and check how it works.
Some additional info for those interested
Besides trying to get rid of the habit of always checking my reviews, I also decided to tweak the way I spend my mornings. I’m the type of person who would jump into working as soon as I wake up without even getting dressed or eating anything. So today I started with some stretching, gave myself proper time to eat and do some little morning chores before I begin to work on the main tasks. And I’m actually pretty happy about the way it feels. Now I can do that has to be done without worrying that I still have to squeeze my morning chores somewhere in between the other tasks. And… taking it a little bit slower and having some time to process the way my body feels has made me even more aware about the awful health state that I have.
I hope you all take proper care of yourselves and find the balance between not being too lazy and not pushing too hard. :3
Aaaaaand this is why I decided to NOT start wanikani before I graduate from college. I knew I would be on the same boat.
Now, I can happily spend a lot of time reading articles about the history of kanji, why Japanese incorporated Chinese Kanji, rendaku rules, videos about grammar and particles, and of course reviews and lessons
All without the stress of studying and homework. Prioritize your school work and stop doing too many WK lessons. Just focus on a few reviews daily until they slow down. There’s no rush! After you graduate you can eat and breathe Japanese if you want.
I mean that in a friendly way. But I am thoroughly with you on the recognition that checking for reviews could be a bit like checking your emails. Or social media. Or whatever else gives people that rat-pressing-a-treadle endorphin hit!
