I am afraid of myself

[TanakaDaiki]

Hey guys, so I already went to Japan two times. I have many friends there and I absolutely love it. When I was a kid I loved watching Bladerunner, it made me fall in love with cities and I grew up and lived in a small village in south Germany all my life. The first time I went to Tokyo, I left Haneda airport and took the monorail at night, I looked out the train window and it traveled between the buildings, I could see offices, people working out, izakayas, etc. so much happening, it looked straight up like a scene from Bladerunner. and it made me feel like my little 6-year-old self got fulfilled. After that, I had fun every day, and I got to love Japan, the Japanese language, and my Japanese friends. So I started learning Japanese because I decided I’d eventually want to stay there for longer. The only problem, I have ADHD.

I cannot do routine well at all… So why am I writing this post? I am almost done level 3 and at day 15. This is HUGE for me, to do something for longer than 15 days already. I still enjoy it, its fun and I think, I honestly THINK that this WaniKani is the way for me, however. I am scared. Because when I go through the forum I see so many lower level accounts from 2-3 years ago and I see myself. What if I will be that?

My entire life is filled with self disappointment, however, I am hoping that since I could keep my intense love for Japan for so long, it will help me for once, ONCE in my life to get ahead, get something done.
I love WaniKani because I do not have to plan at all. I just always check and it feeds me the words. It’s perfect, for someone like me.

I am posting this as a war declaration to my inner demon. That I am going to accomplish what I want to using WaniKani, and I will reach Level 60. Let’s DO THIS!

Thank you for Listening. Sorry for the stupid rant lol…

EDIT: Omg guys, thank you, there is so many cherishing posts, I really appreciate it. I’m gonna try replying to everything :3 thank you for all the tips and tricks on how to get my brownies together!

[Kraits]

Some advice that may help you, don’t feel as though you need to do all the lessons available at once, and as you get into higher levels, it can help a lot to try to keep your number of Apprentice items (that’s the first few SRS stages) below 100.

Good luck on your journey! I loved your story about Bladerunner

[trunklayer]

I think you should just relax and go at your own pace.
I myself have a lot of troubles with concentration and with following routine… As you can see, I’ve joined nearly 5 years ago - and still haven’t managed to reach level 60… I used to worry a lot about it - now I’m just doing what I can. Eventually, I’ll get there. And so will you!

Anyway, best of luck with your studies!
Here are some meowtivational kittens that would, hopefully, help you on your Japanese learning journey:

[Snappleby]

Everyone here has a different goal. For some it’s to get to level 60 in a year. Others are doing it when they have time and it’s more of a hobby than something with an end goal. And others want to level as fast as possible, but only have a limited amount of time to study every day.

Even with ADHD, and some days you find you can sit through reviews or lessons for more than 30 minutes, if you can keep at it you’ll make progress.

You have a goal, to live in Japan, which is awesome. And you don’t need to be level 60 before you get here. Wherever you’re at when you do will have tons of benefit - even if its a “lower level”.

[TanakaDaiki]

Thank you so much, I hope the lower Level did not come off as derogatory. I guess I gotta chill…

[insu]

@TanakaDaiki

a war declaration to my inner demon

Sorry but your inner demon has got to go! I do not want to see that demon hanging over you or any place here in WK for that matter. Do not worry though as I enlisted the help of someone who can deal with demons

In all honesty though, I am rooting for you! Go and get that golden 60 okay? The hardest part was deciding you want to do something and deciding that you will do everything in your power to achieve it. Now all we have to do is the doing. Easy-peasy right? You better believe it!

[TanakaDaiki]

Thank you so much :3 I really really appreciate it

[TanakaDaiki]

Will all my problems be solved if I just imagine that I can throw a Rasengan at it? For real though, Thank you for rooting. Lets get there together

[donovan_vg]

Can’t wait for the long lvl 60 post! See you then!

[Apolaki]

Hey there! Totally feel you on this, bud. I’ve got ADHD, and I’m hoping to reach level 60 on Wanikani in a year too. For me personally, I think the reason why I end up losing interest or giving up on a hobby or interest I’m passionate about is due to the high expectations I set for myself. Is reaching level 60 on Wanikani a bit of an ambitious goal? Maybe, but regardless of whether or not you hit that goal, you still made progress towards learning Japanese, and that’s what matters at the end of the day.

Also, if you ever encounter those days where you get frustrated at yourself because it feels like you’re not making any improvements, that’s okay! You will hit a couple of learning roadblocks whether you like it or not. Remember to take a breather every once in a while and keep working at it. Progress is progress!

Anyways, I believe you’re gonna do great! Can’t wait to see you hit level 60 :))

[jlamber1]

がんばって下さい:grey_exclamation:

[Kazzeon]

Don’t wanna bother your will to make it to level 60, but being a “lower level account” after a few years isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Sometimes, opposed to what WaniKani is for you, it isn’t right for other people and they decide to move on to something else.

Sometimes, people just leave because of life and come back a few years later and try again.

Sometimes, though, as you say, they do give up and stop learning the language, but that’s life, too.

(Don’t forget the people ((like me, and (((dare I compare myself to))) Leebo)) who reset a few times and are on a lower level than they would be otherwise.)

If you think you can, then you got this.

がんばれ

[Mrs_Diss]

another thing to consider, and perhaps a good thought if you have a tendency to abandon a project: there are plenty of people at high levels who have long breaks where they didn’t do any wanikani at all. they might have gotten to level 30, and then (for whatever reason) stopped doing reviews. and 9 months later they return, and they still manage to get to level 60

wanikani isn’t a sprint. it isn’t even a marathon. it’s some kind of insane “let’s walk once around the globe” project. having interruptions and breaks in that kind of project is fine ^^

[RoseEater]

Me and my other two siblings both struggle with concentration, in fact, it’s why I am here now instead of working. One of them, my sister, has been diagnosed with ADHD.

As long as you have the desire to do something I believe you will pull through. If at any time you find the passion is lost, then the difficulty will increase. So don’t forget to reflect regularly on why you are doing this and the things that you get pleasure from.

The sister who was diagnosed, was tested because my parents would always use her disorder to excuse the fact she was misbehaving. There is truth in that, but not in its entirety.

If you have ever played Metal Gear Solid 1, you’ll know that Solid Snake has (spoilers) the weak genes while Liquid Snake has the strong genes and yet Solid Snake ends up defeating him. After I played that game I decided to not let myself be chained by fate, and you shouldn’t either. Playing this game was an important turning point in my life!

I’m not saying I have it as bad as you do, or even that I ever did, but my sister who was diagnosed has never progressed in her life at all and has used ADHD to excuse her of any wrongdoing that she has ever done. She wouldn’t be able to compose the post in writing as you have done above, nor be able to sit through Blade Runner because she would find it ‘boring’. But she can sit through something that she doesn’t find boring, and to bring this to a conclusion, that gives me confidence that you are going to be just fine.

[monkeyshine89]

I have ADD and also study. I think its important you set a routine. Try clearing your review que and do 10 lessons every morning while still in bed. It should take you about 20- 30 min.

Next during lunch take 15 and try to get through your reviews

And after dinner clear your reviews once more and go over any leeches (multiple fail items)

I suggest you get recheck script and enable it on your app if you use. Not to cheat but since its hard for us to focus we can make silly typos or make mistakes that are simply due to negligence rather than ignorance.

Good luck.

[LoreTheCat]

Welcome and huge congratulations on getting through the first levels!! That IS a big deal and you should be proud!!

I have ADHD too, and I started WK about a year ago. While I didn’t reach my goal of level 60 in a year, I have managed to be more consistent with WK than quite possibly any other thing I’ve ever done in my life. I installed the heatmap script so I can see which days I use WK, and from 2/22/20 (my start date) and 2/22/21, I only missed 23 days. (Okay, full disclosure, I took a planned break for the month of December, and I’m not counting that.) That’s a 93% hit rate.

My trick? Basically just everything @monkeyshine89 said above. Get an app like Tsurukame and link up your WK so you can do reviews on your phone. Use the Japanese T9-style keyboard, it’s SO much faster and easier and skipping the English letters will help your brain learn to think straight into Japanese instead of translating to and from English. Do a couple reviews while you’re in line at the grocery store or whatever.

Another thing that has been crucial for me, is making a conscious effort to think of WK as something fun that I’m doing as a hobby instead of an obligation. ADHD folk tend to suffer from executive dysfunction and stress exacerbates that- in layman terms, once we start to worry about something, we suddenly can’t seem to do the dang thing no matter how badly we want to. So if you catch yourself thinking “Ugh, I have to do my reviews, what a drag,” take a moment to challenge those thoughts and remind yourself that you enjoy learning Japanese. (Even if it doesn’t feel like it at the moment haha).

Anyway, welcome again and best of luck. You’re going to rock this. You’re already well on your way!

[ccprince]

Two things:

1. I absolutely agree with the recommendation to go at your own pace. I do no more than 20 new lessons in a day, and there are plenty of days where I don’t do any, if I’m busy with other things, or not doing well on my recent reviews. I’ve tried doing more, and just wind up juggling more, not actually learning more.

2. On my two trips to Japan, my wife and I went from Narita to Tokyo. And each time, I allowed myself one mumbled, “The sky was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel,” as I passed through Chiba. Sie sind nicht allein, Neuromancer darum zudenken. (Hopefully, I’ve remembered enough of my high-school German to not embarrass myself. )

[Angrypanslice]

I left wanikani for two years when I was at level 7 and now I’ve returned and I’m at level 13 and everything is going good again
What I’m trying to say is that it isn’t a failure if you need a break from wanikani, no matter how long it is
It’s valid, we all have our own circumstances and our own path and pace
I think I know what you feel because I’ve experienced this as well as an autistic person because I’m so bad at keeping up with things and with routines and my advice is the same that some people has already said, go at your own pace and don’t think about if you’re gonna drop wanikani or not, just try to do what you can and to enjoy it
You don’t have to go super fast, just go little by little and you’ll be fine, listen to yourself

[anon45962687]

🐌🏖 Team Snails on Vacation 🐌🏖 Team Snails will always be here if you need it!

[banira]

And it will always be on vacation!