I have huge problems to stick to routines. So I always learn till lvl 5-7 or something like that but never above ten I get distracted or whatever and end up pausing WK and my Crabinator goes back to hibernation till i finally arrive again and the circle starts again.
Are people having the same troubles ( I bet Iâm not alone)? And how can I break this vicious cycle pls help
Iâm currently back again out of hibernation and ready to star anew.. I tried to continue but I forgot a lot again I feel weird about it
When you say âhibernationâ, do you mean vacation mode? If so, just never ever use it again. I think itâs a bad idea generally, but in your case you also clearly canât trust yourself with it.
Building a habit can be hard especially if youâre not routine-oriented. I recommend not going too fast and keep the daily review count low in order to make it easier for you to stick with it. Then force yourself to at least do all reviews every day, even if you donât do any lessons.
Is there something in particular that you would like to read in Japanese? If so try reading it and every time you encounter a kanji you donât know, look it up on WaniKani to see when youâll learn it. I remember that it helped a lot with motivation for me early on, I could tell myself âok when I reach WK level 27 I will know this word, when I reach level 18 Iâll know that one, âŚâ It gives you a concrete objective.
Nothing to it but to do it. Just 5 or 10 minutes carved out every day for doing review is better than doing 0 minutes. Pick a time and stick to it. For me itâs 8AM, for 30 minutes every morning. Stop focusing on what level youâre on or your speed, just show up.
I think hibernation is the weird thing WaniKani does when you donât log in for a while so they can optimize data access for active users. It happens to me on the rare occasion I log onto WaniKani proper.
Ty, I will definitely try this.
I donât have a routine at all but I go to sleep and wake up every day so I might stick to doing my lessons in the morning i guess
I think that SRS systems like WaniKani fundamentally work very badly if the user isnât able to maintain a daily routine of doing reviews. So what other non-WaniKani Japanese study are you doing? Maybe youâll get more effect out of doubling down on that rather than doing yet another doomed run through WK levels 1 to 5.
Hey, I tried âHeyJapanâ and Duolingo ( didnât fit that well ) and I bought âMinna no Nihongoâ ( I repeat some chapters from time to time, but I feel too insecure to keep going). I always fear to teach myself stuff the wrong way^^
One things thatâs working for me is keeping a daily study log here - itâs helping maintain that motivation and habit. Donât let the worry about teaching yourself the wrong way be an obstacle; there are plenty of wise people here (as well as louder ones like me, too!) who are always happy to lend some words of wisdom or answer questions, etc.
My two general suggestions, in order of importance:
Take some time to figure out why you are trying to learn the language, and prioritize it based on how important it is to you. If itâs something youâre doing because itâs interesting but not something youâve got a burning passion for, thatâs okay - and if that means taking breaks and having to restart, thatâs fine too. But knowing why you want to do it (to read manga? Watch anime? Play games? Go to Japan and speak the language?) and how much it matters will help you figure out your plan, and reminding yourself of that is great motivation for the challenging days.
I would suggest that if you can just make it a habit to do 15-30 minutes every morning, thatâs a solid start and something that could be easily maintained. If you can do more, wonderful! Obviously, the amount of time you have to spend is a function of your own life and what youâve decided about the importance of the learning. Donât measure yourself against othersâ pace, or ability, or anything else, figure out what you want and a pace that works in your life and make your focus doing the best you can at maintaining that.
Just remember that whatever the reason you are here to learn, youâve got a lot of people in your corner who are always willing to help. In the end, if you want to do it and you can dedicate some time to it daily (or as close to daily as possible), youâll get there at some point. Just make each day your best and donât let the difficult days be discouraging - itâs a learning process!
Perhaps if you want to try something different, you shouldnât revert to level 1, just keep going from whatever level you left it at. Iâm sure you donât remember a lot of it, and thatâs okay. Let SRS sort that out. Donât start lessons at all until youâve taken the backlog down to zero. At least that way youâll stand a better chance of moving forward, past wherever you left it last time.
I understand this deeply lol. Tbf, with WaniKani specifically I have only done it twice. The first time I gave up on level 2 cause I saw how much work it was and I was not willing to do it. Then I came back years later and made it to level 60 in a little over a year. The thing is finding the motivation is crucial. When I did WaniKani for real I was living in Japan and since moving here studying Japanese has become a lot easier because I have a reason and a motivation to do it everyday. Before moving here there was no real reason and I could easily shortcut my way into doing the bare minimum.
I say all of this to say you need to find a way to motivate yourself to keep going. Perhaps itâs reading books, and noticing the progress you are making. Maybe it means talking to some Japanese friends and seeing the fruits of your labor in real time. Or, in the worst case scenario, and if you are anything like me, you need to just move to Japan lol I made a whole post about it my WaniKani method and journey, but TLDR what I found is that living here I could constantly use all the knowledge I was getting from WaniKani and apply it to my daily life. Like a video game WaniKani was letting me unlock real life content like signs I could now read, new interactions with friends and co workers, and new places I felt now comfortable going to since I knew enough Kanji and Japanese to understand.
So I would say there is not going to be an easy answer anyone can give you, but more so you have to really figure out 1. If you even really care to study Japanese seriously and 2. If yes then what things can you do to actually motivate yourself to keep going?
Lastly other than reading books, and making Japanese friends, I would recommend maybe VRChat. You donât actually need VR and there is a lot of Japanese content and people on there. One of the few ways that I actually was motivated to study Japanese when in America was playing VRChat because I saw immediate returns.
Youâre not alone though. The struggle is real and I think finding motivation is the biggest blocker for anyone learning a new language, or really anything new. Anyway good luck!
Thank you for reminding me, I really need to visualize my motivations again. Today I did 30 min in the morning and it felt so right. I will try my best for all the heavy lessons ahead, knowing there are people here to answer my weird questions makes me less scared Ty!
Thank you for your comment, it feel much more normal when I hear other people have/had similar problems on their journey. Wow, lvl 60 in a year and something on your second try! Thatâs impressive!
Yesterday I made a plan - Im going to Japan in two years ( because of finances ) and that is a huge motivation for me. To talk to people and of course I want to read some books in japanese
Ty!
I have massive ADHD and therefore also huge issues with creating habits and sticking to routines, so I hope these methods that worked for me might also work for you.
For me it just needs to be in my face to keep remembering it. The app Tsurukame allows you to not only do wanikani on your phone, but also has a widget that you can put on your main screen, showing the reviews and lessons that are still available. This has kept me on track for a good while. Also, if you have a moment for yourself each day (like for example public transport to work or Big Toilet Time⢠or something), then it might be good to mentally connect that to Wanikani, and do some research while moving towards doing business.
Hey, Iam currently waiting for my ADHD test results^^. Yes true, it could really help to see it, everytime I look on my phone. Going to download it today. Tysm for your help!
Oh thatâs great to hear!
We have a support thread on here if you want to take a look
And remember, even if you donât end up getting the diagnosis, doesnât mean the manual for it doesnât help
Apart form your overall goals and dreams, something that could potentially help as well is setting short term goals.
âIâm going to master Japanese!â could take a lifetime. âIâm going to finish WK!â is a year or two of daily work.
Pick a level below 60 that you want to reach. Pick a single page from a manga/book, or text box in a game, and make it a goal of researching the words and grammar until you understand it. Pick a low number, and try to reach it as a daily WK/Japanese study streak.
You can put as many sub-goals in there as you want, to reward yourself and remind yourself that youâre doing it! The positive reinforcement of âgood job, me. I did itâ can help make you feel better about the process. Especially when the drudgery sets in. Looking back at accomplishments is a good distraction from overly focussing on the long road ahead.
I get distracted or whatever and end up pausing WK and my Crabinator goes back to hibernation till i finally arrive again and the circle starts again.
pls help 
Ty!