Hey there, you might remember a topic called ”my hesitation to subscribe” back in october 2020. Well it’s finally happening!
Why did it took my so much time? well life happened and i didn’t really work on kanji the past couple of years but right now I’m back and ready to fight! 
I know it’s not going to be easy but it’s doable since so many people got up to level 60 i can do it too.
If you have any tips and tricks about how not to get burn out I’m all ears 
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Just don’t rush, and be sure to enjoy your Japanese knowledge as you get it (by reading books, watching anime or whatever is your definition of fun), and you’ll be fine, that’s motivation enough.
I personally think that the best way is to not think of WK as a chore, rather as a time waster you can do inbetween other tasks, that way you can trick your brain into automatically going to it whenever it has the capacity without much effort over time.
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Thank you!! Yes i plan on reading more with my newly acquired kanjis and vocab 
For now i’ve been setting a routine of doing reviews/lessons in the morning i plan on also doing it in the evening before bed, but i didn’t thought of doing some review in between task, thanks i will try to regularly check on wk 
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I’m personally going very slowly. I keep apprentice items to a maximum of 60, which is a lot lower than most people. I also have a particularly busy period at work September-November so I do absolutely no lessons during that period, just reviews. During that period it really becomes obvious what my leeches are, and so I go away and work on them separately - for me it’s usually a pair that I’m mixing up and learning to hand-write them generally does the trick in sorting them out in my head.
I’m also doing a lot of reading in Japanese and that’s a virtuous circle with WK - sometimes I’ll see words I’ve just learnt in books and it will help to reinforce them, other times I’ll look up a kanji and then ‘learn’ it on WK the following week. When I started reading I’d often come across words I’d burnt on WK early on and had since forgotten. So I’d say the sooner you can start reading, the better it will be for you.
Good luck!
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Agreed 100%.
I treat it similar to stuff like social media. Many people make a routine of it, to form a habit, which makes it easier to keep going. But I’ve found for me, it helps to just “play” a little WaniKani when I’m bored. It really doesn’t always feel like work. Then again, sometimes you might not want to do it. For that I do force myself to at least put like 20 minutes in per day. It’s satisfaction enough to keep finding stuff to translate in media or in the wild, that keeps me playing till hopefully level 60.
However: The more days you don’t do your WaniKani reviews and lessons, the more difficult it can become to start it up again, because it can get overwhelming, when all piles up. I’ve learned that the hard way… a few times. 
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I thought that was what the forums, and the POLL thread, was for?
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Thanks for you answer
I’ve been recommended to keep 100 items max as apprentice and I’m trying to follow this rule but it’s really tempting to go learn new stuff I can use to read new things even if this means having a hellish time when doing reviews haha
But yeah I think I’m going to start to read mangas in Japanese more often from now on maybe i’ll start by rereading yotsuba 
Thank you! good luck to you too
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Lol, yep, such was my fairly quick path to level 60.
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I’m all about making it a routine to learn kanjis because my understanding of Japanese is becoming decent, so it’s the kanji part that prevents me from learning more. hopefully as you guys recommended i will make it an habit to ”play” WK between chores and during commute time! I also do plan on forcing myself to open WK in the morning and evening
Yeah i have my account since 2019 i believe, and did not get on wk for like a year so doing reviews where so hard i reseted everything lol
Thanks for you reply!
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You can pick a larger number if you want - no problem with 150 or even 200 if you can devote the appropriate time to do reviews
(Also, 150 burned already at level 4?)
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That’s correct, happy (late) 3 year-cakeday: https://www.wanikani.com/users/Hanaya
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You’re probably right but I don’t see myself doing over 100 items review everyday or so just yet lol
(Yes? i’ve reseted my account a few months back and i remembered most of the items so i guess this is why)
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Thank you!!
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There’s actually a userscript called Expected Daily which will give you an estimate of reviews/day if you want to use it to help you decide whether to speed up / slow down lessons
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oh thank you! that can come handy haha
I’m still new to everything that is script related to wk but i was about to do my own researches
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You are very welcome 
I think the best way to avoid burning out is:
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Don’t mind the time: In the long term It’s the same if you reach level 60 in 1 or in 2 years.
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Establish a fixed amount of work: Expressed in time or number of reviews. That will prevent you to feel overwhelmed.
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Keep motivated!
Focus on your objective: ¿Why do U want to learn Japanese? Write it in a very visible place and read it every time you feel down.
Also consider joining some group!
May I recommend this one:
WaniKani Study Buddy Race - 2022, All Aboard!
There you will find very supportive buddies
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I also usually have apprentice at 60, and it really doesn’t seem that slow to me. I prolly level up every 12-14 days. I feel like if Apprentice was any higher than 60 I would be spending an inordinate amount of time studying kanji that could otherwise be dedicated to language immersion.
That said, I already prolly spend too much time on reviews because I want to read context sentences for each word (either supplied or via google or something) to get a feel for the word each time I review it.
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Wohoooo Congrats!!!
I personally use the start small mindset to keep my self going. What that means to me is that I set my daily goal sooooo low that I might as well just do it real quick. For me that goal is: “I will at least open Wanikani once a day and do any amount, 1 sec, 1 min… doesnt matter.” What I like about this is, I dont feel bad if I dont work on much on any particular day. However, the beauty of it is that once I start I tend to do way more than just my tiny little goal. It also makes it easy mentally to start real quick and do a short session even if I know I will have to stop really soon.
I dont know if this works for everyone but it works for me. I love to leverage my 15 minute gaps.
In a nut shell… you dont have to finish every time you start… you just have to start and see where that takes you. HAVE FUN!!!
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Thank you so much for all these tips!! I will check this group
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i understand how you work but i have enough time and am eager enough to have them up to 100 but not much more lol
I should check the context sentences more often! thank you for replying
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