After trying the new routine of studying for a week, I can say that it got a bit easier to focus on grammar now. However, WaniKani still took too much time and energy, which is especially noticeable in this part of the year because Black Friday discounts at my job increase the work load, so I end up being more tired after coming home . While I did significant progress with Genki I compared to before, it wasnāt what I wanted (only half of chapter 8 done ).
Due to not having enough time and energy currently, I decided to do reviews on WaniKani for the final time on Sunday, then I activated Vacation mode indefinitely. Because of this, I wonāt be posting any screenshots while the Vacation modes are active on WaniKani and Bunpro. Hopefully, this should make it easier to study no matter what until the end of the year.
This is my first post in more than a month. I ended up being too busy to do any significant progress and I even stopped studying for a few days in December. The reason for that was that I was too busy at my job during the pre-Christmas days and one of my coworkers went on vacation for one week, so I ended up having extra work and I became even more tired after getting home every day. Studying just wasnāt possible at that point.
Fortunately, I took a vacation starting with Christmas and Iāll be free until January 5th. I took the opportunity to fully rest for a few days, then I started studying Japanese again on December 29th. Iām trying to slowly start working on everything like I used to, like WaniKani and Bunpro, and proceed with my studies.
With less than an hour left of 2024 in my timezone (CET), I ended up nearly reaching chapter 11 in Genki I. Iāll try to finish the book while Iām still on vacation, then Iāll start Genki II in the next few weeks. I think Iāve found a way to properly motivate myself in studying Genki, but Iāll give it a week or two before I make a comment about it.
With all that being said, Happy New Year!
EDIT: Oh, and I upgraded to Lifetime in case something happens in the future and I end up pausing my WaniKani studies again for a long time.
While I am back at using WaniKani, Iām only focusing on reviews for now to get used to it again. At first, I had a much lower correct percentage while doing reviews (between 60% and 70%). This made me consider to revert to at least one previous level or even more, but then I realized Iād shoot myself in the foot if I did that, so I ended up not doing it. After all, it took me a year to reach level 15, so that isnāt a good idea despite having Lifetime now.
I finished chapter 10 in Genki I, read about the new grammar points in chapter 11, then I stopped after that due to ābrainachesā I ended up having (I know brains donāt feel pain, but Iām not sure what to call that particular feeling). I still have 40 words left to study in the Anki deck for this textbook, so I should be done learning them at the end of the week if I take it slowly. When thatās done, I can finally finish chapter 12 as well and finish Genki I for real.
Iāve started watching anime in the last few days of 2024. At the moment, Iām only focused on the original āArmored Trooper VOTOMSā TV series and I really like it so far. However, I only watch one episode when I do considerable amount of studying (I keep it flexible in that regard, so I either study for one hour or do many aspects of my studies during the day). If I do more than I need to, then I get to watch more episodes. I just watch casually like anyone else would to keep me motivated and it works so far. I plan to do the same with other mecha franchises eventually, especially Gundam.
Also, I need to update my first post since itās VERY outdated now.
Had to skip on weekly reporting again because I was too busy yet again . At least I finally got around to update my main post and make it relevant for 2025. I also took a look at the goals from 2024 and I didnāt achieve any of them . The āreach level 20 on WaniKaniā one was the closest I got and I was off by five levels (Iām still on level 15 at the time of writing this).
Speaking of WaniKani, I started studying new items again now that I learned most of the vocab in the Anki deck for Genki I. Iāll take it slowly for now and I should be eventually back at leveling up again. Iām very close to reaching 1000 burned items as well. My accuracy at doing reviews has improved on top of that (now I have somewhere between 85% and 95% for the most part instead of 65% and 75% like I used to have weeks ago).
I also started listening to podcasts again while Iām commuting to work and returning home so that I do the listening part as soon as possible (30 minutes of listening per day at the moment).
Ooo, 30 minutes of a podcast a day is really impressive C:
Hope you manage to keep it up!
As for the 85%-95% accuracy, feel like this is a good level where you still remain in the flow, but you learn new things as well, so hope it doesnāt discourage you either. Let the 1000 burned items goal guide your path towards WaniKani grind! ^^
The only podcast Iām currently listening to is Nihongo Con Teppei, so it isnāt anything special. It just happens to be convenient enough for a short commute to work and I get through several episodes per day like that.
I just noticed the icon near my name right after replying. I wouldāve never known thatās a thing here if I hadnāt posted. Itās already been one year since I joined, huh?
Rather embarrasing that it took me almost a year to finish one textbook, but at least I did it for real this time. I had to put WaniKani on vacation mode in the last three weeks so that it would be easier to focus on finishing Genki.
While it did improve my understanding on Japanese grammar and was especially helpful for understanding the -ć¦ form among others, itās rather time-consuming and most of the exercises in the textbook are useless for solo learners like me. The workbook is much more helpful on the other hand.
For now, Iāll restart Bunpro, get used to it, and start learning grammar with it again. This time, Iād like to avoid studying 10+ items per day because Bunproās SRS easily makes it overwhelming. Of course, Iāll resume with everything else as well, but Iāll wait with Genki II for a while. When some time passes, Iāll reconsider my approach to studying everything at once.
Because I skipped working on both WaniKani and Bunpro for 3 days in total on week 7, I ended up with lots of reviews on both platforms, which stopped me from studying new things. As you can see in the Bunpro image, I lost my 80+ study streak as a result (and also my JLPT progress regressed which Iāll explain in a bit). The study streak reset at least twice because I ended up being a bit too busy/distracted to study for one day or two.
I also noticed that anything that was in the āBeginnerā and āAdeptā category just didnāt stick at all and I ended up getting more than 10 ghosts and even those were impossible to do. In the end, I came up with the following plan:
delete every single ghost,
remove every āBeginnerā and āAdeptā item from reviews because nearly all of them caused me trouble,
disable ghost reviews entirely.
Iāll give it a few weeks to see whether Iāll need ghost reviews or not. In the meantime, Iāll finish the N5 deck again, then properly start the N4 deck. Having Bunpro on vacation mode for several months was not a good idea.
About my potential trip to Japan
I also started planning my solo trip to Japan that I plan to do in the next few months and I was surprisingly fascinated by all of the potential sightseeing the country has to offer, especially the more traditional stuff, like temples. Now I just need to organize everything and hopefully Iāll be there before summer.
For the most part, Iāve been too busy to study properly and that caused a few study streak breaks on Bunpro where I didnāt go beyond day 4 during both weeks. On the other hand, Iām nearing a level up on WaniKani for the first time in months . It probably wouldāve happened last week had Iāve not been busy in my free time.
The main reason for being busy is that I was more focused on planning my trip to Japan. To be more precise, I was considering whether should I go alone or with a travelling agency. In the end, I opted for the āgoing aloneā option because I prefer freedom and I couldāve had really bad luck and get extremely insufferable travelling companions that Iād have to endure for two weeks. Only downside of this decision is that I never travelled outside Europe before, so I need to put much more work into planning my itinerary. I donāt mind this because this is exactly what I wanted to do for several years.
And yes, I bought the plane tickets, so me travelling to Japan is now confirmed. Iāll be going a few days before Golden Week starts, which is about a month and a half from now (the following week after Easter). My current plan is to travel to Sapporo as soon as Iāll arrive and the main reason for that is to witness the cherry blossoms that will start around the time of my arrival. If Iāll be lucky, I should be able to witness the event in all of its glory. After that, Iāll continue with my plans; for now, my primary destinations are Tokyo, Nara, and Kyoto. Hiroshima and Shizuoka are two more cities Iām considering, but there may be more eventually.
. While I did significant progress with Genki I compared to before, it wasnāt what I wanted (only half of chapter 8 done 
).
icon near my name right after replying. I wouldāve never known thatās a thing here if I hadnāt posted. Itās already been one year since I joined, huh?
