Level 60
SO here I am. Level 60! This also happens to be my fifth post created in roughly five years since I signed up on WaniKani.com—I kind of like how that works out! I’d like to share with everyone how I made it to the final level and what I did and didn’t do. I’ll also post all those pretty charts and statistics that so many of you seem to care about and measure yourselves against.
I’m not going to lie, making it to level 60 was NOT easy, far from it, in fact. The journey to the end was full of ups and downs, broken keyboards, and shattered egos, etc., etc. But really, it was a disjointed adventure. I was blazing saddles through around level 11, then fell off the horse for a few levels, then was rejuvenated, before finally realizing the horse had died on level 16. When I eventually did come back, over 500 days later, I had to play catch-up for a while. It wasn’t until level 19 that I must have realized that I wanted to learn kanji again, because my average time-on-level became close to what it would eventually be. Honestly though, it was so long ago, I don’t even know why I kept going at that point. I must give Koichi + team credit, my motivational renaissance was thanks to a sincere email that was sent around New Year’s Day that really helped propel me to my first big milestone, level 31. It was so big, that I even wrote a post about it! The funny thing was, it wasn’t until level 31 that I finally realized that I would, without a doubt, make it to level 60. I guess I had finally “gotten into the groove” of using WK? From that point on, I didn’t stray from WK and well, here I am. Some of you might be asking (if you made it this far down): Why did this person write all this pointless drivel above!? I just want you to know that it’s okay to not be one of those famous, “I’m so amazing! I did WK in a year!” people (if you are, my hat is off to you!). It’s okay to take long breaks between levels, it’s okay to use vacation mode, it’s okay to take it slow, it’s okay to follow your own path. The only thing that matters is that you make it to level 60!
Here’s what I did to make it to 60 (starting from when the horse was resurrected). First, I did 10 new lessons, no more, no less, plus all my reviews every day (except for when I was on vacation mode, obviously). For your reference, my WK day was usually between 6:30-22:00. No matter how tired, sick or shitty I felt, I always did them. Second, I always did reviews in batches of 10. Why you ask? I simply didn’t like getting the same item wrong over and over in the same batch. The smaller the batch size, the more often the same item appears. And well, 10 seemed like a good number, so I stuck with it. Third, I usually tried to knock out the biggest chunk of the reviews in one session. Occasionally, I just did 1-2 batches every hour. Both ways worked well, but the latter was less stressful. Forth, I used vacation mode every time I would be gone or otherwise distracted for more than one full day. Trying to do reviews on vacation is a big no, no. Trust me, I was stubborn, but finally realized it. So, use vacation mode, it’s there for this reason! Finally, I set a goal that when I hit level 60, I would treat myself to my favorite Japanese food, Sushi! Note: don’t skip this step.
Next, what I didn’t do. Number one, I did not use a single script. Zero, zilch, nada! Why? I trusted in the WK process, was too lazy and just never got around to it. Two, I limited my WK forum activity. No offense to anyone reading, but my time was better spent elsewhere. Three, I didn’t read or follow anyone else’s advice on how to use WK or get to level 60 (ain’t that funny!). Hey, maybe that’s the real reason it took me 5 years (lol). Finally, (and most importantly) I didn’t compare myself to other members.
If you made it this far, I congratulate you. Below are the charts and “stuff.” Thanks for reading and I wish you all a pleasant journey to level 60. As for myself, I will continue burning items and start focusing on reading more and try to get my speaking level higher. Good luck!!!
Stats without anything excluded:
Stats with exlcusions:
Misc:
