Yeah, part of it is probably just that different people learn differently. I am not a visual person at all so I really have to struggle to make the kanji stick. Meanwhile, if I have to construct the meaning of a word from the meanings of kanji that build it up, even if it is a weird meaning, is not very hard for me. (I will agree verbs are the hardest though because you have to learn a new reading for them a lot of the time. Those are usually the few I struggle with a bit). Definitely running into words in the wild listening and reading makes them way easier to learn as well though so maybe that will help you. Good luck.
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You should just set it to some number like 2 kanji / 8 vocab or 3 kanji / 7 vocab (assuming your batch size is 10) and never change it. If you get to a point where you don’t have enough of one type, just do fewer lessons that day. If you just change it day to day, you’re not utilizing the main benefit of the script - getting a mix of lessons and a balanced workload each day.
But if misusing the script is too tempting, then maybe it’s not for you. SRS is a huge drain on one’s time, and it can hurt if you get too much into the gamification. Just remember, getting to higher levels faster is useless if you’re not learning.
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Again, your decision. It wasn’t the script. Don’t read this as an attack please. I’m really not trying to criticize you or anything. You decided to study Kanji first because you prioritize kanji over vocab from previous levels. It’s that simple. It’s important to remember that you’re learning Kanji in order to be able to read vocab. Vocab is your end goal. Kanji without vocab in practical terms doesn’t give you that much power in the language.
Precisely. Go read my first comment and you’ll see that you need to establish a number of days per level where you can finish both kanji and vocab. This is why it is important to separate the two in two different groups. Putting both in the same box won’t help.
There’s 2 main phases per level:
- batch of radicals and 1st batch of kanji (when you level up)
- 2nd batch of Kanji
Then there’s the vocab that will be unlocked throughout the levels.
Normally, both phases would take you the same time (3/4/5/6 days each). You need to think about a number of days per level that allow you to finish both phases WHILE you do the vocab lessons. That’s why I also mentioned the formula (average vocab per level/number of days per level). It allows you to have a notion on how many days you should spend on a level and/or how many items you should do per day.
I disagree. What differentiates one that goes faster from the one that goes slower is pretty much the number of lessons one does/day + being there to review the item when it becomes available. The same techniques are (and should be) used for those leveling up every 7,10 or 15 days. If I was to reduce my 20 lessons/day to 10, I would level up every 14 days and I would still be using the same scripts and techniques.
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@irrelephant and @jprspereira, I realize you both have valid points, but basically, just on the off chance this might turn in to that, I just want to say that arguing over approaches is a little bit pointless. Different people like to do things different ways. If you want to share your version of doing things with others, that is great but just keep in mind that it is what works for you. So obviously that means that it might work for people like you but not for people who are different. That is the awesome and sometimes frustrating thing about other people. They are super different some times. For example, some people are really good with visualizing things and that helps them to memorize what a kanji looks like. Some people memorize kanji better when they draw them. Some people have an easier time with listening or speaking. So I guess, I am just trying to point out that there is no need to make a one size fits all solution. Some people who want to go @jprspereira’s way but also go slow are probably out there, and some people who want to go @irrelephant’s approach probably exist as well…not to mention the multiple other ways and speeds that people might want to use to learn. If everyone were the same, the world would be a lot more boring. Sorry, I am not trying to jump in and be a mom, but I see people having this argument all the time on the forums, and it tends to take a nasty turn so I did not want to see that happen here since you are both nice people. Anyway, that is my view on things. Suggestions about approaches are great (and have helped me out multiple times when I was trying to figure out what worked for me) but at the end of the day people have to decide for themselves what works best for themselves so no point in arguing about it really. (obviously, neither of you are really arguing yet so this is a bit preemptive and perhaps unnecessary, I just did not want to see nice people argue about this again. Sorry if I am off base.)
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Hey, don’t get me wrong, I’m just trying to have a healthy discussion and exchange perspectives 
Nevertheless, I never mentioned one’s ability to visualize stuff or ability to learn in general. My visual memory is a little terrible actually 
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Haha yeah me too. My visual memory slows me down by far the most when it comes to Japanese. Auditory stuff and learning new vocab is comfortable enough for me, but kanji…well, let’s just say I am glad wanikani exists.
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Totallyyyyyyy ! I always have to do extra reviews “outside” of WK for Kanji. If not, it will get into a serious mess because the kanji lessons are far from being enough to me.
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Hehe yes, I guess we are at the point where we either agree to disagree or agree to agree that different approaches work for different people.
I didn’t think either that @jprspereira and I were arguing but I appreciate the peacemaking efforts anyway, @TamanegiNoKame 
I didn’t expect to get so many interesting responses, thanks everyone.
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