Yes, and all the awesome people that joined me in my study log is another reason for me to continue my study log, even after becoming 日本語上手 
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List Clean-Up, Jul. 18
- Moved six logs that closed in the last few months down to the Closed section
- Added a line about how to re-open closed logs, just in case anyone comes back or if you’re staring wistfully at your old log and want to relive its former glory
As always, feel free to add new logs, change the details of your title, or, if you re-open a closed log, move it back into the top section. Adding your log to the list is voluntary and it will not be added/removed or have the title changed without you doing so yourself.
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List Clean-Up, Oct. 15
- Moved three logs that closed in the last few months down to the Closed section
As always, feel free to add new logs, change the details of your title, or, if you re-open a closed log, move it back into the top section. Adding your log to the list is voluntary and it will not be added/removed or have the title changed without you doing so yourself.
( ← this is you writing on your study log and learning japanese and making lifelong internet friends)
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Moved two closed logs to the closed section, though as with @taiyousea’s comment above, feel free to move back logs if you reopen them.
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List Clean-Up, Mar. 19
- Moved four logs that closed in the last few months down to the Closed section
- Alphabetized one name into the Open section
As always, feel free to add new logs, change the details of your title, or, if you re-open a closed log, move it back into the top section. Adding your log to the list is voluntary and it will not be added/removed or have the title changed without you doing so yourself.
Hello, all! I was hoping some of the study log crew wouldn’t mind a little Q&A to help give inspiration to users thinking about starting their first log 
I remember feeling nervous about making one, afraid to commit some sort of forum faux pas or step on toes. Maybe your answers can help give ideas to the next members of the crew 
- Why did you start your study log?
- What aspects of study logs do you like the most?
- What are your favorite kinds of replies to read/receive?
- Were/are you inspired by any specific logs?
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In this thread? I can try to give it a shot ^^
Learning languages is really hard and takes a looooooot of time. Having real life friends that might be impressed by the results, or might be nervously tapping their feet waiting for you to get there, it’s hard to actually find people that would appreciate the ride together with you, so I thought, why not just try here on this forum, there’s a feedback loop of people being excited about languages - you excite people about languages - people excite you about languages, and it just keeps on accelerating and going faster and faster and faster ^^
Ironically enough: daily lives of people, because if I know a person is learning a new language, often times they also want to adjust their lifestyles to make use of the process that they use, so when a person says that they’ve gone rowing frfr in Hyrule (wink wink Shannon-8) or they’ve gotten a new tattoo instead of spending more time at a book-off in New York (wink wink nerdqueen666), it makes me interested in following their journeys more, because somehow if people that are into languages made those choices, it can somehow be related to their study process as well ^^
And I really like seeing people’s hobbies and getting into the things they are into too, that’s why I often trade letters with people on Slowly for example ^^
People getting excited about the same kinds of things I get excited about, recommendations of things, but I really, really like seeing people’s hobbies materialize, like DIY things, like the other day Jintor posted their zine from Breath of the Wild in my magazine thread and I was like “THATS SO COOL JINTOR AAAA” xddd
I sometimes say to myself that what makes me the most happy is seeing other people be happy, so, I don’t know, I tend to gravitate towards enthusiasm somehow?
I constantly am, it’s an ongoing process - my favorite factoid is the fact that Shannon wrote in the op that because of ADHD, the study log will fizzle out in 6 posts, and it’s 4 years and 2164 posts later and ehehehehe xdd
I feel like I’m on the same side of ADHD, so, you know, knowing that Shannon can go for this long also feels weirdly reassuring for me.
But recent highlight of a study log I found to be amazing is “The most basic study log” by hemuli - by absolutely no means is this the most basic study log, I feel there’s so much heart inserted inside of it that I can’t help but just go like, whoa xddd
Purposefully not calling people in this thread, don’t want to just farm likes, but yeah, study logs fun, would recommend ^^
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(I’ll answer too 
)
1. Why did you start your study log?
I was doing horribly in my first-ever language class! I felt like I was being bombarded with too much information and I wanted a place to write out my thoughts and make a map. I was also hoping that if I made any mistakes, more advanced learners would step in and help (and they did!)
2. What aspects of study logs do you like the most?
In the beginning, the aspects I treasured most in other logs were the many many resources being linked. I collected tons of websites for reference, practice, reading, and listening. It was how I discovered Natively, which was a bit less prevalent two years ago but I still like to make sure everyone has heard about it.
Currently, my favorite aspects are more the non-Japanese updates. Now that I have my own study rhythm and routine, I love reading the personal tidbits in log updates to see what everyone else is up to in their lives, what the rest of the world is like right now. I love knowing when it’s snowing particularly hard in your city, or what your favorite movies are, or what upcoming events you’re nervous about. I still like to read about your study updates and progress though 
3. What are your favorite kinds of replies to read/receive?
Related to above, I love reading everyday conversations, like that extended rowing/university chat in @Shannon-8 's log recently 
Or when someone drops off a song link because they think you’ll like it. Also, replies don’t always need to be constructive or lengthy, sometimes it’s just nice to see someone has pointed out something in the log update they relate to. I think language corrections can get into an iffy comfort zone for most people, so I get nervous when I see it on a new log that’s just starting out. Not that it isn’t helpful, but it might be best for there to be explicitly stated welcoming of corrections or not 
To avoid scaring new users off
4. Were/are you inspired by any specific logs?
I browsed a lot of logs before I made one, but I think I was ultimately very inspired by @meagstudies 's log to create my own!
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Why did you start your study log?
I was scribbling down notes, goals, and ideas in various places: notes app on my phone, Google docs, random scraps of paper that would always end up lost. The initial reason that I started my log was just to consolidate everything into one place. For about nine months I didn’t do any kind of regular updates, just editing the home post when I finished a resource or changed routine. When I started weekly updates, it was because I wanted a way to track progress and feel a sense of accomplishment.
What aspects of study logs do you like the most?
When people talk about their personal lives. Without a face behind the name, I’m prone to thinking of people online as robots, so when someone mentions that they like mountain climbing, or practice judo, or just adopted a kitten, it reminds me that these are real people I’m talking to.
When someone starts a new resource, and talks about their struggles with it, how they ended up using it, and their final thoughts on it in the end.
Seeing people make steady progress every week. Like when someone is reading one chapter from a book per week, and it slowly starts to get easier for them.
What are your favorite kinds of replies?
Advice and recommendations! When I mention something that I’m struggling with or working on, and someone comments with something that helped them in the past. Also sympathy and encouragement, which is abundant in this community.
Were/are you inspired by any specific logs?
Related to #2, it’s really inspiring to see people with full time jobs, kids, chronic illnesses, etc, still find some time every day to dedicate to Japanese. There were some users who I saw had some time off from work due to injuries or illness, and they utilized that time to work hard on learning a new language. Iirc, it was soggyboy, mitrac, and you taiyousea updating your logs weekly and having some lively discussions that made me want to start updating mine regularly. I also sometimes steal/stole formatting ideas from you guys and Akashelia, macalys, and raindrops.
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I knew this was going to be a long journey if I was to succeed, which meant that having a little push to do something each week to be able to write about it would help keep going, and also it would be fun to look back on my progress after a while.
I like seeing the things people at similar stages of learning to me are trying and how that works out for me so I can shamelessly rob their ideas gain inspiration.
Honestly I like seeing how others have experienced similar things, like when people share their opinions on some piece of media I’m reading/watching/playing, or how they faced a challenge I’m currently wondering about.
Not really!
I would be sort of interested in seeing what other people like to read too, sometimes it feels a bit disheartening when I go a full month of updates with no replies lol. I worry I overwhelm people with all the stats and stuff.
Another thing is how much people are looking for feedback! I used to try follow all the study logs, but a few weeks back I saw someone new with their study log not getting too many comments and tried to chime in with some thoughts on some difficulties they were musing about. It appears they didn’t want advice though, the response was quite negative 
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Definitely can relate to that feeling, but I have a few justifications for myself in my head already.
Pluuuus I have a feeling that having people engage with stuff is a nice benefit to things, but I think to me the biggest advantage is the fact you’re doing mindfulness and gratitude through journaling your life and you meditate through writing things out loud, looking back at them before you post and then having this hole in your head being like “am I still on the right track? does what I’m doing right now align with that I set out to do?”, kind of a thing.
Maybe I’m looking too deep into this, but you’ve written about the difficulty of reading 13 Sentinels dropping recently: just imagine how wild it will be to return to seeing yourself say this in a year from now xddd
But yeah, I probably need to start engaging with study logs of other people more too, the funny thing is that WaniKani has two study log categories - Private and Public ones. I’m fairly active in the Public one, but for some reason I hardly see any posts from the Private one, might have to manually dig through them and wave to a few people there ^^
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Why did you start your study log?
I wanted to be cool, and have forum clout 
Haha, but actually, the study logs have been my absolute favorite part of the forums ever since I found them. I loved seeing peoples’ journeys from humble beginner to 日本語上手 and thought it would be so awesome if I could start one and be able to look back on my own journey later in the same way! What I found particularly inspiring about logs was how easy it made learning Japanese look, since by seeing someone’s weekly updates throughout the months or years, you can easily see that language learning can be done!
What aspects of study logs do you like the most?
I like reading people’s thoughts on their studies or what they’re reading! I like when people post about their struggles and setbacks, and how they overcame them. I also like when logs spark interesting discussions in the comments about learning or life!
It’s also so cool to see people’s progress over the months/years, I love when it’s a new year and everyone posts awesome wrap-up posts about everything they did. 
What are your favorite kinds of replies to read/receive?
I love when people chime in with advice and thoughts about their own learning. I think it’s awesome when you read something in someone’s log and think, hey, I know that feeling exactly!
Were/are you inspired by any specific logs?
I have to say that when I found the forums and the study logs, I got super obsessed with reading logs and read a bunch of them from beginning to end. In particular, I read through @taiyousea 's entire log (real og’s remember when she went to the tobira intensive course) and was so inspired to dive into studying myself after reading it!!
Of course, I have so many other study log buddies now that I can’t tag everyone! But I am mentally tagging everyone I chat with on study logs!! I 
study logs and I all my wk buddies
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Yeah that happens occasionally but I view it as an occupational hazard of forum life. I think generally this community is very open to different perspectives and advice, but not everyone wants it which is up to them 
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This is motivating. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about making my own study log. Maybe I will as soon as I get time.
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I normally try to build profiles of who the forum user is, piecing together of where they are from and where they are living, career and interests. And of course adventure of their language journey.
But not just study logs, but also Campfire > Introductions and Campfire
To list scripts and programming projects. And also to experiment with studying things.
I ended up with weekly schedules, being simple and no-think enough, manageable, and helpful.
It would be nice to see daily life replies, and thoughts, not just language advice.
Many. NihongoLearnger, taiyou, hotdog, soggy, akashelia, araigoshi, neoarc, rebblue, etc.
About inspiration to create the log… I just don’t remember well.
I would be nice if they don’t give negative replies. Why not just polite reply, or ignore it, as it affects the poster. But that’s just an uncontrollable factor and just the society.
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1. Why did you start your study log? I’m studying all by myself. The people in my life are tired of hearing about Japanese or pretending to be interested. The log is an outlet for me to talk to whoever will listen. It’s also helpful to organize my handwritten notes and screenshots/links as a form of review session.
2. What aspects of study logs do you like the most? I like seeing how people are using Japanese. If they travel, I try to read the signs, menus etc. in their photos. If they read, I like to see what their tastes are. If their WK level matches mine, I use that as a guide for my reading strategy. If they are just keeping track of their progress, I like when the updates are regular even when no progress appears to be made. It’s the perfect time for support from forum readers.
2b.What aspects of study logs do you like the least? I tend to avoid logs with too much personal trauma/drama. The energy of those logs just brings me down.
3. What are your favorite kinds of replies to read/receive? Honestly..just seeing s is cool. I try to give as many as possible so users know they are being seen. I don’t always know how to give support otherwise. As for my log, since no one is really checking my work, I appreciate feedback when I attempt to use Japanese or have a question about something that was unclear in my studies.
4. Were/are you inspired by any specific logs? As a non-reformed study log addict, I get inspired by all of them to some degree. It takes me about an hour a day to go through the updated logs. I tried to copy some styles until I found what works for me. The youngsters with so much energy and the oldsters chugging along brings me joy and confidence.
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hilariously pertinent that i think the intensive course is what made me change my study log format entirely and be more like what it is today
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Nice idea! Love everyone’s responses.
Wow this takes me back (well just 2 years, but still). I had been learning Japanese incredibly slowly for years (like 6 or 7 at that point) and wasn’t getting very far. As in still at a graded reader level, but admittedly I hadn’t invested that much time
I had revisited some language learning research that talked about how vocab grows with amount of reading. Me being me, my first step was not to start reading more 
I carried on with my minimal Japanese efforts and measured my vocab level three months in a row a month apart to get a baseline - because I had decided to do an experiment - read more and measure progress.
I had been lurking here reading study logs and wanted to be like them/ you! 
I think I joined the spring readathon first which was so fortuitous at the start of my vocab level / reading experiment!
And after a month of that I was bursting to communicate more with people here so I started a log since I admired the others so much
I still remember when some of the people I had looked up to so long started interacting with me, haha it was like meeting someone famous, lol
Hmm all of them, every one is so different. I like discussions the most, sometimes a simple line in someone’s log causes someone to comment, and then it turns into a huge discussion. I learn so much from these discussions
Also the silent like crew - just so you know, you may not be verbose but you’re appreciated!
My log started out very plain text and researchy, I’m glad I got to see so many beautiful logs and people talking about their own lives and journeys in more depth than I was ready at the start. It really helped me get to know people here and got me to open up, which always helped me
For someone new - I think something to realise that you don’t see - most of us started our logs fumbling in the dark. We made a post and just started writing. There may or may not have been responses, it may or may not have been immediately useful. Everyone I’ve followed for a while has made huge changes to their home post and posting style since starting. So if you’re thinking about it, just get started and don’t worry about making it so nice and pretty and organised from the start. That comes later.
It seems I’ve given 18.8k likes (nothing compared to pollsters…), so I’m not sure how to answer
People here are so nice! It’s great to hang out with a bunch of people who all want the best for you, and we can all be enthusiastic together, share tips and things we enjoy, so anything that keeps that going. So I suppose responses in that kind of vein. That said - I also like challenging responses, questions and especially when something thought provoking comes, doubly if from someone I know and they know me - it is influential and makes me think
Corrections - YES! I’m here to learn 
Ok I actually did try to answer this question, and I counted a whopping 23 logs that I love to catch up on and am inspired by in different ways. There are many others I’m still getting to know.
I’m not listing them all or tagging everyone - instead - I’ll just tag people who are not on the master list.
So if you’re here because you got tagged, that’s me saying I like what you write and hope you add your study log to the master list in the home post (if you like)! 
@yukitanuki @prath @Jintor @Thubanshee @Shannon-8 @Lisaveeta @SpiderWeb
@rumade
If I’ve commented regularly on your log or in book clubs etc, know I’m inspired by you soggy said it best
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It was mostly on a whim one day because I woke up weirdly early and wanted to write about my process some.
After reading and lurking in some other study logs I realized that this category of post was something I could do. I wanted to be able to set goals for myself and keep track of what I was doing in Japanese study. I haven’t kept up with every goal I set or think about but it has helped me to organize my thoughts and reference what I was doing earlier. It’s fun to read other people’s logs and see what they learn from, but it’s a small challenge to explain to others what you’re doing.
It’s hard to pick one thing because there’s so many kinds. I enjoy the daily or weekly updates about what’s happening outside of Japanese study because we all have varied lives. I usually find good book ideas from someone or other who’s reading. Some of the most interesting food for thought updates are when someone shares a breakthrough they’ve had in let’s say listening comprehension and explains what it feels like to make progress. I like the sense of new growth that can be felt from reading things like that. It’s cool to then try and apply that for myself regardless of whether it actually works for me.
As long as there’s some kind of interaction, I’m happy to get most replies. I appreciate corrections to my broken Japanese or questions about what I’m doing. Suggestions for new things to try are welcome. Sometimes it’s just someone who relates to or is amused by something I write and I get a kick out of seeing the reactions to it.
I’ve read more and more study logs since starting my own, and while I’m not trying to take anyone else’s style since mine works well for me, you’re probably an inspiration if you do some consistent reading or manage to maintain/improve more than one language at once. That’s always impressive to me and I’d like to be more like that. I guess I can tag some people I’m thinking of, but if you’re not listed here, that only means I may not have read your log recently and not that you’re uninspiring. We all make progress differently but we’re all going to get there.
@mitrac @soggyboy @NihongoLearner19 @Jintor @taiyousea @GolyBidoof
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Because I’d been studying on and off for about a decade and wanted both proof that progress was happening and some accountability to not quit and get myself out of reviewing the same beginner material over and over again.
I like to see what people are reading, and also being nosy and reading what everyone is up to in their personal lives.
I like when people send me reassurance and/or compliments. I am doing it!
Yes, but I cannot remember everyone’s names and don’t want to leave anyone out
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