I wanted to take a break from WaniKani, so I enabled vacation mode. But just for a week! Then I would get back to those reviews and new lessons. Definitely! For sure! …Well that week somehow turned into three months.
I did horribly at the newest set of review items. So I took a quick look at the kanji and vocab of previous levels. And surprise, surprise: I couldn’t recall half the kanji and most of the vocabulary I didn’t remember at all.
Long story short, I reset my account from 14 down to 4. I figured that made more sense than trying to build on a unstable foundation with more holes than Swiss cheese, which might haunt me for the rest of my WaniKani Journey.
Also, quite interesting item distribution lol:
I’ll try to take it slower with increasing levels. I believe that was what made me having to take a break in the first place. I felt pretty burned out. I guess I paid the price. Not planning on paying again though This time I want to make it to 60 in one go, and take the necessary time doing so.
Happy to be back, can’t wait to get back to were I left off!
i feel u so much. my highest level was 5 (sadness) but it was already too much to get this almost 500 item review down after several months. same with holes in understanding everywhere.
my new experience i made with resetting is quite positive so far. i forgot a lot but also remembered more than i thought. made my start way easier and feels quite smooth atm. totally will change as soon as i reach level 5 again, but at least i feel motivated again haha.
i also agree with taking things slowly. here are so many people that managed to finish their lessons in a short amount of time, so i felt there was some subtile competition. but that shouldn’t influence our pace. wish you the best with your learning!!
same here, just two days ago i reset from lvl10 to 0. I stopped wking since february and when i come back i had almost +900 reviews and i couldnt recall the latest kanjis.
Now i feel good, lots of kanjis and radicals names change, and i find it easier now. Cheers bud, keep the journey going.
Instead of vacation mode, you can take a break by ignoring the number of items in your lesson queue. Continue doing reviews. You will notice the workload reduce as your apprentice queue empties. This will keep you in the habit of using Wanikani without feeling overwhelmed.
When you are ready to take on more lessons, you can set the batch number to six and do six a day for a few days. Or do two or three batches of 6 items. You will know when you are ready to take on a bigger workload.
I’ve reset to level 1 multiple times (like not too long ago again). The good part is that I’ve solidified knowledge of kanji on previous levels. Some I had mixed up before, like 姉 and 妹 I don’t struggle with. Bad part is I typically remember much more than I think I did, so I’m not making progress on new levels when I could be.
If you end up in that situation again, I recommend going down 2-3 levels instead and see how that works out. I’ve found that most of my problems are solved by doing that. Self-study script is also a backup to re-review older levels if you’re unsure where you stand.
Had a similar experience: completed the first levels at around 10 days, but from like level 8 or 9 onward I had a hard time keeping up the pace, so the levels gradually took longer for me. Should have just slowed it down, like you are doing it…
THIS, so much!
I did let it influence my pace by a lot. Big mistake. I should just focus on my own progress without constantly comparing myself with others. Definitely something I need to work on.
Congrats! I relatively recently reset from level 42 back down to the very beginning and I haven’t regretted it once. I’m currently covering up the English translation during my lessons to see if I can get it from memory first and that has been good for my confidence.
This time I want to make it to 60 in one go, and take the necessary time doing so.