That Motivation Drop

WaniKani Tips & Tricks
#18

Whenever I don’t feel motivated to scratch away at my abundance of Reviews/lessons, I just watch some “J-Vlogs”. Basically, these are just videos by people who live in Japan. This includes traveling around the country, trying out local dishes, exploring attractions, and more! This is really the only way I can get a glimpse of live in Japan. After watching one or two of these videos, I often feel motivated to continue learning the language! Here is a list of some channels I watch:

  1. Rachel and Jun-
    A channel by a married couple of a Japanese man named Jun and an America woman named Rachel. These two have videos on clips of their everyday life in Japan, traveling to rural Villages and bustling marketplaces, and of course, their adorable little kitties! I started with this channel and got very attached, so I would recommend this to anyone![https://m.youtube.com/channel/UC4yqcgz49APdbgj0OMv7jpA]

  2. Abroad in Japan-
    A channel by a British man living in the city of Sendai. This channel includes Food challenges, a bike ride across Japan (excellent), tons of exploration in both rural and urban Japan, and nATsuKI!!! I recently started watching this channel and am now addicted! This is a very informative and humorous series and I would also recommend this.https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCHL9bfHTxCMi-7vfxQ-AYtg

This is pretty much all of the motivation channels I watch at the time. I haven’t listed all of the “J-vloggers”, but these are two that I would recommend for anyone interested in the Japanese culture and travel! I insist you look up these channels when you get the chance! Hope this helps, thanks!

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#19

I usually watch an episode of anime, or listen to some songs in Japanese. Reminds me of some of whats available when i learn the language, and makes me want to learn again

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#20

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It happens and it will happen a lot. I’m also on my way to regaining my momentum. You’ll need some introspection and a little meditation to realign every part of yourself.

Goodluck! You can do it.

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#21

I can say something similar “Its too expensive to give up”

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#22

Lol true! I wish that worked for me.

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#23

Abroad in Japan rocks ! But he needs to do at least a video a day :wink: lol. Have you listened to the podcast yet?

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#24

Yes, I started listening to the podcast many months ago and now listen to about one episode a day! It teaches me about Chris’s bad experiences so that I might one day be able to avoid them! Would also recommend to those who need something informative to fill those periods of silence and boredom.

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#25

The teens are killer. I was on fire、full steam ahead until I got to “the painfuls”. Instead of burning out、I slowed down on level 17. I literally just didn’t do any of the lessons (keeping up only with reviews) until I was ready to continue. Sure、it made for a painfully slow level up that time around、but I kept my sanity and I am still here (and keen again!!)

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You can do it! Motivation waxes and wanes、particularly when life gets busy or you feel like you’re not getting anywhere. Give yourself some credit for how far you have already come、take a breather if need be、maybe join a “race to 60” group (invaluable motivation with like minded people at your level)、and remember… you’re one step closer to cake than you were before. You got this!

7 Likes
#26

I’m already taking it rather slow especially compared to some of the people who race around here. My review load is totally manageable because even at my regular pace I’m going rather slow. Right now:

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I’ve been on this level for 31 days today. I’m ready for it to be over ;.; Theoretically, I’ll be done tomorrow provided I do my reviews, because I just have a couple of kanji left.

The only reason I have over 100 reviews right now is that some stuff came up for burning which YAY.

Thank you all for the replies, I’m still here and slowly moving.

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#27

Well just ask yourself why you are doing this. If you don’t have an answer, maybe you shouldn’t be. If you do, that is where you find your motivation.

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#28

Just want to note that if burns are now coming up for you, they are going to keep coming until you complete WK. You are going to need to readjust your expectations for reviews to match that.

I don’t know how you currently use WK so this may not be helpful, but I would highly recommend trying to set a schedule for when you study on WK and make it a habit. check out this guide from @jprspereira, particularly sections 4-6 if you haven’t before. Learning how to most effectively use my time made a big difference for me personally.

Perseverance is also a big deal here. Sometimes studying kanji just isn’t fun or is actually a negative experience. I’m sure everyone here can remember one of those days where their reviews went terribly and it made them feel awful about their studying. Just remember that mistakes are part of the process. 頑張るよ！I’ve also found for me personally that if I’ve had a long day at work, or just don’t feel super into studying that it is more beneficial for me to skip a review session and mentally reset than it is try to continuously push through and risk a complete burnout. My next session in the morning is always way longer, but I also usually feel much better mentally so I’m up for the extra challenge.

Final thought, many people in this thread have mentioned to consider why you got into studying in the first place and use that to re-motivate yourself. I would offer that having considered that many times I’m sure, you should also think about whether or not studying on WK, studying Kanji, and studying Japanese are actually fun/enjoyable for you. Unless you need to learn the language for a job or some similar circumstance, you don’t need to do this if it is become a negative experience. It is completely possible to enjoy anime, games and Japanese music without speaking any Japanese, so if your motivations are more hobby based you don’t need to force yourself. This isn’t me saying that you should quit, but that it is a valid option and not one to feel ashamed about.

If however the idea of quitting makes you angry then you probably have it in you to keep going :wink:

best of luck Kazekaitou

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#29

There’s definitely something going on around level 20

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#30

I’m on level 9 and feeling a burnout lol

#31

Do you have a goal? If so, think about your goal and how you’re progressing towards it. I sometimes feel like I’m getting burnt out, then somewhere along the lines I’ll pick up a japanese video game or anime where I’ll recognize large chunks of Japanese and i’ll be like “Look how far you’ve come along! You can’t stop now!” and that seems to motivate me.

Some other bits of advice:
-It’s okay to get a little burnt out, but don’t let yourself stop completely. You can temporarily reduce your workload by doing less new lessons so your review pile lessens, but don’t drop it completely as it can be hard to pick it back up.
-Pick a time to do your reviews and stick to it. X o’clock will instinctually become Japanese time
-Roleplaying can add a bit of fun to your reviews. Sometimes it’s fun to pretend I’m at a homestay and a nice okaasan, who doesn’t speak very much english, enjoys watching me do my lessons. Maybe this spurs on a bit of dialogue in your head (in Japanese, of course!) about what you two would talk about when you come across certain words. It can help spin the wheels of conversation in your head and help you get to using your words. It’s silly but it helps!

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#32

I love watching Abroad in Japan as it is unlike those blogs who are unrealistically optimistic and loud. Chris is pretty much like us, an ordinary sarcastic living being. :smile:

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#33

I think so too!!! You and I are the same level…

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#34

this I agree with 100%. Seriously, I have no idea what it is about reaching the 33% mark that is kicking my ass. My goals are the same, my language skills are WAY better than a year ago, my thoughts and practice and reading all way better. But my brain is like Japanese this minute isn’t a good idea. Maybe tomorrow. And 6 months from now I will kick myself if I do nothing and have to relearn so much stuff and nope, not happening. Going to keep going and not fill myself with 6 months of regret.

Besides, here is where I’m beginning to feel like Japanese is getting accessible to me- its not great, but it is accessible in a way it wasn’t a year ago and that is amazingly satisfying.

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#35

Leaving the honeymoon phase perhaps?

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#36

I think it’s more about the reviews piling etc because reasons for learning are different for many people here and I personally don’t think of it as an amusement and so not as something that would get ruined at the end of a honeymoon phase.
When you’re level 3/4/5 etc you just keep doing lessons and it all seems easy but then eventually around lvl 16~20 it starts to pile up.
I just paused cause I was in Japan for about a month but that’s probably salutary anyway cause I’ve been burning a lot of items with just doing the reviews -and no new lessons- so it will probably ease the process of leveling up again next week.
Hopefully

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#37

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