I keep reviews ~50 and and only start new learning new kana when the review number falls below 50 in the next 24 hours. Keeps it slow and allows me to spread my learning across different resources without getting overwhelmed.
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I think 1x1 mode speeds things up, and life is about compromises. Wanikani can take up too much of my Japanese learning time so I think 1x1 is a good move. I think lesson and review reordering is a dangerous tactic and would never front load myself with radicals and kanji. Sometimes I use it to mop up old vocab, and sometimes I use it to break reviews into chunks, but that’s about it.
I keep reviews ~50 and and only start new learning new kana when the review number falls below 50 in the next 24 hours. Keeps it slow and allows me to spread my learning across different resources without getting overwhelmed.
You’re only on level 2. You’ll need to expect at least 100 reviews a day soon, and do them more frequently than twice a day if possible.
Similar to crihak.
Long Levels (1 level/week - 2 waves per level)
First Wave
Do radicals lessons first.
Do remaining lessons over next 24 hour period.
Set alarm for radical reviews.
Second Wave
Guru radicals. Do new kanji lessons.
Set alarm for kanji reviews.
Short Levels (2 levels/week - No wave per level)
Do radicals and kanji lessons all at once.
Do remaining lessons(vocab) split over a number of hours.
Set alarm for kanji reviews.
Guru kanji. Level up and repeat.
This has started being intense so I’ve started to stop the alarms and just do my reviews when I wake up.
When I know I’m coming up on a new level, I’ll let my apprentice reviews drop a bit. During a level, I’m able to manage about 150 or so apprentice reviews. The day before I think a new level is incoming, I’ll let those apprentice review levels drop to 100. Since new levels usually come with a glut of lessons (just got 80+ for hitting level 8 just now), the drop in apprentice reviews helps to manage the initial overload. I’m averaging about 9 days per level and feels fairly manageable. I’ll also make sure all vocab from the prior level is complete and in the review queue before leveling up (just made sure all level 6 vocab were in review before hitting level 8).
Don’t know if this is considered a tactic. My level is N2 and because of self study(and mainly neglecting) I’m very weak in kanji and in turn reading sections. All I do is make sure i do all the lessons and review as often as I can everyday. If I enter a new level I would do as much as I can remember then rest for half hour or an hour then continue until finish. After seeing the result from here
I would try my very best to match my speed with the fastest estimated time. But I already know some of the kanji so I don’t have to learn everything 
Hm, but you are supposed to remember better the things that you learn just before getting to bed!
I have not personally found this to be the case. Maybe because my brain is tired by that time of the day. But also I think having the short, 4 hour interval is important.
Yeah you are right for the 4 hour, I’m often doing mistakes at the first review of a fresh learned item, because my first review of it is often 1 day later
My current situation aside (had to take a long break and forgot vacation mode), my tactic has been the following:
a) do all reviews as soon as I notice them.
b) think or say the meaning and reading for items every time I see them, not just when it’s asking for one or the other.
b) if there are too many items in apprentice or guru don’t take on new lessons yet (this hasn’t been a problem for me yet, but I’m planning ahead for higher levels)
c) use readers or google for articles to try to see new vocab out in the wild / in context immediately after seeing it in a lesson.
d) pair hand gestures with mnemonics if I need to use a mnemonic.
- For example… just now 配る came up in my queue, and as I imagined a cobra distributing drinks at a party, I made a snake slithering hand gesture with one hand, lol.
e) I’m mostly using wanikani as srs flashcards and rely very little on the mnemonics offered here, but some of them definitely do help, and when I notice that I need that, I go all in on the mnemonic or make up my own that I can stick with.
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- Do all lessons first.
- Use a bunch of useful user scripts.
- Don’t actually remember mnemonics the first few times dealing with new items. Just dash through all of them as quickly as possible.
- Pronounce vocab and readings as you type them.
In addition, I try reading the sentences as best as I can. Sometimes helps with those harder to remember words.
Similar, in case anyone’s interested: