So I started RTK1 about 2 and a half weeks ago and have been going pretty steadily at one lesson per day (I have a lot of down time at work :-). It helps me because even though the number of kanji varies greatly from one lesson to another, they're typically grouped by theme. My goal is to go at about that pace and finish in 56 days (8 weeks, right?). Anyway, today I'm on lesson 18, which is the first of 2 monstrously long lessons, and I was wondering if anybody who has (or had) similar pace goals had strategies for making it through these 2 lessons - do you just break it up over 2 days? Space it out over the day? Do you have small cheers that you say to yourself? Or do you just grit your teeth and go?

Mostly my brain is tired from kanji and I'm looking for strategies to reward it.

I handled the larger lessons by seperating it by primitives. Most lessons are 30-40 kanji i think. So just do about the normal lessons worth of Kanji and then stop at the next primitive.
If you think of it in 2-3 chunks as opposed to 1 big lesson, its easier to handle mentally i think.

Cool.

Also, lessons 25 and 27 are long, too.

I reommend splitting them up as follows:

Ch 18: 396-426, 427-457, 458-475

Ch 23: 637-674, 675-705, 706-737, 738-766

Gambatte!

I went at that pace and finished a week ago. It took me a total of 8 weeks. But I didn't break it down by day. I broke it down by week. When I first got the book, I dog-eared the pages in 250-kanji increments - 8 in total. Then every week, I set aside a couple days for reviews, and the rest for learning new kanji. Some days, I'd learn 25, and others I'd learn 85. I'd basically say, "Okay. It's Wednesday. By Sunday, I need to learn 250 kanji, which roughly translates to 50/day, blah blah blah."

I don't know if giving yourself weekly goals instead of daily goals is psychologically more manageable, but it worked for me.

The important thing is DON'T STOP. Slow down here and there, but don't stop. You'll be done before you know it. ^_^

I don't pay attention to lessons. I find it easier to do either 20 or 40 per day, depending on how long I have. If that means I have 5 to go until I complete a lesson, or I only learn 3 of a next lesson, it just doesn't give me the excuse to say 'oh I can leave it at there for the day'. This way you don't have to split your lesson up, which might prove troublesome for when you want to add flashcards to this site.

I think the idea of having to complete a lesson might be what is making you burn out. Just take it step by step, and you won't have a problem. I only decide if I'm going to do 40 a day, if after my first 20, I think 'yeah, I could do this over again, no worries'. I'm at 560, and have yet to begin to experience anything like 'burn out'. I'm not one of those people who have convinced themselves that somehow this is actually super fun. But take it in steps, don't force yourself towards goals, and sail smoothly!

lagwagon555 Wrote:I don't pay attention to lessons. I find it easier to do either 20 or 40 per day, depending on how long I have. If that means I have 5 to go until I complete a lesson, or I only learn 3 of a next lesson, it just doesn't give me the excuse to say 'oh I can leave it at there for the day'. This way you don't have to split your lesson up, which might prove troublesome for when you want to add flashcards to this site.

I think the idea of having to complete a lesson might be what is making you burn out. Just take it step by step, and you won't have a problem. I only decide if I'm going to do 40 a day, if after my first 20, I think 'yeah, I could do this over again, no worries'. I'm at 560, and have yet to begin to experience anything like 'burn out'. I'm not one of those people who have convinced themselves that somehow this is actually super fun. But take it in steps, don't force yourself towards goals, and sail smoothly!

I agree. For the most part, simply ignore the lesson divisions, which are rather arbitrary in many cases.

And going at a less than furious pace is easier than the alternative, because you will encounter "sections" of kanji that don't tax your brain as much as other "sections". If you go at a very furious pace, you don't get the benefit of those natural "breathers", IMO.

Stop as soon as you feel your mind start to wander. I've had days where I've done 150+ and days where I can't even manage 20. Normally I do 25-30 in one session before I need to take a break.

i ignore lessons, i do an arbitrary number for the day. always at a pace of 25 (1hr) or more.

focus on EACH kanji and its story,
not on each bundle, not on each lesson, not in part No.x, not in the whole book.

take it easy

Lessons are a throwback to school led ways of learning. You're learning on your own, so study up to a point per day.

So yeah, like everyone else is saying. Just wanted to make fun of lesson numbers.