I have followed with interest all the technical discussion about the programs devices etc...people are using to learn kanji. But.... I suspect that the real barrier form me will be more personal. Time spend studying kanji is replacing reading, movies and going out in general.

Anybody figured out how to have a "normal" life and study kanji.
Best

reward yourself with fun stuff if you meet your kanji studying goals.

For example I didn't read the new harry potter book while I had expired cards ^__^

As that guy from alljapaneseallthetime.com would say: read books, watch movies and meet people... in japanese

Seriously though, kanji doesn't take more time than you'll let it take. Half an hour a day and you can have a good rythm. There was another thread about 'what are your motives' which you might want to read.

Personally, I am terrible at time management, and I just find some free time, whenever that may be and study, even if that detracts from doing other things. I think if you can allocate time well, you should be able to keep doing all the things you enjoy doing.

Actually, kanji (and learning Japanese in general) has taught me time management. I'm able to use time a lot more efficiently. I also see lots of 15-20 minute breaks throughout the day and I take advantage of them.

Even if you were going at a slow pace of 5 kanji a day, you could probably manage it into your daily schedule. One or two stories when you shower in the morning, one during the commute to work, one between a commercial break during your tv show, one while you're out walking the dog, etc, etc. People probably wouldn't even know you were learning kanji if you did it like this.

It only depends on how quickly you want to progress. You can spend as little or as much time as you want to on it.

As others have said, you are the one who will determine how much of your time it will eat up. You can give it 10 minutes per day; you can give it 10 hours per day. However, the tradeoff is that the less time you give kanji (and Japanese), the longer your road to proficiency.

Have you been to http://www.alljapaneseallthetime.com yet? If not, spend some time reading there.

Thank you. I checked out the site and I like it. I have learned a good part of my Japanese from watching DVD's of the Takarazuka Review shows and interviews with the actresses. I've learned tons of grammar and vocabulary painlessly this way and my comprehension has gone way up. But, the written language is another story. I am trying to read interviews and acticles about Takarazuka Review, but you need sooo many Kanji to really be able to read anything. So, I am back slogging through the Heisig.