I'm going to start Heisig again, but move through at a slower but steady pace (I got to about 75 before but had other things to study regarding Japanese).

The idea I came up with is instead of just counting how many Kanji you've done and have yet to do, it would be better to do count days.

So, if you do 6 Kanji a day, you will get through Heisig in exactly 340 days.

There's the immediate goal or counter, 340 days. Instead of watching Kanji numbers, keep a list of days nearby, and every time you do 6 kanji, count down one day.

But, if you want to move at a faster pace, you can still do that! Just always finish your Kanji studies in sets of 6.

If you did 12 in one day, cross off two days. If you did 24, cross off four days. If you did 60, cross off ten days!

However, always make sure to do at least six every day. If you can do this, you will finish RtK in at most 340 days. If you try to do 12 most of the time, you can cut that number to about 170-200.

[ファブリス]

You can also focus on completing lessons too, then you're down to 56 instead of 340. Or do a mix of both!

Please keep us updated on how this goes. I don't know if I have the patience to keep at this for a year to finish RTK 1 and then what? another year for RTK 2 (at 6 kanji a day). But, I don't know if I'll continue to have the time to do more. I think the main battle we're facing here is psychological.

I write down all my progress on a excel worksheet, in a format like this:

Start: start date
Today: today's date
Day number days passed up to today

Kanjis to study: the number of kanjis I want to complete
Studied up to this moment: x = x% of the total
kanji/day average:
Estimated days left to finish: x days
Kanjis left n n%

Now studying NN kanjis
This session ends on kanji number...

ETA = calculated from the kanji/day average

If I wanted to finish in [insert the sum of days you want to put on your studying] days
I should study x kanjis per day
and would finish on [ETA x]

If I wanted to finish by [insert the date you want to have your study finished]
I should study n kanjis per day
and there would be n left to finish

If I wanted to study [insert the number of kanjis you plan tu study each day] kanjis per day
it would take me n days to finish
and I would finish by n date

Also have a worksheet similar to the "progress" section here, but it also contains the number of kanjis studied up to each lesson and some other info. It gaves me the sensation that I'm actually progressing, even if it is rather slowly. Besides I have some estimated date on which I'll finish RK, and know the "speed" at which I'm studying.

I did something similar, albeit more unconsciously and with one day equaling 60, not 6, kanji. It was a tad bit more realistic.

Long-term estimates without external motivation are unlikely to work. You do N [amount of work] a day, then enthusiasm vanishes and you drag it at N/10 for half a year. Then start at 2*N. Etc. It's more useful to formulate for yourself external motivations that drive your need to study, so that you can allocate your effort accordingly.

[ファブリス]

True, like Laura pointed out this is not a technical problem. It's motivation and goal management.

Motivation : take a sheet of paper and write down any number of good reasons why you might want to complete RtK, do you really want to become literate in Japanese. Any reasons will do, so far as they are motivators for you. Some people find enough motivation in mangas and/or anime to complete RtK; while that wouldn't work out for me. Goals can be in the form of long-term dreams too, so long as they are somewhat believable to you!

I've found that to pursue one's goals, you have to foster that motivation as well because forgetfulness, with a heavy does of underlying psychological factors like fear of accomplishment and other negative thinking will shift those motivations away from your mind before you know it! Sometimes you may not even be aware that you forgot your goals. So when you have trouble with motivation, re-read that list! Stick it to your fridge or somewhere you won't miss it. If the items you wrote on the list were honest, it won't need change. Motivation doesn't fall off the trees. I used to think like that, abandoning projects as soon as my motivation shifted.

Goal management: most importantly, keeping track of your progress. Whether you did 1 kanji or 50 that day, doesn't matter. As long as you can see some progress was done, the goal will be achieved in due time.

So I believe figuring out a system for counting days left, or trying to stick to a fixed schedule of n kanjis/day is very much secondary to those two points above.

When you are about to stop and abandon, only motivation and goal management will keep you going to the end of RtK. Spend enough time with the goal and you get a different point of view, kind of a bird's eye view of your goal. Days don't matter anymore.

You'll know when you get to that stage because fortunately, managing a goal of several months (was 6 total for me), and managing one's motivation levels is a skill that can be learned with practice. For that alone I am really glad I finished RtK.