I strongly second the pointers that Seren wrote.

Back when I was running through RtK1 I was thoroughly intimidated by lesson 16 because I first started doing RtK1 with the aim to get perfect handwriting (and those curvy strokes would always seem to end up just a few degrees off). This led to me "taking just a few days off" after lesson 15 before moving on to lesson 16, which ultimately became a three months break (I did keep up with the reviews though). So I would say you should absolutely keep your momentum going by doing at least a few each day even if the lesson you are approaching seems particularly daunting.

Good luck with your journey through RtK1!

This lesson did me in a few months ago and I ended up taking a break for awhile and ultimately starting over. This time when I got to the lesson I was nervous it would beat me again, so I sat down for most of a Saturday and went through the whole thing once as quickly as I could making a decent story for each but not worrying too much about getting them all perfect. I found the next few lessons much easier and then I've just been going back and reviewing the ones in lesson twenty three more often. I'm at 1200 now and I'm pretty good with all those kanjis now as Ive spent the most time on them. I  really agree with what was said above, momentum is crucial.

I recently finished RTK 1 and have moved on to RTK3 with the same principles that got through through to the end of RTK1.  Even when i was really sick, i still sat at my computer coughing my lungs out with drowsy medicine and what not and followed the principles below.  That's just me.  Hope you guys can take away something from this.

1) There's a tip that says to do the thing you hate the most first thing in the day (if possible) or at least the first thing when you have time everyday. 

2)  figure out a DEFINITE daily quota and meet it no matter what.  Mark on your calender expected date of RTK finish and do what it takes to finish that day.  Wishy washy ranges don't help cuz then it's too lenient and a non-specific daily goal.  Doing a definite quota a day means you can calculate the day you will finish the book.  It tells you that there's light at the end of the tunnel!.  Which is really important otherwise you feel like you're in an ocean of pages and pages of kanji and you have absolutely no idea when you will finish.  (where's the light, man?).  Figure out a number that you can reasonably do everyday, in the time that you have (I personally picked a quota that I can handle in 2 hours, that's where my creativity starts running dry) and in the capacity that you can handle so that you won't burn out.  Pick a specific number to be your quota.  Mine was 40  - exactly, not 35-40, 30-40.  It's 40, and it will take me 25 days to finish 1000 kanji. If you can only do 20 a day that's fine.  And I make sure I meet my quota even when I REALLY feel like quitting at 20 or 30 or 35. I just keep going.  That's my limit, even on days when I feel like I can do more, I don't I just cut it off because I know doing more will come back at me in reviews and burn me out. 

3) - This sort of goes with #2,I've noticed what derails me and maybe other people in that... the more I focus on how much more kanji i have to do, or how many more kanji til I reach my quota for the day,the more distracted and the more i feel like quitting.  It's very important to not look forward, not look backwards and to just stay in the present, stay focused, keep your head down in the books and focus on your current frame. do it then move to the next and so forth.  It's a grind, but you don't focus on that fact.  Just concentrate on your present frame.  If you don't it's just like looking at the clock every five minutes wondering when the work day will end but this is like looking forward and wondering how many more kanji you have to go to your quota or to the end of the book.  In the end your time is less productive because you're not focusing on the current frame that you have to get done--NOW.   It's better to just focus, do the work and the quota will be done before you know it.

4) Dont spend so much time on the forum reading When it is time to do your kanji, FOCUS.  Reading the forum and relaxing comes AFTER you finish your quota.  The forum is forbidden til then! it's just another form of distraction.  distraction distraction distraction.. the point is to get the hated grind over with as fast as possible so you can move on to doing more interesting things in your day such as reading the forum and whatnot.  Don't delay finishing your quota.

P.S. as you get more familiar with the method, in that you become more efficient in making good stories that stick, you find your quota can be increased.  I started with 15 kanji a day and that was tough already, but i'm at the point where I"m so used to the method I can do 40 kanji a day in the time I used to do 15 a day. do just do a quota that you can handle.

Last edited by Miyumera (2012 July 20, 1:15 pm)

Stian wrote:

Every day, I have two sessions with 10-15 (sometimes as much as 18) kanji each. The way I would do the aforementioned hypothetical lesson would be taking the 16 (9+7) first kanji in the first session and 14 in the next because I find it easier to learn kanji that have something in common together (exceptions might be the finger-radical, of which quite a few characters are based.) I do agree with the main theme of your second point though, which is the regularity of kanji learning, but I don't feel like there have to be a definite number. (I have calculated that my method will make me finish the 1st of September though, so I know which day the light in the end of the tunnel comes.)

Granted, the bottom line of the 2nd point was to make the finish date for the book concrete in your mind because that's going to motivate you EACH DAY to stay on schedule to reach it.  I'm not sure how you are able to calculate your end date unless you looked through the whole book, but that's besides the point.  The fact that you did is all that matters.  I didn't when I started out and it was an on and off daunting business.  Good for you! 

Some primitives have 64 characters  (when you get to RTK3 -flower primitive :p) what do you do then? (thought rtk3 is not the point here) .  What's to say you'll feel motivated 3 days from now if the quota was to finish 3 primitives that adds up to 45 when  today you're cool with a sum of 27?  I only say a definite number because for me personally i have a limit to my imagination/creativity runs dry and/or I know I risk burn out several days later when the cards come back to me in the reviews, so if i pick a number that i know keeps the balance in both these factors, then I can keep the momentum til I'm done.  End date and momentum--ok 2 main points to having a definite number. 

oh.. i guess 3rd point, when I have a definite number I know I'm doing the max number of Kanji that i can per day (thought this might not be important to others)

I understand your point though.  Perhaps some people can be more disciplined than others with an indefinite quota each day, however some people who need more motivation/discipline might need something more concrete and structured.

Last edited by Miyumera (2012 July 22, 11:46 am)

Why do you all find this lesson so daunting? I'm halfway through it already and am enjoying myself immensely. Is it because it's so long? I noticed it stops far into the 700's alright, but just think of it as two lessons merged into one

Study only as many kanji per day you can manage.

I just finished this lesson today and I agree with most of what's been said here. Not worrying about how many kanji we need to study until the end of the lesson (or of the book), studying only what you can manage in one day (like Errol246 already said), and keep reviewing them until you know. I had two days I barely added new kanji, and just kept reviewing these new. I guess planing is also good (I didn't plan anything, and now reading this I think it should have been done).

This isn't really about the lesson itself, but one of my problems at this point is the number of keywords that have similar meanings or even the same meaning in my language (it's easier for me to remember since I'm not a native english speaker), and often I get them wrong because of it.

Good luck

Last edited by dizzyS (2012 July 29, 6:39 pm)