Basically I prioritize other stuff I want to do than study. And I know that looks like I’m not enjoying studying but I’m not; I’ve honestly been enjoying myself following The Moe Way guide (and even if I didn’t like it, what I’d dislike more is not getting to the point of comprehension). It’s just other stuff I want to do I put first because half of my day is taken away from life stuff, so I push it back.
This is probably a “just do it” thing. I’ve spent time trying to find discipline improvement advice around here and other subs/articles and that seemed to be the common statement on it: just do it so you can start a routine/habit. But it’s been really hard to “just do it” and continue going without wanting to do something else. And I feel frustrated too, because I know I’m wasting time I could be doing to further my understanding and getting comprehension sooner.
So I don’t really know what to do. Cause what’s happening is I study, then after a few days I drop it, and days pile up fast so basically I’ve done nothing for myself. I have everything set up; a schedule and materials. I’m just struggling really hard to push myself in this language.
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What’s your current stage? Approximately in terms of vocabulary, grammar, how easily you can use content, or maybe learning hours?
>This is probably a “just do it” thing.
I think forcing oneself to do something they’re not enjoying is never the answer. Especially something like learning a language which requires years of effort. But maybe there’s another way you could go about it that might be more enjoyable for you so you won’t feel you have to force it on yourself.
Find something you can at least do for 15-30 minutes per day (like Anki), and then once you can sustain that habit for 30 days, slowly introduce more habits. Also, in Anki settings, prioritize reviews over new cards. That setting is super helpful for alleviating stress for Anki. On some bad days, you could just finish the reviews without having to do any new cards.
Regarding discipline, read up on atomic habits and “the one thing”. It’s more complicated science than “just do it”.
I would suggest finding an actual Japanese tutor. I’ve been studying for about 3 years or so. My problem is that I can understand the “book work”, but actually using the language when talking is difficult. Where I am from, we don’t have a big Japanese community, nearest is 30 minutes away. So I don’t have much practice with speaking. Getting a tutor helped me a lot. Actually having someone to engage with and give me feed back kept my interest in learning.
I think the “just do it advice” is useless, if it were that easy you’d already be doing it.
I’d try and identify why exactly you aren’t enjoying studying and seeing if you can make improvements there. If the study material is too easy or too difficult, adjust the difficulty to make it more engaging. If you find flash cards tedious, spend more time in immersion instead. Experiment with different approaches to see if anything sticks. If you can make it more enjoyable, that getting into a habit will come more naturally.
I definitely agree with pudding321’s suggestion to find something small you can do daily to start a habit for studying. It’ll be easier to build on an existing habit than to establish several hour long study sessions right off the bat.
I would also recommend revisiting your reason for learning. A strong goal/desire that you can remind yourself of can be really helpful when you’re struggling to find motivation to study in the moment. What’s your “do it for her”? If you’re the hard laborer, pulling out a worn picture from your pocket to remind yourself to keep going, what do you see?
My final advice is to keep going but be kind to yourself. I don’t think getting upset at yourself for “wasting time” is very helpful. It just builds an association between the idea of studying the feeling of frustration. It’s not something you *should* do or that you *have to* do… it needs to be something you *want* to do. You just have to solidify your goals and find a way that helps you achieve them. Take small steps and build up to larger ones, and be careful to make sure you’re not forcing yourself and running straight for burn out.