Let's get to it, yo!

Reading instructions on how to learn Japanese can only get you so far. The best way to figure out your ideal study method is to start studying. Start taking lessons. Start reading books. Start doing something that puts Japanese in your brain. Then, when you run into trouble, come back to the explanations (e.g. this guide), read up on study tactics and all that glorious stuff, and then dive back in with more efficiency and precision than before.

Japanese will feel more intimidating on some days than others, but the truth is that Day #1 is the hardest. Day #1 is when you know the least Japanese. Day #1 is when you really have no idea what you're doing or trying to do, let alone how to do it.

Let's get Day #1 out of the way. Then Month #1. Then Year #1. In order to do that, we have to start (or start over).

As you set off on this adventure, please try to keep in mind what I said in Phase #1 about the difference between being active and being productive.

Being Active:

• Reading study guides like this one.
• Calculating how many hours you need to study Japanese.
• Thinking about how badly you want to learn Japanese.
• Talking to other people about how you're trying to learn Japanese.
• Surfing the internet for new study tips and tricks.
• Researching Japanese language schools and lessons.

Being Productive:

• Taking an online lesson.
• Studying Japanese flashcards.
• Reading a Japanese grammar book.
• Emailing a language exchange partner.
• Writing a Japanese blog post on Lang-8.
• Doing Japanese workbook activities.
• Listening to an audio lesson.
• Reading a book in Japanese that is appropriate for your level.
• Watching a show, movie, or video in Japanese that is appropriate for your level.

The more you are productive, the faster you will learn. Being active, while potentially beneficial, is often just procrastination in disguise.

Let's not forget about this:

We put wheels like this on our study bike:

And as long as we keep those wheels turning, we are guaranteed to master Japanese:

It's nothing more than a math problem. If you study efficiently and consistently over a long period of time, you will definitely learn Japanese. It's not a race. It's an endurance test.

Unless you're some kind of superhuman, you're going to fail at this at least once. And if you're anything like me, you're going to fail at it about a hundred times.

That's OK.

When we do fail, we can give ourselves the Failure Review Interview. It is essentially just a list of questions that you can ask yourself when you run into trouble sticking to your studies, reaching your goals, and all that stressful business.

Failure Review Interview:

• What did I fail to do?
• How realistic was my goal? Was it doomed from the start?
• How can I rework this goal to make it achievable?
• Why, specifically, did I fail? Lack of time? Lack of motivation? Lack of direction?
• What were the barriers to achieving this goal?
• How can I remove these barriers?
• What is my motivation?
• What are my habits?
• How long do I plan to keep feeling sorry for myself?
• How long do I plan to keep making excuses?
• Considering all of these things, how am I going to alter my next attempt?
• How can I guarantee to be at least 10% more successful in my next attempt?
• All set? Well, what am I waiting for?

You are crossing an ocean.