I’m splitting my 2026 Japanese goals into concrete ones I can check off throughout the year, and some more nebulous ones I want to work towards but don’t want to quantify.
Concrete goals:
- Finish the prose books I received as gifts last year, plus at least one more of my physical books (2 chapter books, 3 novels)
- Finish the games and TV shows I gave up on doing in 2025 (2 games, 2 series)
- 180 days read
- Score a bingo in the 2026 reading challenge
- Finish acquiring the upper-level grammar I’m missing (
130100 grammar points)
Nebulous goals
- Build an understanding of Natively’s level system and where my comfort level is within it by reading more books with confirmed levels
- Speak in full sentences and get more comfortable expressing myself in language exchanges
- Figure out a routine for solo speaking drills
I’m not very sure about my ability to reach my media goals for 2026, because I don’t know what my employment situation will be for the second half of the year, and 2025 taught me that my reading slows down and I can’t juggle multiple types of Japanese media while I’m working full-time. I will also be making the jump to real novels this year after previously only reading chapter books and manga, so I have no idea how much other content I’ll have to cut out in order to make progress on the novels I have planned to read. Manga’s still going to be in my diet, but I’m not going to set a goal for it, to avoid feeling pressured to split my focus.
I’ve started meeting with a local Japanese woman for an informal language exchange once a week, and plan to continue that throughout 2026 as our schedules allow. These meetings have really made my weaknesses in speaking obvious, though, and I’ve found that I have a very hard time finishing my sentences (among many other bad habits), so I want this year to be the year I finally work on my confidence communicating. What I really, really need to do is add regular speaking drills to my routine, but since I live with roommates, I don’t have a quiet, private place at home to do them without disturbing anyone, and finding a solution to that is going to be my priority. (If anyone has any ideas for non-obnoxious ways to drill speaking, I’m all ears!)
