Goals & Plans 2025 + Review 2024

[CatDQ]

I actually managed to hit most of my 2024 goals this year, thiugh I did miss a few of them.

@CatDQ

Goals for 2024:

• Fix the burnout so I can get back to proper studying
• Read more; I’d like to finish Flying witch manga, re-read Kino’s Journey and Zoo book 1 before trying some other short stories (especially Zoo book 2) and light novels (including trying to hopefully read through 本好き later next year by which time I should have the rest of the books so far)
• Study MNN blue textbook
• Take more lessons and improve my speaking.

I would like to switch to using my Japanese-Japanese dictionaries as well.

• The burnout healing is still in progress but I am working on it, hoping my physical and mental health will be in a better place next year so resolve this.
• Managed to read more, finished both Flying witch and Ruri Dragon manga as well as 8 children’s books (5 from the Zenitendo series), but didn’t manage to read any light novels or re-read Zoo book 1 or キノの旅 but maybe next year?
• I completed MNN blue textbook though will revisit it for everything that went a bit over my head.
• I took more lessons and started shadowing, both of which have helped improve my speaking alongside my language exchanges.
• And I begun using my kids Jp-Jp dictionary and understood most of what I read.

All in, considering the trials and challenges I have faced this year as well as the burnout and physical health issues, I feel I’ve managed not too badly. There’s just under a month left so I might manage to squeeze a few more books in as well as some more reviewing of MNN blue textbook before next year.

Goals for 2025

• Read more, hopefully finish the Zenitendo series by end of 2025 and progress to something else (with a view to re-read Zenitendo series in 2026 intensively as part of my regular study)
• Continue with my language exchanges and lessons, alongside the shadowing to help improve my speaking and pronunciation (with a view to take Dogen’s pitch accent course in my free time in February)
• Review the grammar I’m stumbling over as well as making progress with Tobira (possibly as part of a small study group with others on here if I can keep up with the schedule)
• Listening more (I have all the Zenitendo audiobooks as well as several others I would like to get through next year, alongside doing podcasts more regularly)
• Continue practicing Kanji and writing in Japanese (it’s the main thing that interested me in Japanese all those years ago yet I haven’t devoted much time to it)
• Try to form a better habit for studying so I am more consistent with my time and manage to get more done within that.

I haven’t set specific time goals or number of books (aside from finishing the Zenitendo series) just because I don’t want to overwhelm or disappoint myself if I don’t manage them so these are a bit more flexible. With the Zenitendo series I was reading one in just over a week so 18 books across the year should be totally doable without any issues.