I have been learning Japanese for a little bit over 5 years. Because I was working full time, it was never intensive but it was steady and consistent. Depending on what’s going on in my life, I adjusted the amount of time I put towards studying but I always kept it in my life. When I had very little time, I stuck to easier routine such as studying on an app for 5 minutes every day. When I had more time, I had 1-2 classes a week. The amount of study varied throughout the years, but it never went away. Japanese study has been a constant in my life and the longest hobby I have ever had.

When I moved to Japan two months ago, it was the first time in 3 years that I’d been in an all-Japanese environment. The progress in my Japanese skills compared to 3 years ago really surprised my parents, who came on both trips. It honestly shocked me too. In those 3 years, I didn’t get to visit Japan even once and wasn’t in a Japanese speaking environment, so I was expecting myself to be rusty. However, what happened was quite the opposite.

I’ve been able to understand more of what people are saying to me and respond back more smoothly. Furthermore, since I was moving here this time, I encountered some situation for the first time. Several things I had to do that were new to me were picking up apartment keys, discussing details of my stay with the building staff, calling the support center for help related to the apartment, and signing up for a mobile plan.

When I thought back on what I might have done in those 3 years that were special, I couldn’t really think of anything. All I did was continue taking lessons as I always did. Even though I only took one lesson per week, I am seeing years worth of lessons pay off all at once, and the difference is astonishing. It’s also a real life (my life!) demonstration of an idea I read so so often—that small actions when done consistently can lead to big impact in the long run. I’ve seen it so much that I’m like yeah yeah that again, but when I have it reflected in real life…just, wow!

With that said, consistent actions can be difficult to maintain, even if they are small, and especially when we don’t see the reward immediately. How did I find motivation to study Japanese when I didn’t know that years later I would get rewarded with a surprising amount of progress like I did? I thought about how I made this stick over the years, and it came down to a few things for me.

I made it a non-negotiable part of my life

I signed up for weekly classes. This made Japanese a solid part of my schedule, and studying/doing homework part of my routine. It took the thinking out of the process which is great because I can be very indecisive sometimes… Because Japanese study is something I started for fun, I don’t really feel stressed out when I get busy and have to adjust it down. The key thing for me is to have it in my life no matter how small and not feel like it’s forced in. Now I actually think I should apply the same mindset to some other parts of my life.

I started using what I learned immediately

One of my closest friends is Japanese. For the first few years after we met, we texted and spoke in English. I forget when but after some time everything switched to Japanese. This not only provided an output channel for me to apply what I learned but also motivated me to study harder because I want to have deeper conversations.

To this day, great conversations with my close friends remain my biggest motivation to keep learning new things about the language. These conversations are also not too stressful because I know if I can’t express myself well sometimes I can mix in some English and she would understand. The key is that the default language is Japanese.

I found fun ways to keep doing it

This might sound really obvious, but it’s true. I do like language learning in general but not every aspect of it is fun. Taking classes according to a textbook can sometimes get tedious, but through these classes I found a teacher I work really well with. When I kind of “outgrew” the group classes, I switched to having private lessons with her. Doing this allows the lessons to be more catered and interesting to me, and I also get to have 1 on 1 conversations with my teacher.

Sometimes I study with friends, who are usually studying something different, or just reading. We find a good space, whether it’s someone’s living room or a chill cafe that we like, and just get into our focus sessions with breaks in between. Find friends that are both great company and accountability partners. Watching Japanese drama and studying on some apps that gamify the process also make it more fun and light-hearted for me. When I can associate an activity with fun, it becomes a little easier to continue doing it.

Testing out my interest and compatibility with something

If I am struggling to stick with a hobby or habit, sometimes I turn to the 30-for-30 test, an idea I got from this tweet. I do the activity for 30 minutes, 30 days straight. At the end of the exercise, I have either gotten noticeably better at the activity, or found out that it’s not for me. If I find out it’s not for me, and the activity is a hobby, then I can just find other hobbies. If it’s a habit I started to work towards something, I look for other ways to achieve the goal. Thankfully, I never get to a point where I have to put Japanese to this test, because I haven’t even gotten remotely bored by it.

Conclusion

The good news is that the longer something has been in our life the more effortless it becomes to keep at it. In the case of Japanese study, it got to a point where I started feeling weird if I don’t spend time on it every week. Even if I decide to take a break, I automatically go back to doing it when I have time again, without much thinking because otherwise I just get an itch.

As I reflect on my Japanese learning journey, I can’t help but be amazed at the impact that consistent actions, no matter how small, can make in the long run. This means that if we have a goal, we can start working on it any day because even if we don’t have a lot of time there is usually a small step we can take towards the goal. If we find those small things we can do and keep at it, there is very little we cannot achieve in the long run. That’s not to say any of it is easy, and that’s why I wrote this blog to document my reflection and remind myself to trust the process.

It was such an indescribable feeling to notice years of my hard work pay off. I even sent a message to my Japanese teacher to share this with her and tell her how grateful I am for her. All in Japanese of course. My Japanese level wouldn’t be where it is today without her.

One last thought I’ll end with is this whole reflection restored my faith that the efforts I’ve been putting into other areas of my life will pay off. It also encourages me to apply the same way of thinking when it comes to working out which I’ve been a little on and off with. Here’s to building more small and sustainable, but steady and impactful actions towards our goals and sticking to them!