Japanese progress (2025 mid-year)

Honestly, since my last solo trip to Japan (October to November 2024), I haven't been as actively dedicated to Japanese language learning. So, my progress has been much slower than what it could've been. Here's what I've managed to do:

• kept up 20-minutes Japanese speaking (and listening) conversational practice with coach 1-2 times a week
• starting the video game ファンタシーライフ：グルグルの竜と時をぬすむ少女 (N4-N3 level) in Japanese
• got a new Garmin smartwatch and set it to 日本語
• set my Youtube to 日本語 on my personal laptop
• got a lifetime subscription to Migaku (300+ vocabulary words mastered)
• booked another trip to Japan (北海道) in September
• regularly listen to Japanese language podcasts when out running

Honorable mentions of effort:

• watching a lot more live action Japanese shows, but usually still with English subtitles (once in awhile with Japanese). Still, with live action I think I pick up more real-world cultural clues and behaviors to help me pick up more language nuances and prepare better for trips.
• switching as many other video games as I can to Japanese voice (text is usually still too hard).
• tried shadowing an episode of one of the podcasts I listen to, but wow was it so much harder than I expected!
• tried going through an N3 grammar and vocab book and started making good progress, but couldn't keep up a daily habit.

Why have I been neglecting Japanese? Among other things, I've been preoccupied with lots of random things. To name a few:

• a new hobby (scuba diving)
• 10-mile race training and finishing 🏁
• more traveling (Greece - learned a bit of basic Greek ❗, New Orleans, Belize for diving, Toronto next week, Midwestern states a week later, etc.)
• some major changes at work (new team, new position)
• friends or family visiting
• a new (used but very good) car
• bathroom remodeling + major house cleaning

But if I were more diligent, I could be doing all these things still while practicing more Japanese. I think I've just lost some motivation - a common occurrence in the lifelong "marathon" of language acquisition.

So, while it's not like I've been lazy, I do feel some guilt. I hope to ramp up Japanese study a bit more before my September trip. What are some things I can do for my current level (I predict at or close to N3) and current goals of improving vocabulary + grammar for listening and speaking casual Japanese?

• continue playing ファンタシーライフ：グルグルの竜と時をぬすむ少女
• continue looking for other accessible video games (maybe old Final Fantasy)
• pick up よつばと again
• try more podcast shadowing
• continue listening to podcasts
• try watching more shows without English subtitles
• set more of my phone and computer apps to 日本語
• set more regular language coach sessions per week
• revisit the N3 practice book

Despite my lack of diligence, it is cool to be able to easily recognize more and more kanji, vocabulary words, and grammar patterns without Anki. I just got so bored of Anki. Immersion, and when I'm diligent, Migaku, have kept me from relapsing, although I know I've forgotten some kanji that I just don't see as much. It is also cool that I can start parsing out more subtle things like turns of phrase more common in written folktales or literature vs. modern speech vs. modern writing, as well as some regional differences or things used by people of different ages, genders, and economic classes.

So , I know I am slowly getting better, but I could be getting better faster...