By popular request, here is a sample immersion schedule employing the tips, methods, and tools detailed in the guide. The schedule is based around a 9 to 5 job, but can be easily tweaked to fit any lifestyle or work schedule. Keep in mind that this schedule represents a best-case scenario where you use all possible opportunities to immerse yourself in Japanese. I don’t expect that a normal human being will do all these things every single day. Just try to do as much as you can most of the time, and you will be on the right track.
7:30 am: Wake Up. I take three deep, conscious breaths to start the day off right. I remind myself
how excited I am to be learning Japanese, and how important learning the language is in my life. I then spend 10 minutes playing a kana game on my iPhone.
See Recommended Kana Learning Tools for recommended kana tools.
7:40 am: Shower. Using the steamed-up shower door, I write out as many kana as I can from
memory. If the mood takes me, I also sing lines from Japanese children’s songs hoping that nobody is listening...
See Recommended Japanese Music for recommended artists and resources.
7:50 am: Getting Ready. I play a “Newbie” level episode from the JapanesePod101.com podcast as
I get ready.
See Recommended Japanese Podcasts for more suggested podcasts.
8:10 am: Breakfast. I prop my iPad up on the counter and begin playing an episode of Cowboy Bebop (カウボーイビバップ) with English subtitles turned on while cooking and eating
breakfast.
See the Recommended Anime Series & Movies section for more suggestions.
8:30 am: Commute. As I contend with rush-hour traffic, I listen to an episode of Japanese with Michel Thomas or Pimsleur, making sure to speak aloud when prompted. This works great since I
am alone in my car, but I would probably opt for listening to a podcast or reading manga if I were on the bus or train.
See the Recommended Audio Courses and Recommended Japanese Manga sections for more info.
9:10 am: Morning Meeting. Yay, meetings! Everyone’s favorite. Instead of doodling, checking
email, or just zoning out, I instead use the opportunity to discreetly study. My colleagues think I am looking at the same boring PowerPoint on my laptop that they are, when I am in fact going
through my Japanese Core 2000 deck in Anki.
See Recommended SRS Tools for more about Anki.
12:30 pm: Lunch. I read 5 pages from hodou no owaru tokoro (歩道の終るところ・ほどうのおわ
るとこと, the Japanese translation of Where the Sidewalk Ends). I read first for understanding, quickly highlighting—but not yet looking up—any unknown words or structures. After I’ve given
a page a once through, I then go back and look up any unknown words in the Midori app on my
iPhone or using Tangorin.com if my laptop is handy (the latter is preferable because you can
directly export saved words to Anki). If I want to look up any new structures, I first use
Tatoeba.org to see if I can figure the patterns out on my own, and then consult A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar if I’m still unsure.
See the Recommended Japanese Dictionaries and Recommended Japanese Grammar Books, Sites & Apps sections for more recommendations.
1:30 pm: Tutor Session. I go back to my car, fire up the Skype app on my iPhone, and have a 15-
minute chat with my tutor. I ask him questions about particular words, phrases, and constructions that came up in that day’s listening and reading activities. I find this type of tutoring to be far more effective for me since the entire session is focused only on what I don’t yet understand, and far easier for the tutor since they then don’t have to prepare a “lesson” in advance.
See How to Find & Work with Japanese Tutors for more info.
1:45 pm: Anki Session. I go back to my desk and finish up my lunch break with a quick 10-minute
Anki session. I am pleased to hit the green button on some cards that proved more troublesome this morning.
See Recommended SRS Tools for more about Anki.
4:30 pm: Afternoon Meeting. Oh boy, more meetings! Since the afternoon meeting is even more
worthless than its morning counterpart, I discretely look up some new words that came up during my lunch-time tutor session.
See Recommended Japanese Dictionaries for my list of suggested print and digital Japanese dictionaries.
5:30 pm: Commute. I listen to the rest of the Michel Thomas CD from this morning. Again, I
make sure to actually speak aloud when prompted as passive understanding is far less important than active recall.
See the Recommended Audio Courses section for more info.
6:30 pm: Gym. I re-listen to this morning’s podcast episode as I warm up on the treadmill, and
then listen to some high-octane Japanese music as I hit the weights.
See Recommended Japanese Music for recommended artists and resources.
7:00 pm: Dinner. I wind down from the day with another episode of Cowboy Bebop or re-watch
this morning’s episode if I’m feeling extra motivated. The wonderful music gets my toes tapping and head bobbing as I cook.
See the Recommended Anime Series & Movies section for more suggestions.
7:30 pm: Nightly Entertainment. I stream a Japanese movie on Netflix. To help prevent the blue
light from screwing with my circadian rhythm and making it hard to fall asleep later, I don my geeky orange glasses, dim the lights, and turn the brightness down on my device.
See Recommended Japanese Anime, Recommended Japanese TV Shows, and Recommended Japanese Movies, and make sure to install F.lux on your computer to automatically reduce your display’s blue light after dark.
9:30 pm: Before Bed. I listen to another Newbie level episode from JapanesePod101.com as I
brush my teeth and get ready for bed.
See Recommended Japanese Podcasts for more suggested podcasts.
9:45 pm: In Bed. I crack open hodou no owaru tokoro (歩道の終るところ・ほどうのおわるとこ
と) and re-read the pages I went through during lunch, and read another 5 pages.
See Recommended Japanese Books & Literature for more suggestions.