January 1, 2026
You know the drill. Here's what I'm aiming to do in 2026:
I actually think that aiming for N4 is a little low, but here's the thing: N3 is much higher than N4, and even though I like to think I could pass N4 as I stand now, I probably can't. My listening, in particular, is especially poor. I intend to study for N4, pass an N4 practice test, and then hopefully spend at least half of the year studying for N3. If things go really well, I might be capable of passing N3 in 2026. (I doubt that, though: N3 is apparently ~4000 words and ~600 kanji).
I also think that having a more concrete goal than "get better in Japanese" will do a lot for my progress---which is saying something, given how much I improved in 2025 with such a vague goal in mind.
On top of that, listening practice will probably have the cool side effect of improving my ability to watch anime without subtitles, which might be reward enough on its own. If nothing else that's an extremely powerful thing to do in front of other people, but I'm not thatshallow.
N3 is also high enough level that I think I could probably justify the cost and time of a trip to a JLPT site, though I don't know if it would line up with my schedule. I could probably even make the case for traveling to take N4, and passing the official test for either level would be pretty satisfying, so it's definitely something I'll consider.
My new car cost me just over $23,000, and I like rounding to easy numbers, so I want to earn $23k this year. As I'm still somewhat yuteful, the money I earn doesn't go toward meaningful living expenses, so this is achievable. I also did the math and it might even be less work than what I predicted I'd have to do last year. I had said $20k was totally achievable, but I failed. The difference this time is that my pay has increased a bit and I know what paycheck column to look at (see the 2025 review post).
I don't have another Sharpie already lined up, so this is going to be a little harder. I'm confident that I'll come up with something, but this goal is going to sit open-ended until I have a task to work on.