Japan-America Society of Washington DC

If I have no other virtues in life, I can at least take pride in one: I am absolutely fearless when it comes to diving into anything and everything I want to do. When I recognized that I was lacking motivation to write, I entered a writing contest with several thousand dollars in prize money. And now, recognizing that my motivation to learn Japanese has dried up, I became a member of the Japan-America Society of Washington DC and signed up for a 10-week beginner's course in Japanese!

Classes begin the week after next. Look forward to updates as I revitalize my passions!

Kaizen, the "One-Minute Principle"

It's been a while since my last post, but I don't feel like that can be helped since I've been scrambling just to get moved in, and haven't done much Spanish or Japanese for the last month. A friend shared an article on Facebook a few days ago though that felt "blog-worthy", so I thought I'd share it.

The article makes reference to a Japanese technique called Kaizen, the one-minute principle. Essentially, by consistently devoting just one minute at the same time every day to one activity, you guarantee yourself progress. I found this an interesting concept personally because I had been devoting a minimum of 30 minutes a day to exercise and 45 minutes to Japanese, yet I've ultimately been burned out in spite of my best intentions. But even the laziest or busiest person in the world can spare a minute of a daily routine.

I don't know if I'll be using Kaizen specifically for my Japanese since it feels a lot like undershooting in comparison with my progress until now, but it is an excellent principle I'd like to apply to other aspects of my life. I certainly urge my readers to do the same. A minute a day might just lead to an unexpected passion or talent.