Technically, this isn’t so much the best of 2011 as it is the best of each month in 2011. August actually had a bunch of good stuff, but each month only gets one spot, so…yeah. I like to start my posts on a buzzkill 😛 . OK, here we go!

January
Stop Trying Hard. Try Easy.
“In the long run, (in)convenience almost always triumphs over the human will. Don’t master your will. Don’t become a better person. Master convenience….change what it is that’s convenient to do and/or not do.”

February
Don’t Plan Your Day, Plan Your Environment
“the only Japanese that really matters is the Japanese you’ve done in the past few minutes…The only Japanese that can help you is the Japanese you’re doing right now. ”

March
The Fun Algorithm
“Boredom is pain. Pain makes you stupid. Stop getting hurt. Start getting addicted. Experiment. Reject. Accept.”

April
Max Out The Cause Card: The Omnipotence of Precursors
“You can’t fully control when exactly you’ll become awesome at Japanese…not in an immediate, satisfying way. But you can control how much and how often you expose yourself to Japanese. That’s more than enough. You can’t control the results, but you can control the things that produce the results.”

May
When To Start Getting Used To Japanese
“The longer a thing takes to do, the sooner it must be started on.”

June
Top 10 Japanese Documentary Shows I Have Loved: 1991~2011
“爆笑問題のニッポンの教養 (Bakushoumondai’s Education for the Nation): One hour, one thought leader (usually a Nobel-level college professor), one field of expertise, two comedians taking the mickey. Pretty sweet.”

July
How To Enjoy Movies You Don’t Understand, Like A Kid
“Observe. It’s like you’re an ethnographer, method actor and stalker-voyeur. All rolled into one. Linguist? Not so much, actually :D. ”

August
Don’t Compare, Don’t Despair
“The…only…people in the world you should ever compare yourself to: (1) Yourself in the past. (2) Yourself in the future.”

September
Not Nothing
“two wrongs don’t make a right, but two halves make a whole”

October
The AJATT 7-Step Victory Formula
“Have no good intentions whatsoever. Just pick a good direction. No intentions.”

November
Luxurious Worries, Or: So Effing What If You Sound Like An Anime?!
“Premature optimization is the root of all evil.”

December
Do “Wide Standards” Apply To Immersion?: High Achievement Despite Low=Wide Standards
“it’s not “no English“, it’s…”no convenient English“. It’s not “no English”, it’s “no unaccompanied English””.