1,800-Day Duolingo Streak: I Quit!
As you might guess from the title, I quit Duolingo after achieving a 1,800-day streak.
I started using Duolingo at the end of 2019 when I secured a visa to move to Japan. I knew zero Japanese, so the small bits I was learning on Duolingo felt like big wins.
I also supplemented my learning with Japanese textbooks and YouTube videos, but Duolingo quickly became my go-to daily habit. The app's gamification made it easy to stick with, and on busy days, it provided a low-barrier way to stay consistent with my language goals.
This reminds me of a concept I often share with my 1-2-1 online fitness members. I encourage them to set two types of goals:
High-motivation day goals: Ambitious targets for when you're energised, like hitting 12,000 steps, completing an hour-long workout, or eating 26g of fibre.
Low-motivation day goals: These are easier tasks you can check off even on your worst days, like a 5-minute walk, a set of pull-ups, or drinking a large glass of water upon waking.
In my language learning journey, an example of a high-motivation goal was an hour-long language exchange call, while one of the low-motivation goals was less than five to ten minutes on Duolingo. This approach worked fantastically at first, especially during the "newbie gains" phase, where every new letter or phrase felt like a big step forward.
However, as time passed, I noticed I relied on my low-motivation goals 90% of the time. Five minutes of Duolingo might have given me the feeling I was doing something. Still, in reality, it wasn't pushing me to improve anymore.
My friend Marcel, who is fluent in Japanese, warned me that Duolingo was no longer serving me, but I kept using it out of habit and because I genuinely enjoyed it.
It's similar to fitness.
At the beginning of a fat loss journey, you might see great results just by walking 20 minutes daily. But as you progress, those walks may no longer be enough to keep you moving toward your goals. You need something more challenging—like a structured workout plan or a specific step goal—to continue making progress.
In my case, I had high-motivation activities like language exchange calls and online lessons with a teacher at iTalki. But looking back, I realised that in 2023 and 2024, I spent 90% of my time relying on low-motivation tasks that no longer moved the needle.
I was stuck in a plateau, persisting with habits I had completely outgrown.
And the frustration of a plateau suddenly hit me hard.
I’d known for a long time that I needed to adjust my approach if I wanted to continue improving, but now it was time to take my Japanese studies more seriously. Maintaining streaks with small daily habits wasn't enough; I had to push myself beyond the low-barrier habits that had once served me well.
So, I set new low-motivation goals, such as:
Completing three pages from a textbook.
Reading a few pages of a Dragon Ball manga. A first for me with manga.
Watch 15 minutes of the Japanese reality Netflix show Terrace House.
These tasks still fit into my daily routine, pushing me a bit further than before.
If you're feeling stuck in your fitness journey—hitting a plateau and relying on the same easy habits that used to work but no longer do—it might be time to reassess your goals.
Are your daily actions still challenging you, or are they just what you're used to?
Maybe it's time to consistently hit your protein goals every day or start working out three days a week instead of one.
To learn more about making progress and ensuring you're on the right path, check out a recent podcast episode, "How to Set Your Nutrition Goals for Fat Loss." It's a great listen if you want clarity with your fat loss journey and start making real progress.
Click here to check it out on Spotify.
Click here to listen on Apple Podcasts.
Click here for the YouTube version.
Remember, growth happens when you push beyond the easy stuff and tackle challenges that genuinely move you forward. Whether in fitness or language learning, the key is to keep evolving your goals as you improve.
Speak soon,
Leo
P.S. Enjoy the picture of me at Shibuya Sky Scramble in Tokyo below.
