^^^ I forgot to mention that I make up stories like that for words I have a hard time remembering.

^^ It helps if you bounce around sometimes, after you’ve at least read all the vocabulary once. I try to bounce around when I feel like I’m only remembering a word because of the word that comes before it.

^ It seems you study in a very similar fashion to me. I too tried the technique above and found it troublesome and time consuming. Peas in a pod we must be!

I’m on な adjectives right now, and I wasn’t mentally up to studying today so I only made it through 17 of the 23 (approximately) vocabulary. But I don’t sweat things like that.

Here’s what you do. Just spend 15 minutes working on the list and then go do something else that’s fun. Don’t even think about Japanese vocabulary during that time. Do that for 15 minutes and then come back and do the same over and over. Do this until you’ve done about and hour (I can go 2-3 hours I find), then just pick it back up the next day. This makes your brain think studying is fun because you are rewarding it. Also, this helps you focus because you only need to stay on task for 15 minutes. I don’t really use this method unless I’m studying for over 2-3 hours, because I can focus pretty well. I’ve found that if I study 2-3 I need a nap, because I fell drained, but when I wake up I’m good to go again.

Basically just try everything you can think of that might help, and try to make your learning fun instead of a chore.

That’s my wall of text for the day.
がんばって！