It doesn't have to be painful to get you results. Maybe you'd be more productive if you were slamming five or six hours a day into it, but keep chipping away at it every now and then and you'll still make progress. That's all I really did.
True enough. I got where I am right now with zero effort, not counting the whole "learning kana when I was in primary school" process. But honestly, the more I talk to you, the more motivated I get. So cheers for that, I guess.