Make at least 15 minutes a day on your Russian studies. That'll help you way more than a "long haul" on select days. You gotta keep your mind attuned to the language to make progress. That's especially true on the early stages. Other than that, just relax and try not to push it, take it at your own pace. There is no need to sit and drill, it'll all come to you naturally through the sheer number of times you'll come across same things over and over again. You can also contact me if you ever want to talk Russian/English with me. Damn, I haven't done that for so long, my English must be rusty My Russian is always good though.