When I first started Bunpro a while ago, I added several grammar points from higher levels, based on the fact that they were included in certain textbook Paths (these days, same idea could go for textbook Decks). I basically wanted to get all the more-basic textbook grammar points under my belt before I moved on to the more-advanced textbooks.
This ended up with me having several early N3, N2, and even N1. Well, I ended up taking on too many grammar points, too quickly, as it turns out, and got burnt out (I was also doing WaniKani, and a couple other extra SRS systems at the time as well, which were also big contributors to the burn out).
These days, after resetting Bunpro and starting from scratch, I’m now back up to 168/217 on N3. I more-or-less stick with just the Bunpro/JLPT Deck ordering, but I do still have a few early grammar points I’m working on, but they are usually because I run across them more than ‘just occasionally’, and also usually in the context of some other Japanese learning resource that I’m actively working on. A good example of this might be a grammar point which happens to feature a word or phrase that is also a Vocabulary item on say WaniKani, such as に気をつける (JLPT N2) | Bunpro – Japanese Grammar Explained. Or if I’m just trying to muddle out the differences between similar grammar points which use different versions of the same words/phrases, such as the many grammar points which include combinations of particles plus different versions of する, like にしたら (JLPT N2) | Bunpro – Japanese Grammar Explained.
However, looking at my counts right now, I only have 16/210 for N2, and actually 0/180 for N1. (While I was still doing N4, I did have some early N3s, surely more than 16, but I can’t remember how many at the time.)
So, I would basically recommend not going too far ahead. And if/when you do, do so for a particular reason, such as running across the pattern more than just occasionally, or if trying to figure out some area of confusion that items from ‘the future’ might help you to figure out the nuances/distinctions.
Since my first initial foray that led to my getting burnt out, I should say that Bunpro has dramatically improved since then, in so many ways that it would be very difficult to summarize. With that in mind, one particular way they’ve improved is that they have dramatically refined the ‘official Bunpro order’ of the grammar points (either via the old Paths way, or the new Decks way). So, the journey from Beginner to Intermediate to Advanced has become a lot more clear and incremental, building steadily on previous grammar points, compared to how it used to be. So, I am much less tempted to ‘jump ahead’ than I was previously, because the grammar points seem more logically and consistently ordered now than they used to be.
I’d say that as a default, you can usually trust the ‘official Bunpro order’ to guide you along steadily.
But maybe you have some particular interest or some particular media niche that uses certain grammar earlier than Bunpro provides it. In such cases, it’s still safe to jump ahead like that – I mean that ‘the Bunpro system/app’ allows you to easily add such items to your reviews if you like (and also to remove them if you jumped too far ahead!) – so don’t feel restricted by the official Bunpro order. But maybe just remember that, when in doubt, Bunpro order is a pretty good, well-polished order to learn things in.
